Travel local: Florissant Fossil Beds

Back with a new installment of Travel Local.

Today's location is the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

Worth visiting? Yes.

Worth visiting more than once? Once is probably good.

Worth it for non-locals too? Yes.

Fees? $3-$5 for those 16 and older.

Pets? Leave the pups at home. They're not allowed.

Musical inspiration for the trek? Old Seasons, New Day, album by Switchfoot's Jon Foreman. (Free on NoiseTrade right now.)

The Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument sits about 35 miles west of Colorado Springs. Established in 1969, the property has been a site for scientific research since the 1870s and excavations for fossils continue today. You won't find dinosaur fossils, but you will see massive petrified redwood tree stumps on the grounds and tiny fossils from plants, spiders, insects, fish and seeds — and even fish vomit (the kids will love that!) — in the visitor center. In the late 1800s, researcher Samuel Scudder discovered that Florissant had more fossil butterflies than any place else in the world.

A one-mile hike will take you through open fields and past a handful of different redwood stumps, including the one pictured above. It's an easy rolling hike, but for those with mobility concerns, various stumps can be found right outside the visitor center.

One of the more interesting aspects at the Monument is the Fossil Learning Lab, housed in a nearby yurt. A park ranger manages the space, and will help you use microscopes and magnifying glasses to discover new fossils in shale from the area. (Our ranger was super chatty so don't hesitate to ask lots of questions if you have them.) Samples of different types of fossils set around the yurt help hunters identify what they find. The yurt's hours are random, so call before you go to make sure it will be open when you're planning to visit.

Other site activities include indoor historical exhibits, 1878 historic homestead grounds to visit (currently populated by a family of bunnies), and ranger treks — including free wildflower walks and twice-weekly yoga hikes.

I give the Paint Mines one and a half thumbs up, so my recommendation is to get out and travel local!

P.S. If you have a place around Colorado Springs or the state that you'd like me to visit and review, leave a comment and let me know!

Travel local: Paint Mines Interpretive Park

You know all those places you always mean to get to that are nearby to wherever home is for you?

And then 20 years go by, and you still haven't gotten to them?

I've decided to actually start visiting the places on my "tourist" list for Colorado Springs, the surrounding areas, and Colorado more generally — which is quite long, thanks to years of working at the Colorado Springs Independent — and report back here as to whether they're worth the trek or not.

Meet my new series: "Travel local."

We'll start today with Paint Mines Interpretive Park.

Worth visiting? Yes.

Worth visiting more than once? Yes.

Worth it for non-locals too? Yes.

Fees? Nope.

Pets? Leave the pups at home. They're not allowed.

Musical inspiration for the trek? The self-titled album by Tow'rs.

Paint Mines Interpretive Park is perhaps one of the coolest local places I've visited in many, many years. Owned and run by El Paso County, the Paint Mines are located east of the Springs, near Calhan, about a 40-minute drive from downtown. Your ride out will be punctuated by rolling hills, black and white cows, and if you're lucky, some pronghorn. That's about it.

Which is why the Paint Mines are such a surprise.

Park at one of two lots (the one closest to Calhan has a restroom facility), take a peek at the map to figure out where you are, and jump on the trail. Within a 15-minute hike toward what's labeled "formations," you'll start seeing out-of-place-looking rocks. Then large swaths of geological formations, including spires and hoo-doos. Colors in the rock range from black to white, and a whole variety of reds, pinks, oranges and yellows. It's stunning, really. (American Indians used the colored clay in their art way back when.)

Wander four miles of trails on the 750-acres — it's easy hiking, but bring hats, water and sunscreen. There is a distinct lack of shade out here. And leave the pups, bikes and horses at home; they're not allowed on the grounds. (Though we did see a guy hiking with a parrot on his shoulder.)

Right now, there are lots of wildflowers out and about the Paint Mines too, and I imagine with all the rain we've had, it'll stay that way for awhile. If you're so inclined, take your camera and plan to spend some time not just shooting the rocks, but photographing a wide variety of blooms too.

I give the Paint Mines two thumbs up, so my recommendation is to get out and travel local!

P.S. If you have a place around Colorado Springs or the state that you'd like me to visit and review, leave a comment and let me know!