The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1884-01-24

d the rocky Wall-alaS, Tor the other, whose
team must crawl along the edge of the
orecipice, slanting sheer down perhaps he
must unharness his team to let you pass.
Down in the rocky depths flows Fountain
Creek, gushing in outbursts of foam. The
Falls Of the Fountain are very beautiful,
Rainbow Fall, in particular, IS feet high,
which is loveliest in winter, with silvery
skirts, bordered by icy fringes, into which
dip the red hips of the rose-bushes- glazed
steps have been arranged down to and
under the falls, from which fine view is
obtained, looking up. Ute Pass opens with
wild and rocky black walls. which shut out
day if the Utes defended themselves here,
it must have been an impregnable fortress.
Further, the walls widen, and though
equally steep, are mountains with ver-
dure Clad" On and on goes the Ute Pass
road, past ranches which formerly were
freighters' stopping places, through the
beautiful South Park and even to the
snowy range beyond-a trip of several
days. A pleasant excursion of about thir-
ty-fve miles, with Manitou as headquarters,
can be made up the pass to the "Petrified
Forest" once great sequoia trees turned
in the tertiary to stone. In asunny morn
ing of the by-gone world, nature took some
photographs, prepared her negatives and
then forgot about them. Near the petri-
fed stumps they are slowed away, in thin
Eliminated plates, one upon another. They
can be drawn out from the crumbling
shale, marked with some odd leaf, never
more to dance with its fellows in the morn
ing breeze-a bug or fly, or fish with bony
frontlet and fan-shaped fins.
MANIToU PARK.
Up the Ute Pass road is Manitou Park,
twenty miles away, in mountain valley
twelve miles in length-it has picturesque
hotel, around which few cottages have
sprung up, and connected with it are dairy
farms, livery stable. and billiard rooms.
ManitOu Park is favOrite resort for
campers and it's groves are white with
their tents from June to September
There is trout-stream running through
the glen, and lake, where trout have been
bred for several years, and fishermen bring
in long strings of speckled innocents for
supper. Fin the fall, the hunting in the
neighborhood of Manitou Park is not to
be despised. Mountain sheep and deer,
driven from their former haunts, still
linger there, and wild geese and ducks are
plenty.
RED ROCK CANYON.
Half way between Colorado Springs and
Manitou, lying to the South, where you see
the green-grey rock wall rent and cast up,
as if by some Titanic power beneath, is
Red Rock Canyon. You cross the stream
and find yourself between it's rudy walls.
There are canyons and canyons. Some
are dark, gloomy and majestic-but Red
Rock is a jolly canyon. The SUN shines
broadly down upon it, and brightens the
grass and shrubbery which fringe its car
riage road. The pinons growing in inse-
cure foothold on the rocks, spread their
scraggy branches to sky and sun. One
wall is plain and smooth, black rock the
other, of the same color, is fretted and
striated in numberless furroYs looking
from one to the other, you cannot say
which is best. At the bend Of the road
eastward. is cave, a baby cave, neatly and
roundly followed, and on its crown waves
single Seeding pine, sharply writing its
history against the sky. Where the car
riage road ends is a gypsum bed, wherethe
tourist fills his pockets with glistening,
smooth pieces of pink and white satin
spar or unhewn bits of faintly-veined pink
gypsum.
MONUMENT PARK.
Would you go by rail to Monument
Park from Colorado Springs, it is eight
miles, or If you skirt the foothills and
strike boldly across the plains, it is seven.
People from Manitou, crossing the Garden
of the Gods, and then taking the road over
the plains bending northward, will find
it ten. Your road brings you into mar
row, green meadow, and there closing
round, is the strangest pine grove. 1t
seems to extend west, south, and north,
but it's yistas and arched aisles are peopled.
They are tall, quaint figures, creamy-yel-
low, and topped by broad-brimmed hats.
Here they crowd together, like troop Of
soldiers, anon they..form guard round the
fretted temple of yellowish sandstone.
This one is an anvil-this, aruined Obelisk
here is the priest with his attendant nun.
This is the Quaker wedding HATED preach
er, hated groom, bride with crumbling
couture and friends in broad -brims thrOng-
ing near. Most of them are from four
teen to twenty feet high, and their name
is legion. The pines throw into relief
these yellowish- statues, with dark
brown tops, and vines of kinnikinnick
(now in bloom with waxy ,gpink and white
bells, like a miniature arbutus,) mat the
ground at their rooted feet. II you are
venturesome, you can scale some OF them,
and look off from your airy perch, to where
the purple mountains rise on the rim OF
the world. Long, long ago, these monu-
ments were great masses Of calcareous
sandstone and snow, and rain, heat and
wind, wore their sides ceaselessly away,