Natural History Program Excursion Options

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
The Monument is our neighbor to the East and is the site of some of the world’s finest Oligocene fossils. Formed when the ash of an ancient volcano covered Lake Florissant 35 million years ago, the leaf and insect fossils found here are perfectly preserved. Enormous petrified sequoia tree stumps are on display at the Monument. After lunch, we’ll do some digging of our own at a private dig site and hope to unearth some treasures of our own. Along the way, our naturalists will point out various natural, geological and cultural features.

Leavick Valley
At an elevation of 11,000’, spectacular Leavick Valley lies at the base of Horseshoe Mountain, one of the world’s classic glacial cirques. Nearby Mt Sherman rises to more than 14,000’. Here we can explore both alpine and sub-alpine ecosystems and admire the many wildflowers, insects, and animals which survive in this difficult environment. This area also boasts many abandoned silver mines, the rich geology of the valley provides many exciting finds. We’ll enjoy lunch at the beautiful glacial tarns at the base of Horseshoe Mountain. For really energetic members of the group, we also offer a guided climb of Mt. Sherman.

Cripple Creek
This famous gold mining town is about 15 miles from The Nature Place. While in Cripple Creek we can visit the Mollie Kathleen Mine, a working gold mine dating from 1891, ride the narrow gauge railroad through Echo Valley, and enjoy the wonderful melodrama performance at the historic Butte Opera House.

The Shelf Road
A van trip into the Sonoran Desert allows us to explore the amazing variety of plant and wildlife in yet another life zone. Our trip takes us down the Shelf Road with its stunning canyon views. We’ll stop to examine fish scale fossils from over 400 million years ago. We’ll travel on to the Canon City area whose cretaceous shales have yielded some of the finest dinosaur fossils in the world as well as numerous sharks’ teeth, clam fossils and other remnants from the ancient seas which once covered the area.