Teller County is the 22nd most populous county among the 64 counties of Colorado. The county population was around 20000 in the year 2008. Cripple Creek forms the seat of the teller county. The Colorado spring metropolitan statistical area comprises EI Paso county and the teller county. The teller county was being named after the US Senator Henry M Teller.  Some of the famous cities of this county are Altman and the Cripple Creek.

The Florissant fossil bed is situated in the teller county. It was included in the national park region in 1969. The Florissant fossil bed has got its name from the lake Florissant which used to flow in this region. Millions of years ago the volcanic eruption took place in this region. All the plants and insect which fell in the lake were completely buried unless and until after millions of years when they were again excavated and studied. It was really a surprising fact that the remains of insects and the plants were preserved for such a long period of time. They turned into the fossils and were greatly preserved due to the ash which flowed from the volcano after the volcanic eruption.

The question really arises that how was this ash able to preserve the debris for such a long time. The studies revealed that it all happened due to the fact that the ash was softer than the talcum powder.
Hence it had no effects on the remains of the insects and the plants. The petrified redwood which is standing in the region for more than million of years now is more than 75 feet in circumference. This is really one of the major attractions among the tourists who do visit this park.

The highest crowd in this region is in the month of the July and august. And the lowest crowd comes in the month of January and February. However the park is never found to be congested throughout the year and hence you can come here at any time of the year. But the majority really reveals the fact that the best time to come to this region is the month of July and august and the worst time is undoubtedly the month of January.

I do feel that the park has lot to show and I must say that you will definitely find it really interesting when you will do visit this place. The Colorado Springs is the nearest city next to Florissant. It is really not so that you will not find any hotel here. It is really a tourist attraction and there are some good hotels as well. People from all around the world come here see what the world looks like millions of years ago.

Millions of years ago this place called the Florissant was really one of the busiest places with lots of wild life like insects and the plants like red woods. However you must also know that there was a volcanic eruption in those days. So the insects and plants which fell in the Florissant River turned into fossils after million of years ago and that are today. However it was very hard for the remains of insect to be safe till now but it was all the magic of the ash which came out of the volcano. It was really softer than even talcum powder. That is why it was able to hold the insects remain for so long.

The spirit of discovery is alive and well at the Florissant bed. The monument has an active paleontology program which is really meant for helping you know better about the life of that period. It is really a fun and I must say it involves lots of ranger driven programs, excavation programs, teacher training and curriculum, podcast and exhibits that will help you in understanding the fossils better.

Fossil excavation and demonstration
During the Memorial Day and the Labor Day, the fossils being excavated are demonstrated to the general public and also in the excavation labs. During the summer the teachers are given the training to know more about the geology and paleontology of the fossil bed. It is really made sure that fossil excavation techniques are well explained to them so that they can easily explain the scene and the method of excavation to their students. The students who do visit this area are shown the fossil excavation sites, fossil labs and the simulation sites.

Those teachers and students that are not able to come to this site can learn a lot about the Florissant fossil bed through online curriculum.

I do feel that fossil beds are really one of the biggest fossil excavation sites around the words. It is one of the oldest too. I must say that fossil beds can still have some more surprises inside it and the archeologists are really looking at this opportunity.

You must know that the worlds only petrified trios of red woods are present in Florissant and this is really gold for the archeologists. Similarly you will find lots of fossil remains here at Florissant and I must say that all the fossils are more than millions of years old. Can you think that the place where you are standing is more than millions years old? And I must say that through various excavation program you will definitely be able to find out many fossils which are really yet to be discovered and make it in your mind that you can still be the first one to do that.

The Florissant Fossil beds national monuments require just 3$ per individual to get inside. But can you think of how much activities you can participate in inside the monument. You will definitely find it very interesting to participate in the activities. The activities which you can participate in are both indoor and outdoor. However you will find the outdoor activities to be more popular than the indoor activities. But everything depends upon your choice.

Hiking
There are fourteen miles of hiking trails in the monument. Most of the trails wind through the pine covered hills with the patches of aspen and Douglas fir. Some of the trails pass through the wet meadows or through riparian areas.

I would like to discuss all kind of trails. They are as follows:

1. Self guided trails
There are three kinds of self guided trails that are available year round. Brochures for these tours are available at the visitors’ center. The trails are the Petrified Forest walks, the ponderosa walk and a tour of the grounds of the Hornbek Homestead.

• Petrified Forest walk. This one mile trail passes massive, petrified redwood stumps. This trail begin from the outdoor exhibit area which just behind the visitor center.
• The ponderosa loop trail. This is half mile long through the modern ponderosa pine forest. This is the monument shortest trail and is fully wheel chair accessible. The trail begins at the same outdoor exhibit area which is just behind the visitor center.
• Walk the grounds of the historic 1878 homestead. You can take the brochures from the visitor’s center and it will explain you about the whole trail. The Hornbek homestead is available one mile north of the visitor center entrance road.

2. Guided tours
There are some guided tours also available. Between the Memorial Day and the Labor Day the monument offers a series of ranger guided tours. This depends upon the staffing level and hence you should call in advance to book a place for yourself. The number is (719) 748-3253. I would like to discuss each type of tour.

• The first thing which you will come across will be the interpretive talks. These are 30 minutes of talk which take place in the amphitheater behind visitor center. They will provide the visitor with the basic geology stories of the areas.
• The guided walks are generally one and half miles long. The various geology stories can be covered during the walk.

You will also be interested to note that limited horse riding trips are also available but it is allowed under the boundary of the monument. All these activities are really a treat to watch and there are some indoor activities also like book reading. However rangers are available for your help throughout the time and you will definitely not find yourself lost in the monument. It is my promise that you will always enjoy.

The Florissant fossil bed national monument is placed two miles south of Florissant. It is quiet near the Colorado Bridge and the other major city which is quiet near is Denver. More than 35 million years ago a volcanic eruption took place in this region and the ash which came out with the eruption completely covered the debris of the insects and the plants.

Most of the insects and plant died and those which fell in the lake turned into the fossils. It is really surprising how the debris of the insects was safe for such a long period of time. But it was the ash coming out of the volcano which did the magic. It was even softer than the talcum powder.

A detailed deposit of fossil plants and insects give us a complete and detailed look of ancient North America. The petrified redwood stumps gives us the complete difference between the primeval environment of that time and the monotone ecosystem of today. Also situated on the monument is the Hornbeck homestead which recalls the life of the early pioneers.

I would like to give you some detailed description of the area in short.

Visiting period
The highest crowd in this region is in the month of the July and august. And the lowest crowd comes in the month of January and February. However the park is never found to be congested throughout the year and hence you can come here at any time of the year. But the majority really reveals the fact that the best time to come to this region is the month of July and august and the worst time is undoubtedly the month of January.

Address
The address is
Florissant fossil bed national monument
P.o. box 185
Florissant, CO 80816-0185

You can feel free to call at (719) 748-3253 and get the required information about the park in detail. You will definitely find this place to be great for one time visit. However I warn you that once you will visit this place you will definitely don’t want to go back from here. You will definitely find it to be really great and you will find yourself lost in the long history that this place has.

Operating time
The operating time is different for the summers and the winter. The summer timing is from 8:00a.m. To 7 p.m. and in winter it is from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. however you should also keep it in your mind that the monument will be closed on 25th December and the New Year.

On all the other hand you will find the park to be great to spend some time in this beautiful gift of nature.

Florissant fossil bed national monument is the place which marks the presence of the fossils which are very old. More than thirty five years ago the volcanic eruption took place and all the plants and insects were killed. However, those insects and plants which fell in the lake turned into fossils which we see more than billions of years after. It is not too far from Denver and is quiet near to the Colorado Springs.

This place has a wealth of natural beauties and it is the location which is popular among people both far and near. You will find lots of outdoor recreation which you can take advantage of. There are lots of exciting past time for everybody. It is a location which is completely dried out ordinarily. Of all the months July is the year with maximum rain and January has the least precipitation.

A tour of Florissant fossil bed national monument is a treat to experience if you are planning for outdoor recreation. There are a heap of funny things which you can do in the Front Range. If you came here for an overnight stay, you will find travel port camp ground to be an excellent location to camp. And the Florissant fossil bed national monument is delightful enough to spend more than a day.  Prospectors RV park is the delightful local camp ground. Be careful however. After coming to the Florissant fossil bed national monument you might hesitate in going back to your home.

Florissant fossil bed national monument is a popular destination for the people arriving from the Florissant.  An excellent place to camp here in Florissant fossil bed national monument is the Rnk Park and the camp if you come here at the right time of the year.

Going for a hike on the phantom creek trail is always a tremendous adventure and the camping is available at Mueller. Huge petrified redwoods and the fossils of the insects which are more than million of years old reveals a completely different Colorado in the ancient times.

The Florissant fossil bed is renown through out the world and was included in the national park system in 1969. If you want further details of this place then you can always feel free to write a mail to FLFO_Information@nps.gov.

You will also find the entrance fee to be quiet cheap. For the whole family it is just $4 for seven days. This means that you can be in the park for 7 days and you will just have to pay $4 which is by all means nominal. I do hope that you all will definitely like to visit this park for at least one time.

It was 35 millions years ago that when volcanic eruption took place around the lake Florissant and petrified the red woods that used to grow there. Huge petrified red woods and very detailed fossils of insect and plant reveal a very different landscape of Colorado of long ago. Today it is situated in teller county, Colorado United States.

Sediments were formed and the fossils of these organisms were secured and it was not until a long after that these fossils were found by the archeologists. Many of the insects found there in were described by entomologist Theodore Cockerell. The Florissant fossil bed became the part of the national park system in 1969. Florissant means flowering in French and the Florissant flowering bed national monument is known for its beautiful plant life.

When volcanic eruption takes place the mud flow blanketed parts of the forest surrounding the lake Florissant killing the entire tree. The insects, plants etc which cannot move are buried in the cloud and those which falls in the lake are buried. These eruption took place again and again unless as long as the 700,000 years ago. Each time the life is trapped in the layer of volcanic sediments at the bottom of the lake and eventually they were transformed into fossils.

Today Florissant fossil beds national monument safeguards this site. The fossils were internationally renowned and are supposed to give complete information of life at that time particularly of fossils and plant since they were discovered in 1800s.paleantologists have collected 60000 specimens for museums. These fossils reveal what life of that time was like. A massive petrified red wood stump clearly reveals that that time has its giants too.

Yet little remains of ancient Florissant lake life. Fossil bones, teeth, shells and feather reveals the existence of the mollusks, fish, birds, opossum, mesohippus (an ancestor of modern horse) and oreodonts ( an ancient pig like animals). But unless the mammal or bird died near the lake its chance of preservation were very slim.

You can definitely call these as a buried treasure. I do feel that every body knows that what the importance of the old fossils is. The archeologists are really interested in discovering the life of the old times and fossils like that of Florissant Lake help them a lot. You can really not say that this is not the case.

The rich fossils discovered at the Florissant Lake clearly give a complete description of the life in North America. These fossils of plants and animals are relatively new in terms of the geologic terms. And you can easily understand that what its importance is. I do feel that you will love visiting this place.

A typical visit to the Florissant fossil bed monument is of about 1.5 to 2 hours. I would really recommend that if you do visit this place then you should start your journey from the visitor center. At the visitor center you will get all the orientation information. You should definitely watch the 14 minute orientation film. The book center and the bathrooms are also located here. Behind the visitor center is an outdoor exhibit area where you can see the petrified redwood tree stumps and associated exhibits.

From the outdoor exhibit area you will have access to two guided travels called the ponderosa loot ravel and petrified loop travel. The monument has 14 miles of hiking travel.

Fee and Reservation
There is a nominal fee of $3 for those who are 16 years or above. This is valid for 7 days. Those who are under sixteen years of age are free to move in the monument.

You can also ask for passport which cost $15 and is good for one year. The federal passes like golden age, golden access, golden eagle are accepted here and you can move around the park with these passes. I do feel that these fees are nominal and every body can pay this easily.

I must say that you should start your journey from the visitor center. You will find the fossils and the books all on display at the visitor center. You will definitely find the visitor center to be great and I do feel that you should not forget to see the orientation film which is of 2 hours. You will definitely get an idea about the park by seeing this movie.

Weather
The weather of the region has a typical mountain climate. Summers are generally of shorter duration and the days are warm and the nights are cold. The temperature starts to moderate in springs but the negative temperature can still occur. Way back in 1992 35 subs zero days were recorded. In February 1989 the record cold was recorded at it remain at zero degree for a record 72 hours.

However I do feel that you will definitely find this region to be great and once you will visit this place I warn you that you will not like to go away from this place. You will definitely like to live for ever. You will find yourself lost in its long history. The timing is also great and you can visit the place anytime before 5:00 p.m. generally both in summer and winter. However there is slight change timing but it will not effect your visit.

You can experience the fun of cross country skiing in the winters. These are allowed in winters but you will have to contact some strangers. I do feel that you will definitely find this park and enjoy the proceeding.

Florissant fossil bed national monument was formed in 1969 when the fossils bed of Florissant was included in the national park system. It does feel that no body has looked back ever since this place was included in the national park system. More than 35 million years ago there was a volcanic eruption in this region. All the insects and the plants were killed. Those which fell in the lake were covered by the ash and turned into the fossils which we see today in this region.

Today Florissant fossil beds national monument safeguards this site. The fossils were internationally renowned and are supposed to give complete information of life at that time particularly of fossils and plant since they were discovered in 1800s.paleantologists have collected 60000 specimens for museums. These fossils reveal what life of that time was like. A massive petrified red wood stump clearly reveals that that time has its giants too.

Yet little remains of ancient Florissant lake life. Fossil bones, teeth, shells and feather reveals the existence of the mollusks, fish, birds, opossum, mesohippus (an ancestor of modern horse) and oreodonts ( an ancient pig like animals). But unless the mammal or bird died near the lake its chance of preservation were very slim.

Fossils of incredibly diverse mix of more than 100 species and other plants were discovered at Florissant. Most commonly fossil leaves are found but fossil twigs, seeds, cones, flowers and pollen grains also occur. Like insects the plant fragments have also been preserved as life size and color enhanced impressions. Quiet different types of plant fossils found at Florissant consists of petrified stumps of red woods and other trees. They stand today at the same place where they were buried more than millions of years ago. The stumps turned into stones since the minerals seeped into the wood and crystallized the living tissues.

The fossil records suggest that the forest of that time was completely different from today and you will definitely not find any kind of such plants today. However the herbs and shrubs too grew under the redwoods and their closest living relatives can be found in widely scattered places like south eastern USA, Mexico china and South America.

Insects are rarely preserved as they are so fragile. But the volcanic ash mixture that fell on the lake was finer than the talcum powder and it did a tremendous job in preserving the fossils of insects. More that 1400 species of the insects have been found here. Most of them are the same as we found today. However, some of them are extinct and no more in North America. Flies like tsetse fly are no more in the world and have been completely extinct.

I do feel that you will definitely find a lot to cheer if you are an archeologist.

An early settler from Florissant Missouri named this area after his home town. 35 millions year ago this valley was dominated by the lake Florissant stretching 12 miles through an ancient forested valley and the average width was one miles. Lush ferns and shrubs lives within the redwood, pine, cedars and a mixed hardwood forest. There are the clear evidences that there were thousands of insects in the humid climate.

The volcanic eruption took place again and again and was one of the reasons for the creation of the lake. The ash flows into the lake and covers the debris of the dead insects and plants which has now turned into fossils.

Today Florissant fossil bed national monuments preserve this place which is an internationally renowned site. More than 60000 specimens have been collected by the paleontologists working here. As so much of lake life is preserved out here, it is really difficult to preserve the other form of life which inhabited here.

Most of the fossils discovered here are stored in some university, museums with a few displayed in Park Visitors center. The park now preserves millions of undisturbed fossils and studies a limited number that are excavated each year.

While the insects are too fragile and they are very hard to be preserved but the volcanic ash did the very good job and preserved the insects for so long. More that 1400 species of the insects have been found here. Most of them are the same as we found today. However, some of them are extinct and no more in North America. Flies like tsetse fly are no more in the world and have been completely extinct.

In the Eocene epoch the mammals emerged as the most important land animals. Some of the insects have been excavated with the leaves on which they live. Most of them are from the Eocene epoch and provide a great deal of information about that time. The study reveals that the mammals emerged as the dominating species and they even occupied the air and the water. However those mammals were not like the one which we see today. They were completely different from today and most of the in fact all of them are now extinct and no more seen on the earth.

I would definitely like to add that this place has really come out to be one of the biggest discoveries which have really rewritten the history. I could not find any discovery around the world which has revealed about the past in much better way than the Florissant fossil bed national monument. Ever since it has been included in the national park system, it has seen lots of excavations.

Florescent fossil beds national monument is situated in Colorado USA, west of Colorado Springs. It was exactly 34.07 million years ago that the volcanic eruption took place and most of the insects and plants died and those which fell at the bottom of the lake turned into fossils. Huge petrified redwoods and the detailed fossils of plants and insects clearly reveal a different Colorado a long ago. It represent the latest Eocene epoch of the earth history.

More than 1700 species of plants and insects have been found in this region. The rich deposits discovered at the Florissant bed give us a detailed look at life in an ancient North America.

Florissant fossil beds national monuments is today a land of rolling hills and meadows with forests of ponderosa pine, spruce, fir and Aspen. It is in the high countries of the rocky mountain west of Pikes Peak. Fossils are best seen in the visitor’s center exhibits and two interpretive trails. In today cooler drier climate pronghom antelope, elk, deer, porcupines, and golden eagles live as do insects of all kinds. Florissant in French means flowers and the meadows and the wild flowers really provide exceptional opportunities for the photographers.

Visitor center

The visitor center serves as a museum and information center. Fossils and other exhibits are on display and books and brochures are available. Schedules of talks and other activities are posted. Park programs and you own imagination will help in knowing about the present and bring the past to life.  There is a nearby picnic area and the park authority runs various environmental education programs to help out schools children. You can call directly for details. The center is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the summer, 9: 00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the winter, closed thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Trails

The park has more than 10 miles of trails. On a walk through time, a half mile loop trail you can see the fossil bearing shale and petrified stumps. The one mile Petrified Forest loop leads to several petrified stumps including the big stump, remain of the giant sequoia which is 74 feet in circumference. However both the trails are wheelchair accessible. The other trail explores the Park Forest with new animals and plants which taken the place of the old ones. If you are interested in such trails then you can always call for the brochure.

You can experience the fun of cross country skiing in the winters. These are allowed in winters but you will have to contact some strangers. I do feel that you will definitely find this park and enjoy the proceeding.