Images of America Garden of the Gods

Images of America Garden of the Gods
127 Pages
ISBN 978-0-7385-8892-6

The Garden of the Gods has had special significance to people who have come in contact with it since prehistoric times. This geologic formation in Colorado Springs was a seasonal camping site for Ute Indians for whom it is a place of spiritual significance. Scientists have studied the Garden of the Gods finding evidence of dinosaurs, prehistoric cultures, and unusual biological associations.

Artists, writers, and photographers have been inspired by the beauty of this geologic wonder. Tourists and entrepreneurs have left their marks on the rocks. Today, the Garden of the Gods draws 1.7 million visitors a year, who in addition to savoring the natural beauty, enjoy hiking, rock climbing, bicycling, running, and horseback riding in this park provided to the city of Colorado Springs through the efforts of General William Jackson Palmer and Charles Elliot Perkins and his family.

Toni Hamill

About Toni Hamill (Colorado Springs, Colorado Author)

Toni Hamill

Toni Hamill, a retired teacher, resides in Monument, Colorado, where she taught English and American History at Lewis-Palmer High School. She graduated from Colorado Women’s College in 1966 with a BA in Liberal Arts and from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) in 1997 with a Master of Arts degree in American Studies. While at UCCS she participated in an archaeological field school in the Garden of the Gods, which inspired her to write her master’s degree thesis about the people who have come in contact with the Garden of the Gods from prehistoric times to present. Images of America: Garden of the Gods is an offshoot of that work.

Toni is married, has 5 children and 13 grandchildren, and is a member of the Zebulon Pike Chapter of the National Daughters of the American Revolution, the Manitou Springs Heritage Center, Old Colorado City Historical Society, and various dog agility organizations.

When not writing, doing genealogical research, or having fun with her grandkids, Toni teaches, trains, and competes in dog agility with 2 of her Australian Shepherds and does therapy work with the 3rd; cares for her 2 geriatric horses; and takes active vacations with her husband Bill.