More Moran and Me

Back to my work and personal motivations. Below are some different images of the Gateway Rocks at GOGs. I have paired them Moran's images, his small oil which is now in a private collection, and the print below, which was most likely used in a tourist guide to lure people to visit the Colorado Springs/Manitou Springs area, the Saratoga of the West.

This is a hand colored engraving, I am sure it is a book plate print.

My view through the rocks.

Moran's oil again.

My view of the gateway rocks with the whiterock formations in the foreground. I particularly enjoy Moran's work. If we think about it, he established for us the views in many of the major parks such as Yellowstone and Grand Canyon that have become so famous and visited today.

I alos have great respect for him, as he would trek out many summers on army expeditions for months at a time into wilderness areas, sleeping out under the stars (or in a tent) in what must have been (and would still be) pretty cold elevations even in June and July.

I thought of him often when backpacking in the Sierras. I will have to add some images form those trips soon, and talk about past adventures and art.

My one regret while in Colorado Springs was that we did not make it to Manitou Springs. I have always wanted to visit this site.

These are the manitou Cliff Dwellings, created at the beginning of the 20th century from the remains of a collapsed ruin in the Four Corners region. The structures are created to mimick buildings in major Mesa Verde sites. I love the idea of creating fake archaeological sites for the tourist trade.