Red Rocks

The redish rocks at the base of the mountains in the photo to the left are a part big of the Denver park system. If you are anyone of import, musically speaking, you have performed here, at Red Rocks. At the visitor center, an entire wall chronicles the monthly headliners, beginning in the 1940s, and looking like a whos-who in the music industry.

The amphitheater's seats are nestled in naturally occurring rock, creating what is considered to be one of the best acoustical amphitheaters in existence. The rocks were formed almost 3 million years ago, and then uplifted to the tilted angle we see today. These rocks are part of the same formation that can be seen at Garden of the Gods and the Flatirons, and are called the Fountain Formation.

The concert season here ended about a week ago, but, being a city park, it is still open for people packing picnic lunches, tourists, and exercise fanatics (while we were there, a woman -- in blue, right of center in the panorama below -- was hopping on each seating row, hitting the floor and doing a push-up, and then moving to the next row. She worked her way down from the top, and then back up). The view is fabulous -- the skyscrapers of Denver can be seen peaking out from behind a hill to the near left, and I'm sure that concert-goers are treated to a lovely sunset as they watch the lights of the city come on. I'm sorry we missed the last concert, but if I'm ever back here during the summer, I intend to catch one or two.