A short trip to RED ROCKS CANYON OPEN SPACE and GARDEN OF THE GODS | USA diaries

Red Rock Canyon Open Space is a 1,474-acre city park in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is situated on the west side of the city, adjacent to Manitou Springs and south of U.S. Route 24. The park consists of a series of parallel ridges and eroded canyons
The area now known as Garden of the Gods was first called Red Rock Corral by the Europeans. In August 1859, two surveyors who helped to found Colorado City explored the site. One of the surveyors, Melancthon S. Beach, suggested it would be a "capital place for a beer garden". His companion, the young Rufus Cable, awestruck by the impressive rock formations, exclaimed, "Beer garden! Why, it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods."[3][4] However, an 1893 issue of the Colorado Transcript reported that Helen Hunt Jackson assigned the name "the Garden of the Gods"