A Week in Beautiful Colorado Springs

Arrived in Colorado Springs about 10:30 AM after driving the 92 miles from Walsenburg.  It was a cloudy day with some rain showers.  Since we needed to have the RV oil changed we dropped it off for service and drove around to look for an RV park.  We totally forgot that a holiday weekend is upon us.   There weren’t too many RV parks with room for us.  We did find one, fairly close to Pike’s Peak so we booked it.  When we finally picked up the RV and got it to the RV park we couldn’t get the slides to work.  To make a long story short, we couldn’t figure out what was going on. 

In the morning we drove the RV back to the shop and they figured out that a loose ground wire was causing the problem.  Finally we got it repaired and all is well.  While the work was being done we drove to see Mike’s sister Nancy and her husband Dick who live here in the Springs.   We had a wonderful lunch with them and their daughter Betts and her husband Paul.  Betts gave us a list of things to do and see here.  It rained today so we will start our sightseeing tomorrow.

We visited the Air Force Academy today.  It is in the most beautiful location imaginable and is very impressive – much as West Point and Annapolis.  Graduation week is in progress and the Chapel is booked most weekends for weddings.  We arrived in the morning (it was cloudy and visibility was low) and luckily were able to visit the Cadet Chapel before the start of the first of three weddings scheduled.  It is an amazing structure and contains several separate chapels for various religious denominations.   The chapel is the number one building visited in the State of Colorado.   This is the youngest of the big three academy’s having been opened in 1958.

Old Colorado City was once the capital of the Colorado Territory and celebrates Territory Days on Memorial Day Weekend.  We visited the celebration and enjoyed the good food.  Before we had a chance to finish it began raining and of course we didn’t have an umbrella with us.  It was a long walk to the car and we got soaked.  It has rained almost every day we’ve been here – the only good thing - it usually waits until afternoon.  

We took a drive into South Cheyenne Canyon billed as the most scenic ½ mile in Colorado.  At the end of the road we boarded the mountain elevator for a spectacular view of Seven Falls which is absolutely breathtaking.  The altitude here makes it difficult for us lowlanders to do much uphill hiking.  We also made a visit to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  It was threatening rain so we decided to skip the actual zoo and take the Mountaineer Sky Ride which soars over the zoo with views of the city below.  It reminded us of the ride in Banff we took with Joe and Chris William’s. 

After our sky ride we stopped at the Broadmoor Hotel which is one of the few five diamond hotels in the country.  We visited the hotel bar for a bloody mary and got an interesting history lesson of the hotel from the bar manager.  While there is began pouring rain and hail.  We wandered around the hotel visiting the Hall of Fame (photos of many famous guests) and the area that was once the ice arena where Peggy Fleming and other Olympic hopefuls practiced.  This is truly an amazing hotel – unlike any other we have seen – and the staff is very friendly.  Most of the employees have been there over 10 years.  There are three championship golf courses and a beautiful lake on the grounds.  We made dinner reservations at the Tavern Restaurant and returned that evening for a wonderful trout dinner and dancing.  We had a great time visiting the Broadmoor.

The Garden of the Gods offers a spectacular and unique view of the famous red rock formations of the region.  The visitor center offers a film about how the area was shaped during the movement of the earth’s teutonic plates.  We drove through the park and stopped at several spots for photos.  Snow covered Pike’s Peak looms in the background.

We took a drive to Cripple Creek, Colorado which drew gold fortune seekers in the late 1800’s in the country’s last great gold rush.  It sits at over 9,000 feet among snow covered peaks.  The town is now home to several casinos which are housed in the old town buildings.  We had a wonderful lunch and managed to make a small donation.  On the way back we stopped in Woodland Park to visit Mike’s niece Betts and her husband.

Another rainy day kept us from doing much outside.  We visited the Michael Garman “Magic Town” Museum in Old Colorado City.  I had never heard of Michael Garman before but he is quite famous for his sculptures which are considered “art for the people”.  Most of his sculptures are of people – cowboys, firefighters, police, soldiers, golfers, aviators, etc.  His pieces have been treasured by many collectors and President’s and dignitaries.  Magic Town is an incredible 1/6 scale city filled with hundreds of characters.  As you walk the streets there are ever changing scenes inside the windows and down the alley’s.  It is really something to see.

Today, Wednesday, May 27^th, is our last day in Colorado Springs.  We awoke to bright sunshine (finally) and immediately headed for the Pikes Peak Cog Railway – the highest in the world.  We boarded the 9:20 AM trail and headed for the top of Pike’s Peak “America’s Mountain”.  This railway has been operating since 1891 and runs year round.  The entire round trip takes a little over 3 hours.  We have never seen anything so spectacular anywhere.  You climb to 14,115 feet to the very top of the mountain and believe me you can barely breathe at this altitude.  It was 20 degrees on top with snow everywhere.  At the top we visited the viewing platform and visited the gift shop where they serve hot cocoa and the best donuts we’ve ever had.  From your 360 degree view you can see most of Colorado and parts of New Mexico, Kansas, and Wyoming.  It was from this spot that Katherine Lee Bates was inspired to pen the words to America the Beautiful.  The $31.50 each for the fare was well worth it.  A must do for anyone visiting the area.