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Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, CO is probably the one city in the US that I think I could live in for more than a few years. It is a small town, beautiful mountains, lots of outdoor activities right at your doorstep, and the weather is wonderful.
Garden of the Gods is a 480 acre park that was bestowed to the city by the owner to keep it as a park and prevent any construction on the property. It’s basically just a park but has these wonderful rock formations. I’m hoping I will be able to find the pictures we took right before a thunderstorm came through. I spent about 10 pictures trying to catch the lightning against the rocks and mountains in the background. You can climb the rocks as long as you register with the Visitors Center. People are encouraged NOT to walk on the flora and fauna so as to keep it as pristine as possible.
Seven Falls is another natural wonder type of place. I suppose it’s called that because it seems like 7 water falls converge into one. It’s a grueling climb on the 224 step stairway that gets you up to Midnight Falls. If you’re scared of heights, I would not suggest doing that. Maybe just take a picture from the bottom. Then if you keep walking on the trail at the top, it’s about a 1.5 mile walk to Inspiration Point where you can look out over Colorado Springs.
Cave of the Winds is off the same road as Garden of the Gods. This is the typical tourist cave where you walk through and look at stalagmites. Which is fine and dandy, but if you want a little more excitement, I suggest the Explorer’s Tour. Do not do this if you are claustrophobic. It is a 4 hour trip into the caves that are not seen by tourists. You will need old clothes, non-slip shoes, and I would suggest gloves and knee pads.
It’s about a 10 minute drive from the Cave of the Winds Center down to the entrance to the caves. This is where we put on our light-helmets, gloves and knee pads. For about the first 50 feet we were able to walk, after that it was mostly crawling or scrambling. In the first 30 minutes, I was sitting in a small alcove waiting for the rest of the group, which consisted of 3 other people. I started to get claustrophobic and pretty much decided I would have to stop that if I was going to make it through the next four hours. Surprisingly enough - that worked.
This is one of those times when you do something that you never thought was possible. Because we had to go through a tunnel that was about the width of my hands. I am SO not joking. You know how you get through something that small? Put one arm straight in front of you and the other by your side. This makes your should span smaller - which is supposedly the widest part of your body.
And of course, there is Pikes Peak. I hate that drive. There are no guard rails, and the side of the road just falls out into space. Plus, there’s no where to turn around. I don’t think Jennifer enjoyed the drive too much and Derrick was awfully quiet. The elevation at the top is 14,100 and I do believe that our little Derrick had a touch of altitude sickness. And people jog up this mountain!!! Craziness.
Then we went white water rafting. The reservations were messed up so we didn’t have a group with us. We ended up going with just me, Jim, Jennifer and Derrick, and of course, the guide. It was rainy and freezing. To combat the unlikely weather, we rented wet suits. That is the main reason we don’t have very many pics of that! They looked awful!!!
Derrick spent the entire trip huddled between Jim and Jennifer, his entire body shaking and his teeth chattering. We tried to ask him if he was having fun, but didn’t get much of an answer. I believe this was the last trip he decided to go on with us. :-)
Another place to go see is the Royal Gorge. I thought it was a complete rip-off, but the view was nice. I guess it is the tallest suspension bridge or something like that. On one side is where the mini-carnival is and it costs $20 to get in. Total rip-off. But, hey, what can I say? We had to see what all the hoopla was about. And it was a nice drive.
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