Before we moved to the Denver area, we spent a couple of days in Colorado Springs. It was a very scenic drive down from Denver. We went to check out the U.S. Air Force Academy. They had a B-52 bomber on display, a chapel, a planetarium, and the Falcon Stadium. Eugene had been in the air Force, so he was feeling a little nostalgic.
We spent several hours there, and then we drove through the Garden of the Gods. This is something you have to see to believe. The garden is a 1,300-acre park at the foot of Pikes Peak. This is also where the Great Plains meet the Rockies. There are several towering red sandstone formations that include the kissing camels, and the Balanced Rock. Flora and fauna reflect the rich diversity of this crossroads. It is absolutely gorgeous, and definitely worth the drive. We spent a couple of hours driving through and walking around. It was really beautiful.
The last thing we did in Colorado Springs was going to the Cave of the Winds. The cave was amazing, but very small. It was rather warm in Denver, but it was about sixty-five in the cave. Part of the Cave tour included the laser light show. It was very entertaining and educational. The music was great as well. We went back to our hotel extremely tired.
Now that we live in Denver we have been to Colorado Springs many times. It is a cool little city. I already mentioned the Garden of the Gods, but there are also a lot of museums, and a baseball park! The SkySox, (the AAA farm team of the Colorado Rockies)play at the ballpark which is called Security Service Field. I know, a stupid name, but that's what it's called. It actually is a nice park though, minus the name. We went there to see the Skysox play the Salt Lake Bees (Angels AAA farm team). It was fun and the Bees actually won, :) Sorry Skysox fans.
Another exciting thing we did is go to the Olympic Training Center. It was pretty exciting and I left feeling very patriotic. We were there the same day they had the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada. Pretty exciting. We even got to meet a few of the girls preparing and training for the Summer Olympics in London 2012! You never know, we could have met a future gold medalist! It is actually a cool facility and I was mostly impressed with the pool. It was very nice. I wish we could have gone in, but it was closed at the time. We did get to go into the gym where the contestants from the Biggest Loser had worked out while they were there. That was pretty cool.
We have also been to Seven Falls it is beautiful. According to their website, Seven Falls is located in a natural box canyon. It is the only waterfall in Colorado listed in the National Geographic list of International waterfalls. The one-mile drive winds along South Cheyenne Creek between steep cliffs covered with pines that at the narrowest are only 41 feet with interesting rock formations. The falls are best viewed from the Eagle's Nest Observation platform, accessed by the mountain elevator located inside the mountain. One can also take the 224-step stairway. Another cool thing is that Native American Dancers present interpretations of Indian dances hourly during the summer. We went there and stayed until dark to see the falls all lit up. It was beautiful. We enjoyed our time there and it would be fun to go back again sometime.
Another thing we found down in the Springs is not a museum or an event, it's a restaurant. It's called Drifters . We found this restaurant by accident but we go back now every time we are in the Springs. The reason, it is like In-n-Out. For those of you in CA, imagine what it's like living in a state without an In-n-Out. This place is really good except that don't make their fries like In-n-Out does, they are still good. Gene says the secret sauce is quite similar to In-n-Out's too. It's nice to have a place to go and get something that is similar. If you are in the Springs and miss In-n-Out, you should definitely go to Drifters.
Well there are a lot of fun things to in Colorado Springs, but here are a few things that we haven't done, but sound fun and we might do sometime while we are down there.
| Pikes Peak | Colorado Fine Arts Museum | Ghost Town Museum |
| Cheyenne Mountain Zoo | Manitou Cliff Ddwellings | Peterson Air and Space Museum |