Colorado Springs Travel Blogs, Travelogues and Travel Journals

Their title; not mine...Apparently the Springs hosts a hot-air balloon festival each Labor Day Weekend and has done so for the past 32 years.  I happened to be out with the dogs when I noticed the balloons in the air over town.  There were 20 or so of them in the air which sent me straight home to find out more.  We drove to Prospect Lake off of Union and Platte by Memorial Park at 6:30 am and weren't disappointed.  Honestly, after confering with my sister, we have come to…

11. Farmers:   Hooray for fresh sustenance!!!  On Saturday mornings in Old Colorado City (the historic division and my neighborhood) the Farmers' Market is bustling with the young and the old looking for garden grandeur.   My absolute favorite part is the smell of roasting chilies in the chill air.  I'm salivating now thinking of it...no really, Janice is asking me to clean myself up.   A little tradition is to walk our dog Rudy down about 7:00A.M. to beat t…

Thursday Night.  10 PM.  Black Dress Night.  We start at Southside Johnny's, a biker bar at the end of Tejon and work our way up from there.  Arch Hooks is playing so we hit the dance floor.  After a round of horridly sweet shots...lemon drops...I opt for a crisper drink- vodka tonic.  Then it's back with the girls on the floor.  Since Hooks covers anything from Reggae to Rap I can't really be sure how long before we move on to …

This entry is not to show off my circumlocution...just the fact that I turned the dial and set the camera to M to discover the world of F stops and shutter speeds.  so I guess the light meter does come in handy...

Yep.  I was sure there was nothing left to see after our slush storm on Wednesday, but Mother Nature proved me wrong yet again.  Our buddy Steve is constantly bugging us to get up and outside.  Being the fair-weather girl that I am, I only grudgingly consent maybe a 10th of the time and only if it is above 60F.  Today Steve was in luck with it being almost 70F and blue skies.  We took the Lower Hogback Trail from the car park on 31st street down into …

If you've been to Colorado Springs then you have probably seen the Shrine sitting on the mountain.  It's a tall white tower that reflects the sunlight or is illumined manually.  Back in the day, Spencer Penrose (Penrose Hospital, Penrose Public Library, Penrose St...) was one of Colorado Springs' greatest benefactors.  Because of this man we are able to enjoy a five-star hotel that hosted this year's PGA Senior tour, a zoo that you can hand feed the giraffes and of course a tom…

Last night was a pretty crazy time here in the States but it was nothing compared to the things I would talk about with my 8 year old students this morning.  Out of the mouths of babes:  "Why would anybody want to elect a 'baby-killer'?"  "Now my parents will have to move to a smaller house."  "Yeah?  Well my mom will need to get another job to pay the taxes."  Please let me remind you these are children of eight years!  Eight!  How is it these people…

This place is magnificent with some of the most breath taking views I have ever seen.  Towering red rock formations are the main attraction but, you also get magnificent views of pike's peak in one direction or beautiful old Colorado City from the other direction.  There are some areas where the rocks simply appear to be balancing on a ledge and one good gust of wind could just send them rolling off!  This is noticeable on my 7th picture shown here.  Other a…

My daughter had bought her first brand new car, so we decided to break it in with a road trip to Colorado Springs. We had heard of Garden of the Gods from so many people and only live an hour away, yet after six years in Colorado had yet to make the trip. It was a perfect spring day...a little cool, sunny and perfect! We arrived at Garden of the Gods in the early afternoon and discovered we weren't the only ones enjoying such a great day after such a rough winter. I was nervous since I had…

One of my favorite Ties That Bind would have to be the stars.  Those little bits of light creating a constant among nations and relations alike.  I LOVE them!  Mr. Nelson would be proud to have created such a wonderment of the stars.  In the northern hemi we can see such greats as Orion, Cassiopeia, the Ursas and the 3 of the Summer Triangle (Cygnus, Lyra and Aquila).  This far from comprehensive list needs to include Delphinus-my personal favorite.  Wh…

This year was a little different.  The day is still bright and beautiful, but I am able to enjoy it this morning :)

Fascination for steam punk drawings and architecture lead to my love of the work of Starr Kempf (1917-1995).  I chanced upon the Kempf property exploring the Cheyenne Canyon area near the Broadmoor a few years ago.  At first glance I thought maybe it was an homage to Tim Burton...cool! (He really should come to visit, I would show him around personally ;)  Then I thought "hmmm...others should see this and I got to researching...The impressive wind mobilized structures stand 50 …

Visual media is one of the easiest ways I can think of to create interest in an area--if you're good at it.  Even if you're not, you might be able to spark a little awe and wonder in what you're trying to get across.  But it often has poor results for really capturing the amazement you feel when you are standing, face to the sun after coming out of a cold, dark building acknowledging this unsung privledge.  Words can hopefully recreate that feeling of watchfulness as you…

Photos from my visit to the Colorado Springs, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. :~)

I started the day, by checking out of the hotel, and drove to the Royal Gorge. It was about 2 hours southwest of Colorado Springs. I would have a lot of driving to do. The drive was very scenic, as I went through the Rockies. I can remember visiting the Gorge back in 1989, and thought it would be nice to visit again. Once I got there, the visit did not really turn out well for me. I thought I would be the only person there, but then, a bunch of school kids arrived. I felt very uneasy, riding …