On Thursday, Oct. 4th we spent some more time exploring the rest of Colorado Springs. We found more reasons to like this unique city.
Colorado Springs is not only the site of the United States Air Force Academy which is huge and very impressive by itself, but there are also two Air Force bases there and an Army base as well, making the US Armed Forces the largest employer in the area.
The US Olympic Training Center is also here in this wide valley on the Eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, and there are several colleges and universities. Colorado Springs and its suburbs also boast a very impressive system of municipal and regional parks and an extensive trail system. In all, this city and the surrounding area are full of interesting attractions and numerous green spaces to explore.
In the morning we drove back to the Garden of the Gods one more time to see if the "headbangers" (Bighorn Sheep) were still there, doing their thing. Mom went over to the area where they were but the rams left soon after she arrived and she didn't get any new pictures.
In the morning we drove back to the Garden of the Gods one more time to see if the "headbangers" (Bighorn Sheep) were still there, doing their thing. Mom went over to the area where they were but the rams left soon after she arrived and she didn't get any new pictures.
Dad and I went back into the original "garden" area that the Charles Elliot Perkins family donated to the city in 1909. Perkins was the original owner of the land who wanted the land to be available to the public free of charge in perpetuity, as this plaque states.
The next place we decided to explore was the Red Rock Canyon Open Space trail system, only a few short miles from the Garden of the Gods. There are several miles of hiking trails available for anyone interested in hiking or mountain biking in the great outdoors. These are the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in the background.
Here is a picture of the Garden of the Gods from the top of the trail in Red Rock Canyon giving you a glimpse of how impressive it is from a distance.
At the top, we also found a beautiful alpine lake where the locals take their dogs for a walk or a quick afternoon swim in the lake.
The next day, Oct. 5th we explored North Cheyenne Canyon State Park near Manitou Springs a suburb of Colorado Springs, CO. We were there to take a hike up to Cascade Falls but there was no place to park so we stopped at Helen Hunt Falls, then left for another part of the park.
We all really enjoyed our visit to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and met many very friendly people while we were there.
Tomorrow we will be driving several hours South and West to Alamosa, Colorado where we plan to explore Great Sand Dunes, National Park😄.
The next place we decided to explore was the Red Rock Canyon Open Space trail system, only a few short miles from the Garden of the Gods. There are several miles of hiking trails available for anyone interested in hiking or mountain biking in the great outdoors. These are the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in the background.
At the top, we also found a beautiful alpine lake where the locals take their dogs for a walk or a quick afternoon swim in the lake.
The next day, Oct. 5th we explored North Cheyenne Canyon State Park near Manitou Springs a suburb of Colorado Springs, CO. We were there to take a hike up to Cascade Falls but there was no place to park so we stopped at Helen Hunt Falls, then left for another part of the park.
It is kind of sad to see how little the amount of water that was available to run over these falls. The West has a serious shortage of rain and there are signs warning of the dangers of fire in every park.
From there we went the Stratton Open Space Trail in the North Cheyenne Canyon Park. In the East, we call our hiking trails "green spaces", out here they call them "open spaces".
From the top of the trail, near the Cheyenne Mountain reservoir, we took a picture of the city center of Colorado Springs.
From up there, we could also see the top of Pikes Peak. Unfortunately, the top of the mountain was nearly covered by thick cloud cover, so we decided not to spend the money to drive to the top and not be able to see very far, if at all.
At 14,115 feet, the top is over 4,000 feet above the tree line at about 10,000 feet and the cost is fifteen dollars per person to drive nineteen miles on steep and narrow switchbacks to the top.
Tomorrow we will be driving several hours South and West to Alamosa, Colorado where we plan to explore Great Sand Dunes, National Park😄.
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