Colorado Springs

7 Sept, 2017 - Travel & Touring

Departed Estes Park after a wonderful three days there.....just a few hours drive (slow with the camper) down to Colorado Springs and checked into the Cheyenne Mountain State Park. We ended up with a terrific site.....at the base of Cheyenne Mountain with a field of wild sunflowers in the area surrounding the campsite.....Kathy posted an early shot to Facebook.

Our Home in Colorado Springs

Wildflowers at Cheyenne Mountain

After getting set up we decided that since we were only here two nights we'd better get going and see what we could. Since we are only a few miles from the Garden of the Gods we decided to spend the rest of the day there. Again we were dealing with smoke and haze that made photography difficult but it was still a nice visit to a beautiful/interesting place.

Back at the camper after dinner and relaxing a bit we hear taps being played as we are just across the street from Fort Carson, Colorado.

Garden of the Gods

Siameze Twins

Goddess in the Garden :-)

Sunset but the sun is hiding

Touristy Shot

8 Sept, 2017 - Touring

Last day in Colorado Springs.....coming in we had on our list 1) Garden of the Gods, 2) Pikes Peak, 3) Cripple Creek, & 4) Air Force Academy. Since we knocked out Garden of the Gods the first day, we struck out to Pike's Peak in the morning. We debated on the way there if we should drive it or take the cog train....didn't really commit but we missed the turn off for the train so drive it is. OMG - it is 14,115 feet high with a lot of switchback turns and very few guard rails. Kathy nearly put her foot through the floor on the passenger side trying to help me brake :-)

Proof we were there :-)

Welcome Sign

Once at the top it was very difficult to breath because of the lack of oxygen/altitude. I actually felt a little dizzy there but we struggled through it...got a few photos, tee shirts, and a donut....yes I read on trip advisor that the donuts up there are a must - NOT SO MUCH! When we got in line for donuts and coffee we noticed the donuts were small (looked like onion rings) and they were selling them singly or a bag of six. Since they were so highly recommended we thought six would be perfect for us to split. They were so bad we threw a few away.

View near the top of Pike's Peak

When we entered the park/drive up they advised us that on the way down we would need to use our transmission and not our brakes to control the speed coming down. They even had a check point on the way down where they put an infrared thermometer gun on your brakes/drums before allowing you to proceed. 

Looking back down at the road

It took us until about 1:30 to complete the Pike's Peak visit and from there we headed to Rudy's BBQ for lunch. This is Texas BBQ and delicious.....we'd experienced it once before in San Antonio. If you ever get near one you need to give it a try. We had a beef brisket sandwich that was delish!

After lunch we took the ride to Cripple Creek....it was a good bit farther than I thought/expected and they had some road construction on the way that didn't help with our time. We spent some time there in the welcome center and museum, which was pretty nice, and after that we did a drive through the town just to look...no additional stops there as time was getting late.

Cripple Creek - Main Street

By the time we returned to Colorado Springs it was getting pretty late so AF Academy will have to wait for another visit. We saw a nice buck (mule deer) just below our camper on the way back in. Prepping the camper for our move tomorrow to Ridgway State Park in Ridgeway, Colorado.

Campsite Visitor