Colorado Springs

I visited Colorado Springs over Thanksgiving and thought I'd share some photos from my trip. This was my second visit to the Springs and once again I was in awe of the scenery. Click here for summer pics from my 2012 trip. The photo above is of Pikes Peak -- as seen from the Garden of the Gods.  Didn't venture up to the peak this time out. Though the weather was nice below, I didn't want to find out how cold and windy it was up there! But the Garden of the Gods is very easy to get to and such a beautiful place to explore.

We also ventured up Gold Camp Road which is a narrow dirt road (following the path of an old railroad line) that takes visitors up the foothills of Cheyenne Mountain.  Along the way we drove through two tunnels and had great overlooks of the city far below and surrounding peaks. The snowy conditions on the road made for an interesting mountain ride!  I found this quote while searching for information: "When President Theodore Roosevelt traveled this route, he described its beauty as 'bankrupting the English language.'"

We next visited Mueller State Park about 30 miles west of the city. It was a gorgeous day and we were able to get out and explore. This would be a fantastic place to rent a cabin and do some hiking. But our time there was limited to a couple short, 'out and back' hikes.  I'd love to return to see more of the park.

Finally, we drove out to Canon City. The hour long drive itself along Highways 115 and 50 was amazing. This area of the state is dry and rugged, with stunning mountain ranges to be seen around every turn. There are many things to see and do in this part of the state, but we were focused on visiting the Royal Gorge Bridge. Those from Appalachia might compare it to Grandfather Mountain. It too is a suspension bridge, but the two are quite different in scale. This bridge is huge. So large they drive buses and cars over it. Feeling the bridge move and shake as a bus drives along its wooden planks is an experience. What the two bridges do have in common is extreme weather. Cold winds whipped through the gorge, making our journey quite frigid. Far below is the Arkansas River and a railroad line which still operates, giving visitors a very close up glimpse of this canyon and river.   

Thanks for letting me share with you some non-Appalachian images. I hope to get back to sharing more local images soon. But... here's the bad news... Blue hurt his knee playing frisbee and just had knee surgery! It's going to be a long healing process for him. But while his frisbee playing days might be over, I hope he'll have lots more hiking adventures to come! Until then, I might not be getting out as much without my hiking buddy. 

quiet solitude

Now he walks in quiet solitude the forest and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake

And the Colorado rocky mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky mountain high
--John Denver (1943-1997) singer, songwriter. 

One last post from my trip to Colorado Springs...above is the view from the Silver Cascade Falls Trail in North Cheyenne Cañon Park. And to the right and below are photos of the magnificent chapel located on the campus of the US Air Force Academy north of the city.

garden of the gods

No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. Other gods have been as devoutly worshiped; no other man has been so devoutly loved.
--John Knox (1514?–1572) Scottish clergyman 

I'm taking a break from posting scenes from Appalachia to share some photos from my vacation to Colorado Springs. I liked Garden of the Gods so much, I went there twice. Located in the shadow of Pikes Peak, just west of the city, the 'Garden' was donated by the children of a railroad executive on the condition that admission to the park be always free. It's a unique landscape of spires and strange rock formations. A favorite of rock climbers, bird watchers, mountain bikers, hikers and, of course, photographers -- the Garden of the Gods is an outdoor lovers paradise. Click photos to enlarge.

All told, there are 15 miles of trails throughout the park's 480 acres. But it's the paved 1.5 miles through the center of the rock formations that get all of the attention. It's best to come to the park early before the afternoon clouds and the throngs of visitors roll in. All of the formations have descriptive names: Sleeping Giant, Kissing Camels, Three Graces, Steamboat Rock, Balanced Rock and Cathedral Spires (to name a few). Below is a panoramic overview of the area, followed by the view that welcomes visitors to the park.

purple mountain majesties

 
O beautiful for spacious skies, 
For amber waves of grain, 
For purple mountain majesties 
Above the fruited plain! 

America! America! 
God shed His grace on thee, 
And crown thy good with brotherhood 
From sea to shining sea!

--Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929) American songwriter.

 Photos from my recent trip to Colorado Springs (pop. 416,427) -- a beautiful city located at the base of Pikes Peak (14,115 feet). The area is still recovering from the devastation caused by an enormous forest fire this past June - which killed two and destroyed 346 homes and more than 18,000 acres. It was a trip to the summit of Pikes Peak in 1893 that inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write "America the Beautiful". There are two ways to reach the summit, the first is to drive there along a very steep, winding 19 mile toll road (which is what we did), the second is to take the cog railroad up the mountain. Click here to see the live view from the summit. As you can imagine, the weather at 14,000+ feet can be pretty severe. They've already had snow! The day we went it was a balmy 58 degrees at the top.  Click here to see the current conditions.

Favorite places we visited in Colorado Springs: (I'll post some more photos this week)
Pikes Peak
Garden of the Gods
Cheyenne Mountain State Park
US Air Force Academy Chapel