A Very Busy Week in Colorado Springs

This week has been perhaps the busiest week we have ever had while traveling in our motor home, and this post will describe our numerous activities this week.  See pictures galore!

Faithful readers will know that we are parked at the KOA Colorado Springs, which is technically in the town of Fountain, about 10 miles south of Colorado Springs.   Colorado Springs is a lot larger than I realized, with a population of almost 500,000.  It is the 40th largest city in the country, and it is predicted it will exceed Denver in population by 2050.  We are here to attend a rally with Country Coach International, the national manufacturers club for our coach.  We will be here until Monday July 30.  People often ask "What do you do at a rally"?  The answer is we meet old friends and make new friends who share our love of traveling in their Country Coaches, and socialize and explore the local area with those friends.   A proud accomplishment at this rally was to raise at least $2800 (I'm not sure of the final tally) to be donated to the Colorado Springs Police Department Cadet Program. The money was raised through a charity auction of items donated by rally attendees, as well as additional cash donations.  19 coaches attended the rally, and we knew perhaps a third of those folks from previous rallies.

As I said, we are camped at a KOA.  I have always had an aversion to staying in a "Kampground", for reasons that I can't explain.  The only times we have ever stayed at a KOA was while attending Country Coach rallies.  I think they are a little more resorty than I like. This KOA allowed day visitors to use their water park.  We were parked at the far end of the park and away from most of the tourist action.  Actually, it was an OK park.

Water slide and pool at the KOA

We spent Tuesday July 24 regrouping from our travels and making repairs after the horrendous storm before the nigh. Remember the big hail storm I described in my last post?

Fountain Creek before the storm

Fountain Creek after the storm

A kind neighbor loaned (gave) me a roll of Flex Tape, which is fantastic stuff.  I used the tape to repair both air conditioning shrouds.  Both shrouds will still need to be replaced at some point.  They are  pretty brittle and likely to crack again.

So sad!

I used all the whole roll of Flex Tape on the AC shrouds, so I repaired the satellite dish with Gorilla tape

On Wednesday, we visited the Garden of the Gods.  The Garden of the Gods is a public park just north of Colorado Springs, and is popular for biking, hiking, rock climbing and sightseeing.  It consists of a number of unique red sandstone formations. In 1879 Charles Elliott Perkins purchased 480 acres of land that included a portion of the present Garden of the Gods. After Perkins' death, his family gave the land to the City of Colorado Springs in 1909, with the provision that it would be a free public park.  Perkins and his heirs were devout Quakers, and consequently they stipulated that no alcohol be allowed in the park.

Balanced Rock

Balanced Dorcas, my rock

I'm not sure I would be standing there

White Rock, unique because it is not red

Myron torturing his ruined knee

The Siamese twins

The Siamese triplets

View of Pikes Peak through the window at the Siamese twins

A herd of sleeping bicycles.  See how they all sleep facing into the wind?

Three Graces

This salt and pepper holder was cute, but it tended to fall over 

On Thursday the group took a chartered limousine bus to Old Colorado City for lunch at Jake and Telly's.  It was a pretty tasty Greek restaurant. 

Lunch at Jake and Telly's in Old Colorado City

Getting down in the party wagon

Then we took the limo to the Royal Gorge Bridge near Cañon City.  Royal Gorge Bridge is the highest bridge in the US at 955 feet above the Arkansas River.  The bridge was built in 1929, and the total length is 1260 feet.

Our party bus

The bridge is nearly 1000' above the Arkansas River

Ah, come on now!

A number of rafters were floating the Arkansas River

Aerial trams traverse the gorge.  One could also ride a zip line across the gorge.

On Friday morning Dorcas and I drove to the summit of Pike's Peak.  We got an early start so we could drive all the way to the top. Parking is limited at the summit and by mid-morning cars were being stopped at various stations below the summit and folks had to ride up the rest of the way on shuttle buses.  Pike's Peak is named for American explorer Zebulon Pike, who never actually reached the summit.

The summit forecast was for frigid, not even counting wind chill

I have told Dorcas a thousand times to always have her camera ready in case we see Big Foot.  Well, we saw Big Foot, but she wasn't ready, and we missed the photo.

The road above timberline

Clear but "undercast"

The Pikes Peak Cog Railway has ceased operation and will not be open in the foreseeable future until the train and the tracks are replaced. What a shame!  Click HERE for a description of the necessary repairs and the obstacles to completing them. 

Pike's Peak Cog Railway tracks at the summit

Cyclist having a bad day

As we were coming down the mountain we found ourselves following a group of cyclers who had been shuttled to the top for the ride down.  Shortly after leaving the summit one of the bikers did a forward flip, for no reason I could see.  It's a good thing he wasn't near the edge when he did his header. When he flipped he had only traveled about a half mile from the summit, and it was more than 18 miles more to the bottom of the mountain.  He got up and seemed to be OK, but this guy may be in for a long day.  Click HERE to see the video.  Keep your eye on the second guy in front of the van wearing a yellow vest.

Switchback on the Pikes Peak road

Bighorn family

Marmot posing for the camera.  "Aren't I cute?"

After coming off Pike's Peak we toured Miramont Castle in Manitou Springs. The Castle was originally built in 1895 as a private home for Father Jean Baptist Francolon, a French-born Catholic priest.  About the same time the Sisters of Mercy operated Montcalm Sanitarium at Miramont, sharing the property with Francolon.   Popular folklore has it that the castle is haunted with various apparitions and unexplained phenomenon as reported by visitors and staff.  The house is now a Victorian-era historic house museum that is owned and operated by the Manitou Springs Historical Society. Visitors can tour 42 furnished rooms and gardens.

Miramont  Castle

Historical Manitou Springs bottled water

The Grand Staircase at Miramont Castle

Friday was a particularly busy day!  After driving to the summit of Pike's Peak and touring Miramont Castle, we attended the Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama Dinner Theatre in Manitou Springs for dinner and entertainment.  

Dinner at Iron Springs Chateau

The play was titled Disturbance at the Delta.  Particularly note the names and descriptions of the characters:

As expected the acting was cheesy and melodramatic. The audience was coached to cheer, boo, hiss and hubba hubba the appropriate characters. 

Helena Handbasket and Led Robster

Sallie Walker sang and told jokes after the play.  She was a very funny lady with a dry deadpan humor.

Finally the cast sang sixties pop hits and TV theme songs in their Vaudeville style Flower Power Olio.

Sonny and Cher

Flower children singing 60s hits

On Saturday we toured the US Air Force Academy.  Our tour guide was Nathan, an academy graduate and son of our rally hosts, Gary and Debbie Glenn.  The USAFA is the newest of the US military academies, established in 1955, with the first class graduating in 1959.

The Cadet Chapel and other buildings in the cadet area are made of aluminum, glass and steel, commemorating the materials used to build modern aircraft.  The architectural style is modern to represent looking forward, rather than backward.  The chapel includes 4 separate chapels: the Protestant Chapel, the Catholic Chapel, the Jewish Chapel and the Buddhist Chapel.

A motley crew of Country Coachers at the iconic Cadet Chapel

After the tour of the academy we had lunch at CB and Potts, where I had the Sgt. Peppers burger.  It featured a number of peppers and chilies and was smothered in chipotle sauce.  I know food pictures are cliche, but this may have been the best burger I have ever eaten.

Sgt. Peppers burger

Finally, on Sunday, the last day of the rally we drove back to Cañon City and rode the Royal Gorge Route Railroad from Cañon City through the Royal Gorge.

We rode on the 1st class dinner car with observation windows.  What a view!

Royal Gorge Bridge viewed from below

We actually spent most of the ride on an open-air car

There was no shortage of rafters on this Sunday

Full moon over the Arkansas River

After the train ride we drove up on Skyline Drive outside Cañon City.  Not a drive for the faint of heart.

"Myron, keep both hands on the wheel!!!"  "Don't look!!!"  "Eek!!!!"

Click HERE to see a harrowing video of our drive on Skyline Drive.

And finally before leaving Cañon City we stopped at the Royal Gorge Brew Pub for a brew and a tray of mini chicken tacos.

Before leaving the KOA Matilda met a blue merle miniature Aussie.

Matilda and friend

On Monday we depart the greater Colorado Springs area and head south and west towards Durango.   Stay tuned.