July 18 to Aug 28, 2006We arrived in Colorado Springs. Our campground is right in town which makes it nice for getting around town. We stayed here for 5 weeks. We did sightseeing and just normal living. We needed to spend time in this cool climate until we could get back to Manhattan in September. Gold Camp Road is one of our favorite areas here in The Springs. It is an old railroad bed that originally ran from Cripple Creek to Colorado City to transport gold ore. It has been opened for auto traffic for many years. Just a few years ago one of the tunnels along the road caved in so it is no longer possible to travel all the way to Cripple Creek. It is a beautiful drive none the less. We did enjoy traveling on it and a couple of other roads that connect to it.

Gold Camp Road is an old railroad bed

Unusual rock formations 

Garden of the Gods is a beautiful park with much to see and many, many walking and biking trails. It is just a great place to visit. On one of our trips we walked on several of the trails and another we just walked around the circle of rock formations. Several years ago the park was given to the city with the stipulation that it be made available to visitors at no charge. It is still free and a great place to get away. One favorite activity here is rock climbing.

Balance Rock

Garden of the Gods

Rock Climber at Garden of the Gods 

Pikes Peak Highway is an awesome drive. The road is steep and very curvy and the views are just awesome. Up at the top we could see for miles and miles with gorgeous views of many other mountain ranges. It was a great trip. We were lucky to go on a day when there were very few clouds and no rain. Many of the days we were here in the Springs it was very cloudy and rainy over Pikes Peak. There is a cog rail train that goes to the top of Pikes Peak. I am sure it is a very beautiful ride but we opted to take the highway.

Steep and winding road to Pikes Peak

Pike's Peak Cog Railway

Beautiful view from the top of Pike's Peak 

We also went to Seven Falls. It is a beautiful box canyon with a set of seven falls that flow down the mountain and through the canyon. We walked up 245 very steep steps to the top of the falls. It is quite impressive and the climb quite strenuous with the altitude.

Seven Falls

Long flight of stairs (2 of them -- 245 steps)

A view from the top 

We also enjoyed shopping in Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs and a drive to Cripple Creek for lunch. We went to the movies several times and ate out at some very good restaurants. We do like Colorado Springs and think it might be a nice city to spend the summer months in. We left Colorado Springs on Thursday 8/24 to go to Pueblo. We stayed there until Monday morning 8/28. We enjoyed visiting our great granddaughter while there. She will 6 years old next week and quite the smart young lady. We had lots of fun with her but I must admit she kept us busy and we were tired at the end of the day. On Monday we left Colorado heading for Manhattan. For those of you in Manhattan area reading this we hope to see you while we are there. Give us a call or email us. We would love to see you.