Once things wrapped up at the Heartland Owners Rally, we moved north to Colorado Springs. We were supposed to stay at the Air Force Campground as guests for an install, but that was delayed, so we decided to stay at the Elks. There was lots to see and do in the area!

The Colorado Springs Elks actually has a pool!  That’s a first for us – staying at a lodge with a pool! They do charge a fee to use it, but it was really nice! They also have bar food and reasonable drink prices. It is basically parking lot camping, but the location is awesome!

Top on the list of to-do’s was driving up Pikes Peak! Pikes Peak is known as America’s Mountain, as it inspired the song “America the Beautiful.” Specifically, the line “Purple Mountain’s Majesty” is referring to Pikes Peak. When the sun comes up and hits the peak, it causes the mountain to look purple. I got up one morning to snap this pic – it isn’t the best but you get the idea.

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We arrived just before noon and paid our $15 per person admission fee. The ranger explained that we could drive up to “mile 16” which was 3 miles below the summit. At “mile 16” we could park and take a shuttle up to the top. Good deal! Also of note: we had considered taking the cog train up, but it wasn’t in service, with no date for a potential re-opening.

The ranger, reinforcing nearby signage, told us about riding up in low gear, which surprised me. I understood low gear for coming down, but up? Bill explained that it keeps the engine from shifting up and down. They also told us to keep our air conditioning off, to help keep the engine from overheating. The importance of drinking lots of water to stay hydrated was stressed as well. There were water filling stations along the way.

We stopped along the way up to “ohhh” and “ahhh” and “WOW!” and snap pictures. It was a perfect weather day, blue skies with a few puffy white clouds. You could feel the air getting thinner as we climbed.

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In spite of the awesome views on the way up, we were somewhat disappointed at the lack of wildlife. While at the top, we were excited to watch a playful Marmot running along the rocks. It was like he wanted us to record him!

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Next on our to-do list was Garden of the Gods. What an amazing place!  Very cool rock formations. We started out in the Visitor Center, complete with a movie, and then took a ranger led walking tour. We finished the afternoon with a stop at the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, and enjoyed some delicious ice cream!

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Our tour continued with an afternoon at the Air Force Academy. We had heard that it was very interesting and the chapel on the grounds was not to be missed. We were very impressed with the Visitor Center and the chapel, which houses sanctuaries for Protestants, (the upstairs area, and the largest), Catholics (second largest and downstairs), Jews, (smaller downstairs room), and Buddhists (another smaller downstairs room).  The grounds were also very nice, with various planes on display.

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The final stop of our “tour” was Manitou Springs. We had been told it was a great little town to explore and, aside from the rain, which spit and threatened us the whole time we were there, it did not disappoint. The day started out right, as Bill found the perfect free parking spot, right on the edge of town, about 50 feet from the “Paid parking area starts here” sign.

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Next Stop: Poudre Canyon!

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