Historic Old Colorado City

Tuesday, 30 June 2015 (Part II)
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado

Mui had his heart set on having tapas for lunch, so after our hike in the Garden of the Gods (post here), we got in our car and drove the short distance to Old Colorado City (OCC).  Like so many towns in the west, OCC owes its birth to gold.  It was founded in mid-1859, shortly after prospectors were lured to the area by major gold strikes that were announced in the Pikes Peak region.  Pikes Peak or Bust was the rallying call of the day.

We had already checked the TripAdvisor comments and knew not to expect much of our visit.  Of course, if you are an art gallery browser or just like to check out the various stores lining the streets, there’s plenty of that.  And restaurants as well.

I sort of got the sense that the place comes alive later in the day.  But no matter, we were there for lunch not to sightsee … although we did stroll up and down the small historic center while we waited for the restaurant to open at 11:30a.  Since I’m not much for crowds, the quietness of the streets worked out for me.

Fun mural at the Colorado City Creamery.

Garden of the Gods … Redux

Tuesday, 30 June 2015 (Part I)
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 87F (31C) / Lo 52F (11C)

When we left the house this morning, we had no intention of going to the Garden of the Gods.  But we had to jiggle our plans a bit, so that’s where we ended up.

Falcon Trail: 13 Miles Up and Down … and a Side Trip to 1871

Saturday, 20 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 86F (30C) / Lo 63F (17C)

The morning dawned bright, with blue skies and puffy clouds, and comfortably cool temps.  The forecast was for a hot day, but by leaving early to get on one of the hiking trails here at the USAFA we figured we just might beat the worst of the heat.  Hah!  We were wrong!

For today’s hike we opted to do the Falcon Trail, a multi-use loop trail that runs entirely within the boundaries of the USAFA.  When we left the Phaeton at 7:00a, we were still debating doing just a portion of the 13-mile (21 km) trail as an in-and-out hike.  By the time we were at the trail access point five minutes later, the decision was made to hike the entire loop.  Five minutes after that we were walking, our Camelbaks heavy on our backs … the water bladder filled to the gills with the liquid refreshment we knew we would be needing for this moderate-to-difficult hike.

Driving the Pikes Peak Highway in 7 Minutes and 8 Seconds

Wednesday, 17 June 2015 (Part II)
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado

Seven minutes and eight seconds … that’s all it will take you to make the 39-mile (63 km) roundtrip drive on the Pikes Peak Highway.  Mui processed his GoPro video; cut out some scenes … added others; slowed down portions of his footage … sped up others.  Just so you can come along on this drive at warp speed.

Strap on your seatbelt and let’s go.  I don’t think you’ll need any motion sickness meds … just be warned!

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Pikes Peak: America’s Mountain

Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 80F (27C) / Lo 55F (13C)

The mountain that looms over Colorado Springs has been known by many names.

The Ute Indians referred to it as Sun Mountain because it catches the early mountain rays.  The Arapaho called it Heey-otoyoo, meaning "Long Mountain” — that’s self explanatory; just look at the photo to the right.  Then came the Spaniards in the 1700s … they named the mountain El Capitán.  In 1806, when Lt Zebulon Pike was sent to survey the lands acquired through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, he named the mountain Grand Peak … some say it was Highest Peak.  That name lasted until the first recorded ascent in 1820 when the mountain was named James Peak … in honor of the botanist who made it to the summit.  Thirty years later, the mountain was officially named Pikes Peak … the name that has lasted to our time.

A Day at Home … Fixin’ a Leak and Makin’ “Kuru Köfte”

Tuesday, 16 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 77F (25C) / Lo 53F (12C)

Sometimes you decide to stay home for one reason — in this instance, to relax and catch up on “living life on the road” type of stuff.  But today it turns out to be good for an entirely different reason that we decide to spend the day at home.

Garden of the Gods: Light Hiking

Monday, 15 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 72F (22C) / Lo 53F (12C)

A return visit to the Garden of the Gods (GotG) today proved more fruitful for our plans to hike a couple of the trails in the park.

We tried to start our day early, but “things” got in the way, and we didn’t leave the Phaeton until 7:30a.  Twenty minutes later we were turning onto the Gateway Road — the entrance into the park from 30th Street.  Having studied the map we picked up from the visitor center (V&NC) yesterday (post here), we already knew which trail we wanted to hike.  The bonus for picking a trail at the far end of GotG was that we got a sneak preview of the park by car on our way to the trailhead — which wasn’t that easy to find after all.

Garden of the Gods: Visitor & Nature Center

Sunday, 14 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 75F (24C) / Lo 46F (8C)

Made a mistake today.  Well, sort of a mistake.  You see, instead of hiking one of the trails here on the grounds of USAFA, we went to the Garden of the Gods (GotG) — a registered national natural landmark since 1971.

We went to a free park!  On a Sunday!  In the summer … when schools are out!  What were we thinking?  Apparently, we weren’t — thinking, that is.  To boot, when we arrived at the GotG V&NC, we found a long line of vehicles queued up along 30th Street, and a barrier and a police car blocking the entrance into the park.  What the heck?

America the Beautiful

Saturday, 13 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 77F (25C) / Lo 48F (9C)

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. …

Thus goes the opening stanza to one of America’s most patriotic songs — America the Beautiful … although if you’re like me, you’ll be surprised to learn that the words have changed some since Katherine Lee Bates first wrote the poem in 1893.  (All three versions are in the Wikipedia article I linked to above.)

So what does this beautiful song have to do with what we did today?  Aside from the fact, that is, that Bates was inspired to write the words after a visit to Pikes Peak, which towers over Colorado Springs (CoS) and is visible from almost everywhere you go in and around town … including USAFA (photo above)!

Welcome to USAFA

Friday, 12 June 2015
Peregrine Pines FamCamp; USAFA, Colorado Springs — Colorado
Temps: Hi 68F (20C) / Lo 56F (13C)

Get used to references to USAFA.  Why?  Because United States Air Force Academy is simply too much of a mouthful to say for the 30 days we will be here.  Actually, 25 days now, since we arrived here five days ago.

Boy, time sure flies fast.  I’ve said that before, haven’t I?  Well, it’s true and repeating it doesn’t seem to slow time down; or speed it up, for that matter.

Almost at the USAFA South Gate.  It won’t be long before we’re settled for a month!     

So, how did we get here and what have we been doing since we set up camp at USAFA?