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Leaving Salt Lake
We got up early to leave Salt Lake City. And it looks like our run of bad weather is over or perhaps we left it in the west because as soon as we started home--it got less and less congenial.
Driving down US 15 toward Provo was beautiful. I much prefer Provo to Salt Lake City, although I’m not sure why. Soon we turned east onto highway 6, which would take us to US 70 east. Highway 70 goes between the toes of some big mountains. And evidently it’s quite a wind corridor because in the crook of one of the toes were Wind-turbines.
Again we hit mountains—they come in waves…from San Francisco we crossed the Sierra Nevada’s, then the Monitor Ranges in Nevada and now the San Juan Mountains and Sange de Cristo part of the Rocky Mountains. How our foremothers’ forged over these giants by foot is beyond me.
On Highway 70 we again encountered snow at the higher elevations. As we got closer to Colorado Springs, the elevations became more undulating and the cover less dense. We arrived at our daughter’s in Colorado Springs about 8pm that evening. The kids were happy to see us.
AIR FORCE ACADEMY
Our first full day in Colorado Springs and the inclement weather had followed up on our way home; it was gray and c-c-cold. We headed out to the Air Force Academy. I don’t know how many acres the academy encompasses, but it is sizable.
The steel and glass structure of the Academy Chapel is noticeable even at a distance. As you get closer you notice the spires, there are 17 of them shooting 150 feet. They resemble 17 fighter jets soaring into the sky. The chapel architect was Walter Netsch, and it was built between 1956 – 1962.
The chapel embraces all faiths and is all-inclusive; its aim is to meet spiritual needs of all its cadets. It has separate quarters for Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist faiths, plus an all-faiths room used by Muslim cadets and available for members of other faiths.
In the main chapel a huge, suspended cross, seemingly floating in mid-air over the pulpit is the focal point. It is constructed of aluminum and also looks like a enormous sword. It’s 46 feet and 2 inches high, 12 feet wide and weighs 1,200 pounds.
The walnut and African mahogany pews can seat
1,200. They were sculptured so the end of each pew resembles a WW I airplane propeller. The backs of each pew are capped by a strip of aluminum, similar to the leading edge of a fighter aircraft wing. And at the end is a beautiful pipe organ—the biggest pipe is 32 feet high and the smallest is the size of a pencil.
GARDEN OF THE GOD – RED ROCK FORMATIONS
We spent two afternoons at this wondrous, free, attraction. The entrance is free in accordance to the wish of Charles Elliott Perkins’ children who donated the land to the city in 1909. I can’t imagine ‘owning’ such a wonder and we are all indebted to his generosity.
People have inhabited the Garden for approximately 3,000 years. During that time only minor changes have occurred. The rocks of the Garden and the tall sandstone formations provided these ancient people from the bitter winds of winter and the hot sun of summer. Garden of the Gods was a perfect place to make their homes where they would be protected from the harsh elements.
A prehistoric piece of pottery found in the Park that is very similar to relics found in the
Indian ruins near Durango, Colorado. Archaeologists estimate that the pieces of pottery were made between 900 and 975 AD and brought to the Garden by the Tribes at Mesa Verde for trading purposes.
The railroads made their way west in the early 19th century. By 1870, they were a formidable part of the settling of Colorado. General William Palmer came to Colorado Springs in 1871, while extending the rail lines of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. He encouraged his friend, Charles Elliot Perkins to build a house in the Garden of the Gods.
In 1879, Perkins purchased 240 acres, where he planned to build a summer home. In later years he purchased more property, but never built on it. His desire was for the area to remain in its natural state for the public to visit and enjoy.
Perkins planned to make arrangements for his property to become a public park. He died in 1907, never having made those arrangements. His children, knowing and respecting the wishes of their father, donated 480 acres to the City of Colorado Springs in 1909. Thank God for him and his children.
I had the pleasure of riding a horse through the area.
Ohmigosh, being on the back of a horse and seeing those formations, much like our ancestors did was awesome. I really don’t have the words to tell you the feelings these ancient rocks inspired in me. You’ll just have to look at the pictures.
MANITOU SPRINGS, CLIFF DWELLINGS
The Manitou Cliff Dwellings is a rare historical treasure. The houses are reserved under a protective red sandstone overhang, authentic Anasazi cliff dwellings, built more than 700 years ago. There are no "Do Not Touch" signs. You are free to touch and even go inside these fascinating architectural remnants of an American Indian culture. It’s a culture that roamed the Four Corners area of the Southwest from 1200 B.C. to A.D. 1300.
The Manitou Cliff Dwellings is located in Manitou Springs, Colorado, at the foot of Pikes Peak, the mountain that provided the inspiration for the writing of, America the Beautiful. Evidently, Native American Indians - descendants of the Ancient Ones - have demonstrated their living culture through traditional dances handed down from generation to generation.
Next to the cliff dwellings is a three-story Pueblo-style building that houses the Anasazi museum and a Southwestern gift shop. This structure was faithfully
designed and constructed in the architectural style of the Pueblo Indians, descendants of the Anasazi.
The Anasazi peoples did not live in the Manitou Springs area, but lived and built their cliff dwellings in the Four Corners area, several hundred miles southwest of Manitou Springs. The Manitou Cliff Dwellings were built in their present location in the early 1900s, as a tourist attraction. The building stones were taken from a collapsed Anasazi site in southwest Colorado, shipped to Manitou Springs, and assembled in their present form as Anasazi-style buildings.
Don’t be disappointed that the houses are not actual remains. They are the actual stones, carefully transported to this spot and reconstructed. And because it was reconstructed with cement instead of adobe—we can go INSIDE them. We can touch the walls and envision the folks who made those very walls so long ago. I found it fascinating.
ROYAL GORGE SUSPENSION BRIDGE
Ohmigosh, no one told me that the bottom of the bridge, the part we DRIVE ACROSS was wooden!!! Holy-heck. I could see the boards dancing under the wheels of the car in front of us. Ug.
The bridge was constructed in six months between 5 June 1929 and late
November 1929. It only cost $350,000. Can you imagine that happening today? It’d take forever and be in the billions!
The bridge wasn’t made for transportation, it was built strictly as a tourist attraction. And it worked because it’s one of the most-visited tourist attractions in Colorado.
We inched our way over the bridge in my daughters BMW—with a baby in the back. He was the only one continuing to breathe normally during our transverse. From floor of bridge to the tiny-teeny river below is 1,118 feet. I felt every inch.
After you make it across the bridge, you can relax and enjoy the look-outs and the petting zoo. If you really want to scare yourself you can get harnessed in a rubber-band thingy that will stretch-back and then propel you over the gorge. Ug—no thanks, just the ride over on the bridge was enough for me. Unfortunately, to go home, I had to go back across….
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