Blogs from Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, North America - page 13

Monday. Colorado Springs, Colorado. After a leisurely breakfast and conversation at a Dunkin Donuts with a nice mountain view, the sight-seeing began. First stop was Manitou Springs which is a hippie enclave at the base of Pikes Peak. We did a little walking, a little window-shopping, and a little relaxing in this nice little park with a stream running through it and lots of shade! To illustrate how friendly the people in Colorado truly are, a man with very few teeth added an offer of nose candy to the usual greeting in passing. Needless to say, we declined and took the long way out of the park to avoid him and his "wife." It's really quite hilly in the mountains... we walked up a stairway that looked like it might lead to a little path (but ... read more

So today is Monday. Its snowing and Im a damn ice cube. This is exactly why I hate Colorado. The state just doesnt give me a break! LOL! Anyways, got in yesterday morning at around 1100 on the Medevac from Scott AFB, IL... That was the longest short flight ever. It would normally take around 1 hour but it took about 2.5 hours because its the slow C130! Oh and the climate sucked too! It was very very very cold at first then it turned into hell then hell froze over for about an hour then hell opened its damn doors again and finally froze over for one last time! We landed and I didnt even realize it! I was very upset when I got off the plane to find out how friggin cold it was/is ... read more

After spending most of my time hiking in northern areas of the state, I finally decided it was time to venture south and visit some places outside of Colorado Springs. Waldo Canyon is a relatively easy 7 mile hike just outside of Manitou Springs (essentially a suburb of Colorado Springs). Interestingly, this hike is considered the most popular in all of the Pike National Forest, which extends from the Mt. Evans area all the way south to Pikes Peak. The trailhead is easy to find (its just off US 24 outside of Manitou Springs) and it provides a nice taste of the varied terrain in the mountains above the Springs. From the highest points of the trail above the canyon, you get nice views of Pikes Peak and Cheyenne Mountain, as well as unique-looking cliffs ... read more

Everyone except the bro had a lazy start to today. Once I finally got moving (oh, around noon) there wasn’t much downtime. The sis-in-law and I hit the town to do a little shopping, with a 3pm deadline so that I could get back down to Pueblo to visit my friend (and actually talk to her this time). Really, it was just supposed to be some dog treats and some road food. Right. After agonizing over the right selection of birthday treats and a surprise accessory for the b’day pup (bright pink leopard skin collar that the bro already vetoed!), we headed back across town to the Super Target. I love Target. We spent way too much time in the $1 Spot. I found argyle flip-flops an inflatable pillow for camping and some Napoleon Dynamite wristbands ... read more

The big question of Day 3 - will a butter rum muffin make me fail a breathalyzer? I figured no, enjoyed the tasty treat, said my goodbyes and headed on to what I expected to be one of the top 3 most boring drives of the trip - Kansas. I really hope it's in the top 3, b/c I don't think I can handle more than 3 of these!! It didn't start out too bad. Actually, it reminded me a bit of the southern English countryside, except way more expansive. A lot of green, rolling hills with the occasional scattered rocks. Then I drove into a bit of a storm. After the storm I realized I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Well, I was...but not the version I had been in before! It got all flat and ... read more