Blogs from Manitou Springs, Colorado, United States, North America

Tuesday morning we returned to Manitou Springs to see the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings. The cliff dwellings were moved to this alcove location in Manitou Springs from McElmo Canyon in 1907. (There is continued dispute about how accurate the reconstruction is, but if one is not going to Mesa Verde, this is a good alternative.) The dwellings are very interesting to visit and they do give one an idea of how the Pueblo peoples lived in the 12th century. They are fairly well interpreted. In addition, there are beds of plants used by the Pueblos and other Native Americans placed around the dwellings and these are excellently interpreted. Down from the cliff dwellings are a gift shop and museum building. The museum has a number of displays on Pueblo daily life and material culture. The museum ... read more

We have gone to Colorado Springs, Colorado numerous times. I love the mountains and the great landscaping it offers. There is no shortage of fun activities either or the cultural diversity. However, this last time we went we were invited to go spend some time in Manitou Springs. This is a lesser known area but has plenty to offer! We enjoyed hiking the trails and took some amazing pictures. Some of them look like they could be postcards. We went to a dinner theater with amazing food and plenty of singing and dancing. I loved the way they pulled people from the audience to be part of what they were doing on stage. I didn’t want to go up there but sure did enjoy the look of excitement on the faces of others as they did ... read more

Monday, 23 June, 2014 We left Mesa Verde, driving east on Hwy 160, passing through beautifully green valleys on our way to Durango. After all the desert we've seen, it's nice to see lots of green again, even if only for a few miles. It became dry again past Durango. The traffic was heavy at Pagosa Springs, which is a touristy town with hot springs and other resortish offerings. Then we started climbing, gradually at first, but with steeper going the last 8 miles before reaching Wolf Creek Pass at 10,856'. At times we had difficulty maintaining 30 mph, but it was much easier going down the other side (imagine that.) At the Great Sand Dunes National Park we discovered their campgrounds were all full, so we drove back 8 miles to San Luis State Park, ... read more

NOTE: To enlarge any picture, click on the picture. Day 3 - Monday Aug 20th, 2012 We got up early and checked out of the motel. When I started the car, the brake light was not light however there was another light lit up on the dashboard. I didn’t know what it meant so got out the owner’s manual to look it up. The light wasn’t listed. Since it wasn’t listed I didn’t think it was anything serious however I was concerned because I knew once we were in Wyoming we would not be close to any Hertz dealers. We left the motel and went to Denny’s for breakfast. After breakfast we headed back to downtown Manitou Springs to the Pikes Peak Cog Train station. We had reservation on the 9:20 train. It has been at ... read more

Today I drove up to Cave of the Winds and enjoyed the view from their deck. There was a great view of William's Canyon and Manitou in the distance.... read more