There is Something Special About the Air Here | US Air Force C131D 'Samaritan' |
Colorado Springs truly boasts 300 days of sunshine a year, but there is much more about the air here. At an altitude of 6,000 to 6,200+ feet, The Springs, as many call it, is fully a thousand feet higher than Denver. The air is bright, clear, clean & pure, without Denver's smog. The altitude is high enough so that the copious winter snows are powder dry.
Get acclimated to the thin air. Do not exert yourself like going jogging shortly after arrival. That mistake has caused near-collapse of heathy people & a trip to the Emergency Rooms. I speak from experience. Years ago, I played two sets of tennis the day after arriving in the Mile High city of Denver, Colorado. For the rest of the day, I could hardly lift my cooling lemonade glass, or get out of a lawn chair. Dead tired, my face an ashen gray pallor. The Springs is even higher in altitude, so take it easy before exercise.
Colorado Springs boasts a young, vibrant population in a rapidly growing city having good educational facilities & a large, varied military population. The US Air Force sited their Academy here. Good flying weather for initial flight training was a big factor. NORAD (North American Air Defense (Command)) is here too, with its space surveillance mission, but the US Air Force has just announced (Sept. 15) that NORAD will be moved to California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, leaving its underground Cheyenne Mountain site. 140 staff members will make the move. The USAF's Peterson Air Force Base shares City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport runways, & will remain. The US Army has long had a base, Fort Carson, near here, too.
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado College, US Olympic Training Complex, World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, Museum of the American Cowboy & Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame attract the young & healthy athletic & academic-minded. The collection of academia also built a high-tech industrial complex offering science & engineering jobs. The National Institute of Standards & Technology & the National Center for Atmospheric Research, both in Boulder, Colorado have spawned many technical support companies located in The Springs.
Colorado is our most mountainous state, with 50 peaks over 12,000 feet. Magnificent on the western horizon, the reddish granite hulk of 14,110 foot Pikes Peak dominates the city, & can be viewed from anywhere. The alpine atmosphere long ago attracted German & Austrian people who felt at home on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. German restaurants with their typical dishes are a result. Miss Berlin of 1946 settled here, opening a German restaurant. Berliners would call the air 'Die Luft!'. The Flying W Ranch offers groups a true chuckwagon cowboy dining experience after roping & cattle roundup demonstrations.
There is the magnificent Garden of the Gods, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, World Arena, Sky Sox Stadium, Penrose Stadium, a Cog Railway at nearby Manitou Springs, Miramont Castle, Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun & Seven Falls. The Broadmoor Hotel resort & restaurant is world famous & offers haute cuisine.
Colorado Springs was originally settled by successful silver & gold miners who built palatial stone mansions with their wealth for their wives & families. Take a winter evening slow driving tour north from downtown up Cascade Avenue to see these holiday decorated architectural masterpieces. Under the bower of large branching trees in softly falling snow it is indeed a magical sight. Much to see & do here for people of all ages & interests. Many year-around flowing creeks traverse the city-Cripple Creek, Monument, Fountain, Cheyenne, Sutherland & Bear Creeks all seem to converge on the city. Hiking paths abound. Try a glider soaring experience!
There are shoppers out there that make any vacation trip a buyer's paradise. So, head for the Chapel Hills Mall near the Academy off Interstate 25 & Academy Boulevard; it has something for everyone, including restaurants & discos. Farther down Academy Boulevard, Highway 83, is the Citadel Mall east of downtown if you want to shop 'til you drop! |
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