| “Nowadays, our traffic is about 70% convention traffic, particularly now that Broadmoor Hall is open,” said Scott, referring to the 60,000 square foot ballroom that opened last October.
About cost: Rack rates are pricey, but if you go online to broadmoor.com, you can find all sorts of golf and spa packages that make the price more than reasonable. We went on a Spring Break package and found that costs were not much more than staying at a mid-priced business hotel. Paul’s Rating: Far Über. Reservations contact: (866) 837-9520 or www.broadmoor.com. Attractions:
Your first stop before even traveling to the Pikes Peak Region is to check out pikes-peak.com. This Website has a great amount of visitor information and a way you can order a guide to the area. Paul and I ordered ours in advance and made a “battle plan” so to speak of all the places we wanted to go.
These were some top attractions we highly recommend because they’re both interesting to adults and kids alike. Most of these places require some walking, so if you aren’t acclimated to being at over 6,000 altitude, take it slow the first day, drink plenty of fluids (avoid alcohol) and wear your sunscreen (I came home with a tan!).
Cave of the Winds: The oldest attraction in the region celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2006. There are two tours to choose from, but the easiest route is the Discovery Tour. It takes about 45 minutes to complete. The price is $16.00 for adults and $8.00 for kids 6 to 15. Kids 5 and under are free. Paul’s Rating: Über. Contact: (719) 685-5444 or www.caveofthewinds.com. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo: Spencer Penrose, who built The Broadmoor, was quite a character. Making his millions in the mining business, he also was an avid hunter and collector of animals. He wound up with such a menagerie that in 1926 he built his own zoo.
Still privately operated, the zoo’s African Rift Valley exhibit has the world’s largest collection of giraffes, with a display set up so you can feed them. The colobus monkeys are really a treat to watch from their three-story observation tower. There’s also a baby male lowland gorilla to view with his handlers.
Included in the price of admission is the ability to visit the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun, Penrose’s towering edifice encompassing his tomb as well as spectacular views of the region. It’s a about a 10-minute drive up the side of the mountain from the zoo to the shrine. The price is $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for kids. Paul’s Rating: Way cool. “Especially the monkeys. Little kids will really get into feeding the giraffes, but then just about any animal lover would.” Contact: (719) 633-9925 or www.cmzoo.org.
Garden of the Gods: A visit here is perhaps the best way to either begin or end a day in the region since sunrise or sunset brings out the colors of these amazing rock formations in spectacular form. The visitors’ center offers a quick history and geology summary, finishing up with a bit on Katherine Lee Bates, who toured Pikes Peak in 1893. So moved by what she saw she composed the poem that later became known as America the Beautiful. If this doesn’t put a lump in your throat, not much else will.
This summer, check out, “Pike’s Pack.” Presented daily at 11 a.m. at the visitors’ center you get a good view of what Pike carried in his backpack. Paul’s rating: Pretty cool. The show is just $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for kids under 12. Contact: (800) 874-4515 or www.gardenofgods.com.
Historic Manitou Springs: Those who enjoy the taste appreciate Manitou Springs’ drinking water. The springs provide the focal point for the Manitou Ave. commercial district, an interesting collection of shops and restaurants. The community obviously delights in artisan creations and there galleries and studios abound.
We made just a quick pull-off into downtown and wished we could have stayed a little longer just for sightseeing. Some of the shops we peeked into were a little kitschy for our tastes but we figured we were guys and didn’t know any of this stuff anyway, but thought this had high chick appeal, so it was worth mentioning if guys wanted to go play golf and their ladies wanted to go shopping. The people watching is also interesting. Paul’s Rating: Cool, if you just want a nice stretch or a walk. Call (800) 609-9983 or www.manitousprings.org.
Manitou Cliff Dwellings: Anasazi Indian culture is explored in this area of ruins built into red rock cliffs. You’ll climb around these ruins and see a couple of museums with artifacts of this ancient civilization. There is some climbing of steps to get to some of the better parts of the ruins, so make sure you’re acclimated to altitude first.
Admission is $8.50 for adults and $6.50 for children. Paul’s rating: Über if you have little kids. “They’ll really use up a lot of pent-up in-the-car energy climbing around here. Older kids may find it lame. ” Contact: (719) 685-5242 or www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com
Pikes Peak: There are three ways to ascend to the summit of “America’s Mountain.” Climb, Drive or Ride. You can climb by foot or bike, drive by car or ride the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. Owned by The Broadmoor, the cog railway is perhaps the easiest way to ascend. From a comfortable railcar, you’ll really take in the sights and have the time to view the wildlife. Paul’s rating: Super Über.
The drive is a 19-mile trip up the mountain. At the six-mile mark is Crystal Reservoir. Midway is Glen Cove. A stop here helps you acclimate. At the Summit House, enjoy some great photo opportunities and the chance to buy some High Altitude Donuts. A trip on the Cog Railway includes two donuts with your fare.
The Cog Railway run from April through December and reservations are strongly recommended. Prices range from $19.50 to $31.00 per person depending on ages and the size of the group you are traveling with. Paul’s rating: Über. “Especially since Uncle Larry isn’t driving.” Contact: For Pikes Peak (800) 318-9595 or www.pikespeakcolorado.com. For the Cog Railway (719) 685-5401 or cograilway.com.
Seven Falls: Seven separate falls plunge 181 feet down a sheer granite cliff. There are all sorts of wildlife that can be sighted. The best view of the falls is from the “Eagles Nest” observation deck accessible via an elevator built into the mountain. It was constructed in the mid-1960s by the same team of engineers that hollowed out the nearby Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Better known as NORAD.)
Check out the falls in the evening, when a light show offers a cool view of the falls and granite walls. Daytime admission is $8.75 for adults; kids 6 to 15 are $5.50. Tack on $1.00 to $2.00 if you show up later in the day for admission to the night show. Paul’s Rating: Cool. “Not something you see every day.” Contact (719) 632-0765 or www.sevenfalls.com.
U.S. Air Force Academy Visitors Center: The U.S. Air Force Academy is a point of pride to many Coloradoans and is the state’s most visited man-made attraction. The visitors’ center offers a short film on academy life. Then, make you way to a parking lot leading to a one-third mile trail to the famous 17-spired Cadet Chapel, considered by many architects as one of the greatest buildings of the 20th Century.
There’s an overlook attached to the chapel where you can view cadets in formation on the Honor Court when they’re on campus. The snappiest you can see cadets is moving into Mitchell Hall, the cadet dining hall, prior to lunchtime. If you are retired military, you can have freer access to the academy grounds. Still, Paul’s Rating: Mega Über. “If you can’t be proud to be an American here, where can you be?” Call the visitors center at 719-333-2025 to find out about those times or visit www.usafa.af.mil.
Sports Halls of Fame
The Region is home to three sports halls of fame: The U.S, Olympic Training Center and Hall of Fame, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy and the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and Museum.
In sports, somebody has to be first. In the case of these three venues, nothing could top the ProRodeo Hall.
The ProRodeo Hall trip begins with the viewing of two short films, one on the history of the sport, the next about the modern rodeo cowboy. You then enter the museum, which is loaded with artifacts.
Then comes the enshrinement area, where the stars of the sport are showcased along with some of their favorite personal memorabilia. From cowboys like Casey Tibbs, Jim Shoulders, Larry Mahan and Dee Pickett to animals like Midnight the bull to Scamper the barrel horse, they’re all there.
Admission is $6.00 for adults, $5.00 for seniors and for kids 6 to 12. Paul’s Rating: Cool, close to Über. “I like extreme sports. Rodeo’s close, so this gets you into the idea that bull riding has the wild elements of skate and snowboarding.” Contact (719) 528-4764 or www.prorodeohalloffame.com
U.S. Olympic Training Center and Hall of Fame: Free public tours of the headquarters of the U.S. Olympic Committee are conducted on a year-round basis by USOC Ambassadors. The tour includes a 12-minute film and 45-minute walking tour of the complex. Nearly 70% of the tour is out-of-doors.
During the tour, you’ll have the opportunity to view athlete training facilities including Sport Center Gymnasiums, weightlifting and wrestling facilities (We caught a session of a camp for promising high school freestyle wrestlers who were getting training during their spring break.), the USA Shooting Center, Coaching & Sport Science, the Aquatics Center, Sport Medicine, and the flume.
In a circular room of the main visitors center is the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. The names and photos of the enshrined are placed on Lucite panels. Unlike the ProRodeo hall, there were no extensive descriptions of their accomplishments, giving equal footing to Jesse Owens as Mary Lou Retton.
Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Paul’s Rating: OK. “This wasn’t great, but while on our tour, we learned that Olympic short track speed skating champion Apolo Anton Ohno resides at the center while in training at the World Arena. This offset any semblance of lameness the Hall of Fame may have given off.”
World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and Museum: Tucked away on a side street just east of The Broadmoor are the offices of U.S. Figure Skating and the adjoining Hall of Fame and Museum. It’s a small building, but one that holds some pretty neat artifacts of the sport.
You’ll find ancient skates and period costumes. The waiter’s jacket Dick Button wore to two Olympic gold medals is there along with the little lilac number Sarah Hughes wore in her upset win at Salt Lake City in 2002.
The enshrinement area, sadly to say, wouldn’t cut as a display at many high schools. A poster is tacked onto a board attached to large document holder. It’s not fitting for champions like Torvill and Dean to look like part of a junior high science fair exhibit.
That said, we found out on our visit to the Springs that the Skating Hall has had lots of management problems over the years.
In the last 18 months, a full-time board of trustees has just been appointed for the first time. Favorite skaters like Button, Dean, and Scott Hamilton are a part of the board and have named a new executive to run it. In turn, a curator from the Smithsonian Institution has been brought in to make it a more fitting place of enshrinement.
Admission is $3.00 for adults and $2.00 for seniors and kids 6 to 12. Paul’s Rating: Lame. “They told us to come back in five years and see some changes. It was kinda interesting to see those skating dresses. Those girls are small.” Contact: (719) 635-5200 or www.worldskatingmuseum.com
Interesting Surprises
Driving around the area we found a couple of neat things worth a quick stop-in.
Dr. Lester L. Williams Fire Museum: We were driving down Printers Parkway in Colorado Springs late one afternoon and stumbled upon this museum located in the training complex of the Colorado Springs Fire Department.
Dr. Williams was a “fire buff,” taking pictures of fires, collecting memorabilia and becoming department physician. He also was a researcher, becoming one the nation’s chief proponents of the use by firefighters of self-contained breathing apparatus.
The museum contains Dr. Williams’ collection along with CSFD’s extensive collection of restored fire wagons. Paul’s Rating: Über. “This was a nice surprise.” Contact (719) 385-5950 or www.fire-museum.com.
Flying W Chuckwagon Suppers and Stage Show: The Flying W Ranch, located north of the Garden of the Gods, was closed on our latest trip, but will reopen the Friday of Memorial Day weekend with its nightly barbeque suppers followed by a western stage show. Paul and I have both been here before, recommend it and therefore mention it here. Paul’s rating: Cool. “The food’s the best.” Contact (800) 232-FLYW or www.flyingw.com.
Pike Bicentennial Events:
July should be peak time for Pike events. Notable among them is the July 15 opening of a 1906 Centennial Time Capsule and the closing of the Bicentennial Time Capsule at Antlers Park in downtown Colorado Springs and a display of original Pike documents from the National Archives. Lots of other events, including, academic lectures, symposia, and concerts, are planned. Visit the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, where an exhibit “Pikes Peak in the Popular Imagination,” opens May 20. Contact (719) 385-5990 or cspm.org.
Larry Dreiling can be reached by phone at 785-628-1117 or by e-mail at ldreiling@aol.com. | 
