Colorado Discoveries 50: Get Away from the Crowds with the Palmer Trail at the Garden of the Gods

04. August 2016 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 50: Get Away from the Crowds with the Palmer Trail at the Garden of the Gods · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,
The Palmer Trail at the Garden of the Gods is our family's favorite hiking spot.

The Palmer Trail at the Garden of the Gods is our family’s favorite hiking spot.

It is clear that the Garden of the Gods is among the most popular locations to visit in Colorado Springs. Trip Advisor will tell you that it’s the #1 tourist attraction in Colorado Springs, ranking higher than Pikes Peak and the U.S. Olympic Center. I even wrote about Garden of the Gods as one of my first-ever “Colorado Discoveries” posts. There are several reasons why it’s #1 for tourists: it’s centrally located in the city, it’s ADA-friendly, it’s not 14,000′ high, and there’s no cost to visit.

However, because it’s so popular, it can be very crowded. More »

Colorado Discoveries 49: Air Force Academy Graduation & Thunderbirds Airshow 2016

04. August 2016 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 49: Air Force Academy Graduation & Thunderbirds Airshow 2016 · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , ,
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AF Academy’s football stadium got a new scoreboard this past spring. It’s very nice. Each class designs a crest that is shaped for their class ring. This crest is very interesting to me because of the flames towards the bottom (this class reported during the Waldo Canyon wildfires in 2012) and the icicles at the top (they had their “Recognition” training during a blizzard in 2013).

For the 3rd year, our family was able to go the USAF Academy graduation. This year I was able to go in non-orders status, so I didn’t have to wear my uniform. However, you won’t see any pictures of me in this post.

We were especially excited this year because it’s a year that the President speaks to the graduating class. So we were able to hear President Obama give an uplifting, humorous speech to the graduates. Since this is an election year, the whole country was paying attention this speech. More »

Colorado Discoveries 48: Colorado Springs Labor Day Liftoff Balloon Festival

04. April 2016 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 48: Colorado Springs Labor Day Liftoff Balloon Festival · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,
Okay, so I was a bit of a madwoman photographing all the balloons.

Okay, so I was a bit of a madwoman photographing all the balloons.

In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t write quite as much as I used to. Blame my full time work, but you can also blame this lack of motivation issue that I have these days. After a full day of work, I tend to come home, make dinner, and then not want to do much.

This evening I was cleaning up the photos on my iPhone and realized how many things we’ve done over the past couple seasons that I have failed to share here. Those of you who follow me on Facebook have seen some of this before, but in case you just follow my blog, let’s catch up with some of the things we did. More »

Colorado Discoveries 33: American Numismatic Association Money Museum, Colorado Springs

09. May 2014 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , ,
The American Numismatic Association Money Museum is located on the campus of Colorado College near downtown Colorado Springs. Here, Timmy is looking closely at the "error notes", bills with mistakes.

The American Numismatic Association Money Museum is located on the campus of Colorado College near downtown Colorado Springs. Here, Timmy is looking closely at the “error notes”, bills with mistakes.

On a day off of school on May 1st, the boys and I took a short trip down to Colorado College near downtown Colorado Springs to visit the American Numismatic Association Money Museum. More »

Colorado Springs Sledding Fun

19. March 2014 · Comments Off on Colorado Springs Sledding Fun · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,
Despite the signs, everyone sleds! I'm sure it's the city just covering their butts.

Despite the signs, everyone sleds! I’m sure it’s the city just covering their butts. See that fence down there? OW!

I’m now officially catching up on some smaller posts I had planned to share…but then forgot.

Let’s start with some sledding the family did at the beginning of February. We went up the road to Cottonwood Creek Community Park, which has numerous gentle hills throughout.

We took our little sleds that we used at Estes Park back in November and enjoyed going up and down the hills. More »

Colorado Springs School “Choice” Drama Part 1: School in the Woods

31. January 2014 · Comments Off on Colorado Springs School “Choice” Drama Part 1: School in the Woods · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , ,
Making the right school decision in Colorado Springs can make you lose your mind.

Making the right school decision in Colorado Springs can make you lose your mind.

Earlier in January, Timmy came home from school and asked if he could apply to the “School in the Woods.”

I hadn’t really heard of “School in the Woods” (I saw a girl at the boys’ school wearing a “School in the Woods” hoodie every day and that’s it), so I had to interrogate Timmy a little more about what it was.

“It’s a school for 4th graders and you spend all your time outside studying nature.”

Hey — outside is good, right? More »

Colorado Discoveries 12: The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum

27. September 2013 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 12: The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,
The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum is in the old city hall. This museum reminded me of the Old Florida State Capitol.

The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum is in the old El Paso County Courthouse. This museum reminded me of the Old Florida State Capitol.

For a Cub Scout field trip, in mid-September our family visited the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum in the heart of downtown. The museum is free of charge (donations are always welcome), and has numerous artifacts from Colorado Springs’ past and current histories.

The interior of the museum is beautifully maintained, and most of the courthouse rooms have been repurposed into individual exhibit spaces. A couple of the rooms are still in tact as courtrooms and are used as multi-purpose auditoriums. During our visit we saw exhibits about the Waldo Canyon Fire of June 2012, the city’s Native American heritage, the history of the Colorado Springs area being used as a popular location for sanatoria, as well as a history of the city as told through photographs taken at the time.

The museum is located at 215 South Tejon St. in downtown Colorado Springs. Museum admission is free, but you have to pay to park either at the parking meters immediately surrounding the property, or else at the public parking garages nearby. Enjoy a few pictures from our visit.

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More Hiking in Colorado Springs

11. August 2013 · Comments Off on More Hiking in Colorado Springs · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , ,

There are so many places to go hiking throughout Colorado Springs. I’ve made it a point to get the kids out and about 3-4 times per week this summer. The City of Colorado Springs parks and recreation website has a great listing of area parks, which is the best starting point when planning your day.

The boys would often get tired after these hikes. Jacob has recently revealed that he can’t stand “desert walks”, which we encountered on most of these hikes. We’d quickly go from aspen-kissed creek beds to sandy junipers and pear cactus. I had found a couple memes to make fun of these hikes. Here’s one that sums up Jacob attitude about the more desolate parts of our hikes…and here’s one that sums up the bike ride we took last week (which I don’t have any pictures of, and it was quite traumatic for all…so we’ll pretend that it didn’t happen).

Enjoy some photos from some of the hikes we’ve done lately….

Pulpit Rock Open Space, near downtown Colorado Springs

Pulpit Rock is in the middle of Colorado Springs. We took a short walk around the base of the rock, it was storming around us. We didn't last long.

Pulpit Rock is in the middle of Colorado Springs. We took a short walk around the base of the rock, but it was storming around us. We didn’t last long.

More »