Colorado Springs!

The sights of Colorado Springs.  Wow!  There was so much to see and explore in a 30 mile range. 
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Of course, we didn't see it all but we had fun riding the cog railway up Pike's Peak, enjoying the vibrant colors in the Garden of the Gods, and admiring the structure of the chapel at the Air Force Academy.  Plus some bonuses:  Uncle Wilber's Fountain, the concern for health care in Colorado and experiencing urban flash floods!
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PIKE'S PEAK COG RAILWAY
.Pike's Peak is a rocky old hill.  Not too beautiful to look at. 

Found out we didn't even take a picture of it...it was that boring. 

Google for an image of it and you'll always see it with at least a dusting of snow. 

BUT the views from the cog railway and on top are spectacular. 

On the ride, we went through several different eco-zones and saw little flowers trying to get a strong-hold in the rocky soil.  Saw marmots and elk. 

The cog railway has been running since 1891 and stopping since then too.  Good thing!!

The train climbs over 7500' in 8 miles to the top of Pike's Peak: 14,115 feet.  That's almost as tall as our glacier and snow-covered Mt. Rainier in Washington.

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GARDEN OF THE GODS

Garden of the Gods is a city park.

What a treat for the city residents. 

Lots of trails in and around the beautiful rock formations. 

Even better are the number of rock formations that are outside the park and are on private property.  I would just love to have one of these in my back yard.

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

We visited the grounds of the United States Air Force Academy. 

Learned about their students and their studies and toured their famous chapel.

The stained glass inside was awesome.

.UNCLE WILBER'S FOUNTAIN

At a children's spray play fountain, we came to see Uncle Wilber.

The artist who created the fountain with over 200 jets added in his uncle playing the sousaphone and a dog circling above his head all powered by water pressure.  Uncle Wilber stays hidden until it's time for him to play.  Then the music starts and the blue bubble rises.  Fun!
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HEALTH CONCERNS

It seems that in every block, there is a business concerned for my health.  The names of all the businesses sound very upfront but it's the stamped marijuana leaf on the signs that suggested to me that perhaps these shops were not much different than the 60's "head" shops.
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URBAN FLASH FLOODING

As we were almost being pushed by the wave generated by the truck to our left during a big rainstorm we coined the phrase "Urban Flash Flooding".  Found out that this is not a new term.  Just new for us.  It was quite an experience to have a thunderstorm pass over and to find that all the water running down the hilly streets just gathered in the intersections. 
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By the way, this part of Colorado is greener than the western side.