Detour South

Friday, July 12, 2012--Denver to Colorado Springs to Pueblo

I have friends who have a second home outside of Pueblo, CO.  They invited me to visit them starting on the 13th.  My apartment wasn't available for another night in Denver, so I decided to make a day trip of getting to Pueblo.

I drove to Colorado Springs arriving around 11:30.  I got a quick lunch, then I headed to Garden of the Gods.  It's a city park that is beautiful.  I've heard about it all my life from people who have been there, but I had never visited it during my times in Colorado Springs until today.  There are lots of trails and several very nice rocky outcroppings.  I hiked about 4 miles of trails.  It was much like hiking at Friedrich or Eisenhower Parks at home--up and down trails through the woods--but the view was so much better!!

From there, I headed downtown.  I stopped first at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.  I could get in free because of a reciprocity agreement with a museum from home.  They had some wonderful contemporary American art and a very nice exhibit of Native American crafts (headdresses, beaded items, etc.)

Next stop was the Pioneers Museum.  They remodeled their old courthouse keeping one courtroom as an exhibit and using the other courtrooms to house historical exhibits.  It was a much better museum than I expected.  There were lots of great photographs of the city and Pikes Peak.  There was a very good exhibit of local Blacks and the roles they played in desegregation.  And there was more nice Native American artwork.

After that, I walked through downtown all the way to Colorado College, a private liberal arts school that is often listed, like Trinity in San Antonio, among the best small colleges in the US.  Downtown was alive with businesses.  Among them were quite a few drinking establishments.  There was also the Peak Theater showing independent and foreign films.  The college campus was beautiful and people were arriving for a concert by the local symphony orchestra.  Unfortunately, the concert wasn't until 7:00 and people were arriving 1 1/2 hours early to picnic and visit.

By the time I got back to my car, there were dark clouds approaching.  It's probably best I didn't try to stay for the concert.  I had made a hotel reservation in Pueblo, so I drove to there.  Wind and sprinkles were beginning just as I arrived at the hotel for the night.

Steps Walked:  7800  (I think this is low; my pedometer button that resets the number may have accidentally been pushed sometime during the day.)

Miles Driven:  178  (This covers the last 6 days--when the car was mostly parked in Denver and the trip to Pueblo today.)