FYI 09/17/17

A NEWCOMER’S GUIDE TO THE PIKES PEAK REGION

GAZETTE.COM/FYI

2017 - 2018

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T H E G A Z E T T E / 2 0 17 F Y I

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS, INDEX GAZETTE LEADERSHIP PRESIDENT/ PUBLISHER Dan Steever

MARKETING MANAGER Rudy Vasquez

EDITOR Vince Bzdek

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Vicki Cederholm

VP OF ADVERTISING Wanda Artus-Cooper

VP AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Stephanie Weber

FYI CREDITS EDITOR Michelle Karas WRITERS Lance Benzel Seth Boster Kaitlin Durbin Stephanie Earls Wayne Heilman Teresa Farney Liz Forster Hugh Johnson Michelle Karas Debbie Kelley Rich Laden

Ellie Mulder Jen Mulson Linda Navarro Bill Radford Rachel Riley Jakob Rodgers Tom Roeder Chhun Sun Conrad Swanson DESIGN Nichole Montanez Stephanie Swearngin

Welcome to the Pikes Peak region, where the mountains will captivate you and the unique neighborhoods will invite you to explore.

Whether you’ve just arrived or have been here awhile, FYI is here to help you learn about your community. Read on to learn about the some of the best parts of each neighborhood, and to discover interesting places to shop, play or find a bite to eat.

We’ve outlined 20 distinct neighborhoods, each with its own character. Let The Gazette’s experts be your guide, here in the magazine or online at gazette.com/FYI. REGIONAL MAP ...........................10-11

Manitou Springs .............................16

NEIGHBORHOODS

Military .............................................. 21

Banning Lewis Ranch .......................4

North .................................................22

COVER DESIGN Nichole Montanez

Black Forest ........................................ 6

North central ................................... 22

Briargate, Pine Creek ......................7

Northwest ......................................... 24

COVER PHOTO Christian Murdock

Broadmoor ......................................... 8

Powers corridor ............................... 25

Cordera, Wolf Ranch ...................... 12

Southeast ......................................... 26

PHOTOGRAPHERS Jerilee Bennett Dougal Brownlie Christian Murdock Bill Radford Chhun Sun

Cripple Creek, Victor .................... 13

Southwest ......................................... 27

Downtown ....................................... 14

Tri-Lakes ............................................ 29

Falcon, Eastern Plains ................... 15

Ute Pass ............................................ 30

Fountain Valley ............................... 16

West side........................................... 32

Map courtesy of City of Colorado Springs

THE GAZETTE • 30 E. Pikes Peak Ave. • Suite 100 Colorado Springs, CO 80903

BANNING LEWIS RANCH

Banning Lewis Preparatory Academy first high school in the neighborhool

BY WAYNE HEILMAN

wayne.heilman@gazette.com —

The first high school in the Banning Lewis Ranch area opened Aug. 7, when the $17 million Banning Lewis Preparatory Academy, a new charter school for grades 6-12, started classes.

The school at 9433 Vista Del Pico Blvd. will serve grades 6-9 in the 2017-18 school year.

The school will add a grade level each year until this year’s GAZETTE FILE freshmen class becomes seniors The Banning Lewis Ranch neighborhood is pictured in this 2013 in 2020-21, eventually serving file photo. more than 1,000 students. The school has 460 students and a 3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: staff of 26 classroom teachers • Banning Lewis Community Center — This recreation center is for the 2017-18 school year. The operated by the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region and can only be curriculum in the new school is used by residents of the Banning Lewis Ranch Community focused on college preparation.

• Northtree Park — You’ll find an outdoor play space for the charWith the opening of the Banter school, along with soccer and baseball fields and free Wi-Fi at ning Lewis Preparatory Acadethis park. There’s also the Fit and Fun Park with outdoor exercise my, Banning Lewis Ranch Acadequipment and Chambers Park, which soon will have climbing emy will become a kindergarten rocks for all ages. through fifth grade school with • Pioneer Park — This open space is at the main entrance to 790 students and 25 teachers.

Northtree and features a Founders Walk that commemorates the Banning Lewis Preparatory first residents of Banning Lewis Ranch; their names are embedAcademy was built to accommoded on a walkway on the development’s west side. date the growth in the 25,0004 2 0 17

FYI / THE GAZETTE

BY THE NUMBERS:

25,000

Acres in Banning Lewis Ranch master plan

acre Banning Lewis Ranch area and give families with students a high school option, said Todd Morse, who heads the twoschool system.

Banning Lewis Preparatory Academy will offer a full slate of after-school activities, including band, theater, fine arts and athletics. Although all 10 Colorado High School Activities Association-sanctioned sports will be offered, the new school will not compete at the varsity level in any sport until at least the 20182019 school year.

The new school will share a site with a new Falcon School District 49 elementary school that is scheduled to open in August 2019. The $23.5 million school likely will hold about 600 students.About two-thirds of the Banning Lewis Ranch is in District 49 with the rest in Widefield School District 3.

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5

BLACK FOREST

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Bill Mantia, a volunteer project manager for Black Forest Together, trims limbs after falling a burned tree on Tuesday, May 26, 2015, as he and other volunteers build log erosion barriers for a Black Forest homeowner to slow down the flooding of Kettle Creek. Mantia lost his home and 20 acres of trees in the 2013 fire.

A ‘rural-esque’ community defined by timber

BY STEPHANIE EARLS

stephanie.earls@gazette.com —

Located in an unusually dense growth of ponderosa pine whose harvest fueled the 19th century construction and railroad-building booms in the American west, the city’s Black Forest community is one defined, in triumph and tragedy, by timber.

In the years after Gen. William Jackson Palmer established the 43,000-acre Colorado Pinery Trust in 1870, more than a dozen sawmills were in operation here, churning out the raw materials used to grow a youthful Denver and the newly-founded city of Colorado Springs, about 20 miles to the south.

By the time the area’s eponymous resource turned deadly more than a century later, the logging boom times were long gone. The 128-square mile community in unincorporated El Paso County was known not for industry but primarily as home to some 13,000 residents living a rural-esque lifestyle in suburbia’s outskirts, raising families — and maybe chickens and horses 6 2 0 17

FYI / THE GAZETTE

— on farms, ranches and large wooded lots.

On June 11, 2013, Black Forest became the epicenter of the most destructive fire in Colorado history, a blaze that in 10 days claimed two lives and destroyed more than 14,000 acres and 500 homes.

Four years later, the nonprofit Black Forest Together continues its work healing the burn-scarred terrain and its survivors, while educating residents about the steps they should take to keep such natural disasters from occurring ever again.

The group puts its mantra — “Recover, Rebuild, Restore” — into practice in a multitude of ways, providing guidance and resources on fire mitigation and cleanup as well as seedlings for replanting and other services, on a project basis, including a volunteer-operated wood chipper, donated by the Pikes Peak Chapter of the American Red Cross, to dispense with hazardous collections of slash.

Donate or get involved with ongoing recovery efforts at blackforesttogether.org.

BY THE NUMBERS:

250

Average number of pounds of honey used to make about 45 cases (500 liters) of mead.

Visit the vineyards and taste the outcome at Black Forest Meadery, 6755 Shoup Road. blackforestmeadery.com

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • Black Forest Regional Park — Surrounded by ponderosa pines with a clear view of Pikes Peak, this 385-acre park features play fields and sports courts and picnic areas.

• La Foret Conference & Retreat Center — Once a summer estate to one of Colorado Springs’ most influential founding families, the property now is now home to a faith-based nonprofit that offers space to individuals and groups seeking spiritual growth. laforet. org • Black Forest Section 16 Trail — This flat 4-mile loop through meadows and trees is popular among horse riders, and there’s plenty of room for joggers and cyclists, too.

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GAZETTE FILE

Pikes Peak Library 21c employee Karen Jenista prepares to shelve books after they have been organized.

Beyond books, it’s a ‘library of the future’

BY ELLIE MULDER

ellie.mulder@gazette.com —

A 112,000-foot former call center sat dormant for nearly a decade before it was transformed into the library of the future.

Pikes Peak Library District’s Library 21c is filled with books and research materials but also 3-D printers, gaming rooms and a television studio. It’s a hub for creatives, with two makerspaces filled with the tools to sew, build, craft, print or engrave.

“There is something for everyone, whether you want the hightech or you want the low-tech, if you like the handicraft-type activity or the computer-related stuff,” said Becca Cruz, manager of the library’s creative computer commons.

The library is a designated family place library, meaning it holds parent-child workshops and programs for children in a specially-designed space filled with toys, books and learning materials. A business and entrepreneurial center offers classes, resources and meeting spaces.

“A big part of this location is

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BY THE NUMBERS:

2

Number of Library 21c’s makerspaces — rooms that boast creative tools from 3-D printers to engravers to sewing machines.

not just being a place for books — not just being a place to get information, but a place to create information, a place to add to the community, a place to have a space to invent and start small businesses and meet with individuals and start conversations and really blossom as a community,” said Antonia Krupicka-Smith, the library’s adult services manager.

Since Library 21c opened in 2014, it has been a space to try out new ideas and services that are now being rolled out at other libraries, said Sean Anglum, spokesman for the Pikes Peak Library District.

“21st century library services are not your ‘shush’ library,” Anglum said.

Library 21c is on the north side of Colorado Springs at 1175 Chapel Hills Drive.

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3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • The Promenade Shops at Briargate — Dozens of stores and restaurants fill this upscale, open-air shopping center on Briargate Parkway, just east of Interstate 25.

• Chapel Hills Mall – This two-story shopping center features department stores — including Sears, Dillard’s and Burlington Coat Factory — as well as other shops — including H&M and Dick’s Sporting Goods — and a movie theatre.

• Pine Creek Golf Club — This public, 18-hole championship golf course was opened in 1988. The facility includes a restaurant, pro shop, putting and chipping greens and a driving range.

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T H E G A Z E T T E / 2 0 17 F Y I

7

BROADMOOR

DOUGAL BROWNLIE, THE GAZETTE

A healthy giraffe calf born the previous night at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs stands next to its mother, Msitu, and joins the herd of 16 on Wednesday, April 26, 2017. The calf is the 199th successfully born calf to the the zoo and was the second offspring for mom, Msitu, and third to be sired by dad, Khalid.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo a can’t-miss adventure

BY LINDA NAVARRO

linda.navarro@gazette.com —

A world-famous zoo on the side of a mountain? Spectacular.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo above the Broadmoor area is a can’t miss adventure. The only caution before hiking the paths to see the animals: be sure to be acclimated to the 6,800-foot elevation first.

The zoo started as the small, private, and very unusual, menagerie collected by early-day philanthropist Spencer Penrose.

No longer suited to his elegant residential area or the grounds of the Broadmoor Hotel after a monkey bit a guest and the Health Department ordered Julie Penrose’s collection of birds removed from the hotel’s Gar8 2 0 17

FYI / THE GAZETTE

BY THE NUMBERS:

24

Number of steps to climb beside Seven Falls.

den Room restaurant, the animals were moved up the mountain in 1926 and Penrose had the zoo constructed. And there it has grown and flourished.

Even today the zoo is not tax supported.

Some of the best photos are taken in The African Rift Valley exhibit where the largest zoo giraffe herd stretches over fences, reaching out long tongues to feast on lettuce hand-fed by guests. Especially delightful is new, sweet, baby Rae, a tiny reticulated giraffe, the 199th giraffe calf born at the zoo.

Close-up encounters delight in

Encounter Africa, with its sky bridge view of the city below and of the animals in the savanna setting. Elephants — including one who paints pictures — lions and their cubs and majestic black rhino Jumbe are all part of experience.

Rocky Mountain Wild residents are familiar in this part of the country but the Australia Walkabout has wallabies, gators, emu and budgies.

By Summer 2019 there will be a new state-of-the-art exhibit, Making Waves, for the zoo’s hippos, penguins, lemurs and other aquatic species.

Money from every zoo admission goes into a conservation fund for animals in the wild. For hours and schedules: cmzoo.org

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS:

• The Broadmoor — This resort, part of the earliest Colorado Springs history, has earned five-diamond ratings for more than 40 years — and rightfully so. Excellent restaurants, golf and tennis, a Forbes Five-Star spa, a wilderness retreat, fishing camp and so many other amenities.

• North Cheyenne Cañon Park — Mountain hiking, biking and equestrian trails in a beautiful area that’s home to native wildlife.

• 2018 U.S. Senior Open — For the sixth time, The Broadmoor’s East Course is the site of the USGA’s 2018 U.S. Senior Open, June 28-July 1.

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T H E G A Z E T T E / 2 0 17 F Y I

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LOCALLY OWNED SERVING COLORADO SPRINGS FOR OVER 75 YEARS

CORDERA AND WOLF RANCH

Development means more schools

BY DEBBIE KELLEY

debbie.kelley@gazette.com —

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FYI / THE GAZETTE

Cordera and Wolf Ranch, master-planned communities in northern Colorado Springs, are in the growth-spurt zone of Academy School District 20.

“It’s the area growing the most quickly, with a lot of young families moving in and an easy commute to Schriever Air Force Base, Peterson Air Force Base, Fort Carson and the Air Force Academy,” said D-20 Superintendent Mark Hatchell.

With more homes come more students. In November 2016, 60 percent of D-20 voters approved a $230 million bond authorization for multiple construction projects districtwide.

D-20 has a reputation as one of the top-performing districts in the Pikes Peak region.

A committee is studying D-20 boundary lines to determine whether changes should be made to accommodate the continual influx of students. Enrollment has grown by about 7 percent in past years and is projected to near 26,000 students this school year.

Chinook Trail Elementary School is in Cordera, with Challenger Middle School and Pine Creek High School nearby.

The Classical Academy, the largest brick-and-mortar charter school in the state, is in D-20 and operates three campuses.

The Banning-Lewis Ranch Academy, another D-20 charter school, recently expanded to

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Fourth-grader Mark Ardrey kneads bread dough.

BY THE NUMBERS

640

Enrollment at Chinook Elementary School

add a high school.

Wolf Ranch is home to Ranch Creek Elementary School. Construction on a new $21 million elementary school broke ground May 30,2017 on an 82acre site where Research Parkway will extend to Black Forest Road. The school will accommodate 600 kindergarten through fifth grade students and open in the fall of 2018. Also debuting on the site next school year will be a $12 million Innovation Learning Center that will house the district’s home school program, online education and the Challenger Learning Center, which provides space-oriented education for the community.

Construction will start in October, along with a new middle school and a permanent building for School in the Woods in Black Forest.

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS:

• Challenger Learning Center of Colorado — Created to honor the seven-member crew of Space Shuttle Challenger, the center, sponsored by Lockheed Martin, works to inspire a new generation of space explorers through science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

• Cordera’s Tom Kelly Grand Lawn — The Grand Lawn is located next to the Community Center and is themed after the book, “The Secret Garden.” The 5-plus acre park features old heirloom roses and fruit-bearing trees, a spring garden with bulbs and crabapples that bloom, and a shade garden on the backside of the pool.

• Black Forest Regional Park — This 385-acre park includes playing fields, tennis courts, a horseshoe pit, horseback riding, trails for hiking and biking, a playground and picnic pavilions.

CRIPPLE CREEK AND VICTOR

Petrified redwood stumps star attraction

BY SETH BOSTER

seth.boster@gazette.com —

Except for their size – one is 41 feet in circumference and most all stand taller than the average man – the tree stumps at the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument look unspectacular at first glance.

“White-ish, grey-ish in color,” ranger Jeff Wolin says. “You look at them, it looks like wood.

But really start looking at them, you’ll say, ‘No, that’s different.’

And that’s because it is. It’s rock.”

The massive petrified redwood stumps are what remain of an ancient forest that 35 million years ago covered this area west of Colorado Springs. Their preservation is thanks to a mud flow that buried them in the days long before the Rocky Mountains lifted. And they are the main attraction for the roughly 70,000 people who every year visit this land protected by the National Park Service.

Some of those people come from a place similarly frozen in time.

Cripple Creek and Victor are about 15 miles away on Teller County Road 1. A drive around the mines of Battle Mountain divides the sister towns, located beneath hills where splintered shafts and head frames still stand. They are reminders of the gold rush that made Cripple Creek boom to capital-like status in the late 19th century.

Victor served as camp for prospectors, including famed boxer William Harrison “Jack”

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GAZETTE FILE

The “Big Stump” is the largest redwood stump found in the Florissant Fossil Beds.

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BY THE NUMBERS:

Great selection of: Shade and Ornamental Trees Evergreen Trees • Dwarf Varieties Evergreen Shrubs Colorado Native Plants Xeriscape Plants • Perennials Ground Covers • Flowering Shrubs

10,147

The population of Cripple Creek in 1900. The last census counted 1,189.

Dempsey, whose name is inscribed on the former jail walls of City Hall. The town that once numbered in the thousands is down to about 400 people. it appears little has changed from the Wild West years. Cripple Creek, however, has transformed with the casinos lining the main street; the municipality was one of three in Colorado approved to establish legal gambling in 1991.

Located at the foot of Pikes Peak, area residents have plenty to do outside. One option allows them a stroll through deeper history.

About 15 miles of trail braid through the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument’s peaceful meadows.

Add beautiful Fall color with vibrant garden mums!

We make wreaths and garland.

Custom orders are welcome.

Visit www.HardingNursery.com for upcoming events

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • Victor Lowell Thomas Museum — Located in an 1899 building in Victor, the museum covers the history of gold mining and early society in town and contains memorabilia owned by resident Lowell Jackson Thomas, a writer and broadcaster who spent 46 years on NBC’s “Literary Digest” radio show.

• Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co. — The state’s largest operating gold mine, headquartered in downtown Victor, offers guided tours in summertime.

• Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad — This popular family attraction operated out of a restored 1894 station house in Cripple Creek takes visitors on a 4-mile trip, along reconstructed trestles, through the historic gold mining district.

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2017

T H E G A Z E T T E / 2 0 17 F Y I

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DOWNTOWN

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Museum patrons look at the work of artist Don Coen during a VIP reception on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017, for his show The Migrant Series at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.

Fine Arts Center inspires

BY JENNIFER MULSON

jen.mulson@gazette.com —

Topping the plentiful arts and culture offerings downtown is the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College. Founded in 1919, when local philanthropists Julie and Spencer Penrose established the Broadmoor Art Academy, the nonprofit organization became the FAC in 1936 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Colorado College acquired the museum in 2016. The building is home to permanent and traveling art exhibits, a theater company, 450-seat performing arts theater, music room, gift shop and the Bemis School of Art. Visitors’ attention will first be captured by the serpent-like Dale Chihuly chandelier in the lobby, commissioned in 2005 by 14 2 0 17

FYI / THE GAZETTE

the FAC, which owns three chandeliers by the famed glass artist. From there, it’s a only a few steps into the galleries. Check out “Raizes/Roots: Transformations in Brazilian Art,” a showcase of four contemporary Brazilian artists up through Nov. 15, or large-scale sculptures and installations by Maryland artist Steven Durow from Oct. 14 through Jan. 21. The major Haitian art exhibit “Loas, History and Memory” will be up Feb. 10 through May 20.

The Deco Lounge is hopping during First Friday Art Parties, whenit acts as a gallery space that showcases and sells the work of Colorado artists. Museum admission is free every third Friday monthly.

The award-winning theater department offers up varied fare, including

BY THE NUMBERS:

38

Number of art venues open to the public during First Friday Downtown.

popular Broadway musicals such as “Annie,” which runs Dec. 7 through Jan. 7, and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” from May 24 through June 17. Plays from the upcoming season include “Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery” from Oct. 5-29.

Stand-up comedians also make regular appearances at the FAC. Tom Papa, host of the hit podcast and SiriusXM show “Come to Papa” will visit Nov. 3.

The museum also offers wine tasting classes, family adventure days and special events for members, who also receive free admission to the galleries and discounted rates on show tickets.

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum — Admission is free to this downtown museum dedicated to the rich history of Colorado Springs. Included in the collection are artifacts from the Arapaho, Cheyenne and Ute cultures and Van Briggle Pottery.

• First Friday Downtown and Art on the Streets sculpture exhibit — From 5 to 8 p.m. on the first Friday of each month in downtown Colorado Springs and in Old Colorado City there are art and music events at many galleries and shops. As you make your way to various galleries, take note of the outdoor sculptures that are part of the yearlong 19th annual Art on the Streets exhibit, which celebrates the power of art in public places. All works are for sale.

• America the Beautiful Park — You’ll get a spectacular view of “purple mountain majesties,” namely Pikes Peak, from this city park named for Katharine Lee Bates’ anthem, written in 1893 while she was a Colorado College teacher. The park offers playgrounds, picnic areas, the iconic Julie Penrose Fountain and access to the Midland and Pikes Peak Greenway trails.

FALCON AND EASTERN PLAINS

Fun stop for kids, hikers, horses and fishermen

BY BILL RADFORD

bill.radford@gazette.com —

Where the prairie meets the forest lies a treat for anglers, equestrians, hikers and more.

Homestead Ranch Regional Park is a 450-acre property at the edge of Black Forest that includes a stocked, spring-fed pond; terrain ranges from rolling meadows to tree-covered bluffs. Amenities include a playground, picnic pavilions and playfield. The pond and creek in the central valley of the park attract deer, coyotes, foxes and about three-dozen types of waterfowl and birds.

There’s a water trough and hitch rack for horses; horse trailers are a common sight in the park’s parking lot.

Part of Rattlesnake Butte, a prominent landmark in eastern El Paso County, is located within the park; from it, park visitors can view the Front Range and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the distance. Hikers and equestrians can access about 3.5 miles of trail, with two loops.

The land once belonged to Charles Cheese, who homesteaded the property in 1888; his holdings grew to 2,160 acres as he purchased other homesteads. The ranch was divided among his heirs after his death in 1930; the park property was purchased from John and Gladys Person, Cheese family heirs, in 1986. Development began in the late 1990s.

The park’s address is 16444

TM

Come Shop the Difference.

BILL RADFORD

Homestead Ranch Regional Park, Falcon.

BY THE NUMBERS:

26,812

Estimated attendance at the 2017 El Paso County Fair. The fair is held each summer at the El Paso County Fair and Events Complex in Calhan. The first fair was held in 1905 as a way to celebrate a bountiful potato harvest.

Gollihar Road. From Colorado Springs, take US 24. to Elbert Road. Go north on Elbert Road, then turn right onto Sweet Road to Gollihar. Turn left on Gollihar. To see a park video, go to youtube.com/watch?v=_ObWyvlIJGo. Homestead is one of nine regional parks in El Paso County.

The newest, Falcon Regional Park, opened last year. That park is east of the Meridian Ranch Development and north of Falcon High School. A dog park is expected to open at Falcon Regional Park this fall.

Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Bath & Body Works, The Children’s Place, H & M, Motherhood Maternity, Tradehome Shoes, Zales and many more.

1710 Briargate Blvd. Colorado Springs, CO 80920 ChapelHillsMall.com

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3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • Paint Mines Interpretive Park — Hidden in a grassy basin on the eastern plains, the Paint Mines is a trove of whimsical hoodoos made from bright, sherbet-colored stone. Find it a mile south of Calhan at 29950 Paint Mines Road.

• Meadow Lake Airport — The privately owned but public-use airport off U.S. 24 in Falcon is Colorado’s largest pilot-owned airport. Look for all kinds of private aircraft taking off on the weekend.

• Antler Creek Golf Course — Opened in 2004 between the Woodmen Hills and Meridian Ranch communities, the 18-hole course measures over 8,000 yards, with wide fairways lending a view to Pikes Peak in the distance. CreekView Grill inside the golf course clubhouse is the meeting place of golfers and nongolfers alike in the community, and features a diverse menu and a bar.

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LOCAL EVENTS

2017 VACATIO N PLANNE R

AND THE

PIKES PEAK REGION

Order a FREE Visitor Guide to learn about all the great things to see and do in your new home town.

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FOUNTAIN VALLEY

MANITOU SPRINGS

Fountain Creek Nature A unique way to Center a hot spot for summit Pikes Peak ecological education

BY CHHUN SUN

chhun.sun@gazette.com —

BY RACHEL RILEY

rachel.riley@gazette.com —

At Fountain Creek Nature Center, “where there is water, there is life.” That’s the motto at the educational facility, nestled along the banks of the creek within a roughly 460-acre regional park between Colorado Springs and Fountain.

It’s a hot spot for ecological education, situated among five different habitats, each with a unique collection of flora and fauna: a creek, woods, meadows, pond and marsh.

The center hosts events yearround, including a pumpkin carving party and jack-o’-lantern trail in October, nature hikes with Santa in December and the Pikes Peak Birding and Nature Festival in May. It’s also the site of annual bird counts in the spring, fall and winter, when birders scour the surrounding areas of the park to take an inventory of the winged species nearby.

Thousands of schoolchildren visit the center each year on field trips to learn about ecological subjects, such as wetland habitats and insects. Inside, visitors can feel the pelt of a black bear or a badger and view under a microscope natural specimens, such as down feathers and turtle-shell fragments.

The nature center is just one of the Fountain Creek Regional Park’s attractions. The park also includes Willow Springs

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Pira Mijatob-Iven records spotting a flicker in the trees.

BY THE NUMBERS:

10

Approximate number of miles on the Fountain Creek Regional Trail, which runs from the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail in Colorado Springs south, through the Fountain Creek Nature Center

Ponds, opened to license fishers angling for bluegill, trout, largemouth bass, catfish and other fish. The Duckwood active play area features an array of multi-purpose fields, picnic pavilions and a play area.

The facility is part of El Paso County Community Services Department and is funded, in part, by nonprofit Friends of EPC Nature Centers. A volunteer corps of more than 70 people, who also help out at the county’s Bear Creek Nature Center, assist a handful of fulltime staff members.

The center, at 320 Pepper Grass Lane, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • Cross Creek BMX — A USABMX-sanctioned racetrack at Cross Creek Regional Park. All ages and skill levels are welcome. While you’re there, check out the 60-acre park’s pavilion, playground, athletic fields, trails and pond.

• Pikes Peak International Raceway — The raceway hosts a variety of automotive-related events and activities. The property includes oval tracks, a road course, a drifting and autocross lot and a drag strip, as well as classrooms, banquet halls and other multiuse spaces.

• The splash pad in Aga Park — This 4,000-square-foot water park at the southern end of Aga Park in Fountain includes aqua jumpers, dumping belts, a whale spray, a water tunnel and a water dome.

16 2 0 17

FYI / THE GAZETTE

There’s nothing quite like The Broadmoor Pikes Peak Cog Railway.

No other train can take visitors up a 14,115-foot mountain with one-of-a-kind views along the way, including a cascading stream, mountainous terrains, wildlife and spruce and pine trees.

And once you’re at the top, you get to explore a summit that features breathtaking vistas of nearby mountains and faraway towns and cities.

The cog railway is a popular tourist destination throughout the year — but especially during the summer, when seats on the train fill up on an almost daily basis. Last year, the railway celebrated its 125th anniversary.

Zalmon Simmons was the mastermind behind the railway. In the late 1880s, the entrepreneur from Wisconsin recognize the potential of a railway after a mule ride up Pikes Peak. So, he decided to invest more than $1 million in the railway that now serves about 2,300 passengers every day in the summer months.

What’s unique about is that the railway uses a gear — or a cog wheel — that allows the train to conquer steep grades.

A ride in the summer starts at $40 for adults and $22 for children. The trip lasts just over three hours and covers nearly 9 miles. Riders pass a forest

CHHUN SUN

At 10,012 feet, the Mountain View stop is the halfway point of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak Cog Railway.

BY THE NUMBERS:

2,300

That’s how many visitors take the cog railway in the summer months.

of trees, boulder fields, Englemann Canyon and Deer Park, where passengers occasionally catch mule deer grazing.

At 10,012 feet is the Mountain View stop, where a nearby trail leads to Barr Camp — the famous midway, resting stop before to Pikes Peak.

Once the train gets above timberline, the view becomes expansive. Passengers have spotted marmots and bighorn sheep. At this point, the possible of elevation sickness is real, so stay hydrated before and during the ride.

Once on the Pikes Peak summit, enjoy your stay. Check out the Summit House for snacks, drinks and souvenirs.

But remember, the fun’s not over.

There’s still the ride back down to Manitou Springs.

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • Cave of the Winds — Tour a cave network (some tours by flashlight or lantern light), tackle a ropes course or brave the Terror-Dactyl and Bat-A-Pult in the hills rising south of town.

• The Cliff House at Pikes Peak — This restored luxury Victorian-era hotel on Canon Avenue was built in the 1870s and is a member of Historic Hotels of America. Famous guests include Clark Gable and President Theodore Roosevelt.

• Manitou Incline — This route that begins at the end of Ruxton Avenue earned an ardent fan base long before it officially opened to the public in 2013. The grueling staircase to the sky along the remains of a turn-of-the-century funicular route gains 2,000 feet elevation in about a mile.

Alphie Hutmacher

Amber Wolcott

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Barbara Harris

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T H E G A Z E T T E / 2 0 17 F Y I

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18 2 0 17

FYI / THE GAZETTE

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T H E G A Z E T T E / 2 0 17 F Y I

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PEAK PRODUCERS is a group of professional Real

Estate Agents from multiple companies sharing a common vision.

Invitation into this group is limited to the top 10% of agents in the Pikes Peak Multiple Listing Service. Over the last eight years the group has partnered with organizations like Springs Rescue Mission, Catholic Charities, Special Kids Special Families, Partners in Housing, and Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful.

20 2 0 17

FYI / THE GAZETTE

Tamara San Agustin San Agustin Realty 719-339-8839

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MILITARY

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

A military policeman guards the first blast door leading into the bunker Friday, April 15, 2016, during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

Pikes Peak region home to military bases

BY TOM ROEDER

tom.roeder@gazette.com —

Picking a military base in the Pikes Peak region to profile is a tricky business.

There’s the biggest: 135,000-acre Fort Carson on the city’s south side. The smallest is the 5-acre Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center — an outpost tunneled beneath a half-mile of mountain granite.

The busiest place may be Peterson Air Force Base on the city’s east side which houses U.S. Northern Command, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, Air Force Space Command and Army Space and Missile Defense Command. There’s enough stars on uniform collars at Peterson to populate a mid-sized galaxy.

The most secretive of the area’s military bases is Schriever Air Force Base east of the city off Highway 94. There, airmen toil inside a prison-like double fence to run the nation’s constellation of military satellites.

But of all the bases none stands out like the Air Force Academy on the city’s north side. The academy, home to 4,000 cadets training to earn their lieutenants bars, has everything a normal base possesses: military shops, rifle ranges, an airfield, bar-

racks, chapels — the entire standard-issue kit.

But the academy is more than a base, it’s a top Colorado tourist attraction, drawing nearly 1 million visitors every year. Part of the draw is the sweeping landscape it occupies. Situated on 18,500 forested acres, the academy runs from the Eagle Peak on the edge of the Front Range to Interstate 25.

It’s home to some of America’s most striking architecture, with the soaring spires of the Cadet Chapel earning American Institute of Architect’s Twenty-five Year Award, a distinction it shares with structures including the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and New York’s Guggenheim Museum.

The academy also draws hoards of sports fans for 27 NCAA teams on campus. The Falcon football team last year earned the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy as the best American military academy on the gridiron.

To visit, head west from exit 156 off Interstate 25. A driver’s license check and a brief search at the academy’s gate gains you entrance.

Stop by the school’s visitor center on its eastern side and hike the half-mile trail for a great view of the campus.

BY THE NUMBERS:

32

Number of Global Positioning System satellites controlled by airmen in Colorado Springs.

Signals from those satellites help guide drivers, give the time for electronic financial transactions and are used to control the flow of data on the Internet. That means signals from Colorado Springs impact the lives of half the planet’s 7.4 billion people every day.

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • Architecture — The Air Force Academy is a national historic site renowned for its modernist architecture. The soaring Cadet Chapel and spired Polaris Hall have drawn design plaudits and crowds of tourists.

• No Pain No Gain — On the south side of Fort Carson is the infamous Agony Hill. This steep and winding road is a favorite marching spot for motivated sergeants who want their soldiers to see what “giving it all” means.

• America’s Bunker —The Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station is drilled into the granite of a mountain just west of Fort Carson. The underground command post was designed to withstand a nuclear blast. But don’t drive up for a look. Security is tight and signs warn visitors of the heavily-armed guards.

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NORTH

NORTH CENTRAL

College’s Rampart Range campus is 1 of 3 in Springs

BY LIZ FORSTER

liz.forster@gazette.com —

For those looking for secondary education in the health sciences, Pikes Peak Community College’s Rampart Range Campus offers an affordable and convenient experience.

PPCC has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1975, and, at the Rampart campus, offers nursing, dental assisting and other advanced science courses. Graduates report high success rates, with a 98 percent pass rate on the national nursing exam and 98 percent job placement rates in the Culinary Arts program.

The college’s foundation has doubled its fundraising size from $700,000 in 2015 to $1.4 million last year, most of which is funneled into scholarship funding. Forty-three percent of the students receive financial aid from grants or scholarships and 24 percent from federal student loans.

With an average class size of 16, PPCC strives to offer students individualized attention.

Combined with PPCC’s flexible class times and locations — including online and weekend classes — the class size is one of the reasons that PPCC awarded 3,761 degrees and certificates in the 2016-2017 academic year.

The Rampart campus at 11195

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE FILE

Patty Jewett is one of the oldest golf courses west of the Mississippi River.

THE GAZETTE FILE

Rampart Range Campus of Pikes Peak Community College off Highway 85.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1

Pikes Peak Community College offers one of only six Zoo Keeping Technology programs in the country.

Highway 83 is one of the college’s three locations in Colorado Springs. The Centennial Campus at 5675 S. Academy Blvd., is the college’s hub for career and technical degrees such as auto-tech, culinary arts and welding. For the career and technical students who graduated in 2016, 66 percent were placed in a job, and 95 percent are either employed or have continued their education.

The Downtown Studio Campus at 100 W. Pikes Peak Ave. emphasizes arts and other creative fields like dance, theatre, multimedia and graphic design.

For more information, go to www.ppcc.edu.

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS:

• Barefoot, Mary Kyeer and Angel Mist parks — Three popular neighborhood open spaces with playgrounds and areas popular with dog walkers.

• Haunted Mines — For a decade, this seasonal Halloween attraction has scared visitors at the nonprofit Western Museum of Mining and Industry on North Gate Boulevard. After being spooked by the resident ghouls, you may be surprised to learn Haunted Mines “employees” are all volunteers, and all proceeds go to keep the museum going or to charities.

• New Santa Fe Regional Trail — Popular with cyclists, runners, equestrians and fitness walkers, this 20-mile trail connects Colorado Springs to Palmer Lake. It winds through the Air Force Academy and the town of Monument.

22 2 0 17

FYI / THE GAZETTE

Patty Jewett serves as community hub

BY CONRAD SWANSON

conrad.swanson@gazette.com —

Deeded to the city by William Jewett in 1919 and named after his late wife, well over 100 years after its construction, the Patty Jewett Municipal Golf Course remains a community hub.

Built in 1898 as an 18-hole course, Patty Jewett is one of, if not the, oldest golf courses west of the Mississippi River, said Pat Gentile, the city’s Golf Division Superintendent. It’s also one of the very few to be named after a woman, he estimates.

Today the course has 27 holes.

“It’s in the middle of town, so the landscaping and everything still carries that old feeling and the clubhouse is still built that way,” Gentile said.

The course, which alternates its rounds frequently to make for new and challenging 18hole outings, also serves as a

BY THE NUMBERS:

8,000 – 10,000

The number of golf balls hit into Patty Jewett’s three lakes every year.

small wildlife refuge. It’s home to deer, coyotes and blue herons.

Patty Jewett is also a place where the community gathers.

“We have people that come to play mahjong and cards or they just come here because that’s where they meet and get with everybody,” he said.

“They’ll do some concerts with the Patty Jewett Neighborhood Association. It draws a crowd.

It’s a really good community hub for this side of town.”

And then there’s the food, which is famed throughout town, said Colorado Springs Parks Director Karen Palus.

“It’s an establishment that’s not just about golf, but it’s about community,” Palus said.

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • Pulpit Rock Park — A relatively easy hike for a fantastic view of Colorado Springs. The iconic rock formation sits east of Interstate 25 and the • Palmer Park — The city’s largest park was the gift of its founder, Gen. William Jackson Palmer. It boasts about 700 acres, dozens of miles of trails and an area for dogs to play.

• University of Colorado at Colorado Springs — This 550-acre state university campus is one of four in the University of Colorado System. It is home to about 14,000 undergraduate and students and offers 45 bachelor’s, 22 master’s and five doctoral degrees through its six colleges.

PPLD welcomes you to the Pikes Peak Region!

Pikes Peak Library District has 14 locations and mobile library service throughout El Paso County.

Pick up FREE library cards for the whole family at any PPLD library! For a complete list of locations and services, visit ppld.org.

T H E G A Z E T T E / 2 0 17 F Y I

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NORTHWEST

Blodgett Peak Open Space offers sweeping Springs views

BY LANCE BENZEL

lance.benzel@gazette.com —

Blodgett Peak Open Space offers a rare, unheralded escape – a lesser-known refuge of meandering, wooded trails and sweeping views of northern Colorado Springs.

Just be ready to bring your A-game.

Getting to the summit in this open space on the city’s northwest side requires a steep push involving a 4-mile round trip and more than 2,000 feet of vertical gain. Sketchy slopes, loose scree and way-finding on the faint, broken trail make the hike to the top a challenge even for experts.

Those looking for more adventure may elect to track down the mountain’s macabre secret. Eight hundred feet below the summit of the 9,426-foot Blodgett Peak, off the northwest ridge, lie the remains of a military cargo plane that crashed Feb. 23, 1943, en route from Pueblo to Denver, killing two – one of several fatal plane crash sites that dot Colorado Springs’ share of the Front Range.

Visiting the wreckage is possible, but should probably be reserved for advanced hikers familiar with back country navigation and wilderness first-aid.

Visitors should leave artifacts in place and take home only their impressions.

Those looking for more casual thrills will be well served by sticking to the open space’s lower reaches.

There, you’ll find better-marked trails that thread groves of Douglas fir, ponderosa pine and scrub oak.

The best of the trail network can be accessed by climbing Hummingbird Trail and following Gambel Oak Trail to the top of the ridge. Here, an informational sign about the Waldo Canyon fire will detail some of the challenges that went into restoring this land after it was blackened by flames in 2012.

Getting there: From downtown Colorado Springs, take Interstate 25 north to the Garden of the Gods exit. Exit west. Heading west, turn right at Centennial Boulevard. Head north on Centennial. After passing Vindicator Road, Centennial Boulevard will turn into Woodmen Road. Continue on Woodmen Road and find a parking area for Blodgett Peak Open Space on the left.

BY THE NUMBERS:

2

Craft breweries for post-adventure reveries. Trinity Brewing Co., which also serves food, 1466 W. Garden of the Gods Road, and Red Leg Brewing Co., 4630 Forge Road, with a rotating slate of food trucks.

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FYI / THE GAZETTE

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

A hiker walks through the frosty trees line at the head of the trail of Blodgett Peak Open Space in January.

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • Garden of the Gods Park — The name of this iconic park and National Natural Landmark will make sense once you stand in the shadows of its cathedral of red rock formations. It’s a popular place for locals and tourists to walk, run, hike, bike, horseback ride and rock climb. There are 15 miles of trails including 1.5 paved wheelchair-accessible miles. Admission is free.

• Ute Valley Park — This is an oasis of 338 acres filled with miles of trails, featuring a hogback ridge on the west side. A group called Friends of Ute Valley Park raises money to help maintain the property and completes trail and maintenance work. The main parking lot is off Vindicator Drive.

• Ormes Peak — Training to climb a fourteener? Here’s a 9,727-foot mountain that’ll challenge your legs and lungs. Up top you’ll have extensive mountain views in every direction. If a crowdfunding campaign is successful, a ski area may eventually be built on the peak.

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hugh.johnson@gazette.com —

A far cry from the retail giant and commercial thoroughfare it is now, Powers Boulevard was an empty horizon a couple decades ago..

Named for the family of former State Sen. Ray Powers, whose parents, Cora and Guy Powers, once ran a massive dairy operation on 720 acres at the heart of the project, the modern boulevard extends from the southern Black Forest area at the intersection of Interstate 25 and Interquest Parkway to Fountain, where it rejoins the interstate at Mesa Ridge Parkway.

This year saw the opening of many stores in the Powers Pointe shopping center located on Powers at Barnes Road. The shops included a Sprouts Farmers Market, a LongHorn Steakhouse, Zoe’s Kitchen and Tokyo Joe’s. Sprouts serves as anchor to the Powers Pointe corridor and is the third Sprouts to open in Colorado Springs. LongHorn Steakhouse brings another chophouse to the corridor, competing with Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse, which are farther south along Powers.

Another large construction milestone near the Powers corridor was the completion of a 124,000-square-foot King Soopers market at the intersection of Constitution Avenue and Marksheffel Road.

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Sprouts is one of the newest retailers on Powers Boulevard.

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BY THE NUMBERS:

31.3

The 2015 median age of resident of the Powers Corridor (80922, 80923 ZIP codes), per springshomes.com.

The store is nearly double the size of a standard King Soopers store in terms of square footage and provides the standard array of groceries as well as household goods, small appliances and general merchandise. The King Soopers will be a boon to those in the Cimarron Hills neighborhood which extends east of Powers toward Marksheffel.

It’s not just the northern parts of the corridor that are getting the love. Retail projects are in the works for south Powers as well. Out-of-state real estate companies are bringing a 70acre project northwest of Powers and Airport Road that will include restaurants and stores.

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3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • Sky Sox Baseball at Security Service Field — The city’s minor league baseball team is headed to Texas in 2019, but the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers continues to play out its seasonal schedule of home games to dedicated fans at the nation’s highest professional ballpark.

• New Life Church — Located on a massive campus established in the early 1990s, this evangelical mega-church draws its more than 10,000 members from as far away as Pueblo and the Denver suburbs.

• Springs Ranch Golf Club — An 18-hole public course extending over 200 scenic acres, Springs Ranch lets guests book a tee time or lesson with a pro. Show up two hours before sunset and it’s $12 to walk as many holes as you can manage.

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SOUTHEAST

Hallmark attraction in city’s southeast

BY JAKOB RODGERS

jakob.rodgers@gazette.com —

The best planes to catch at the Colorado Springs Airport rarely take off.

The National Museum of World War II Aviation is a hallmark attraction in southeast Colorado Springs, featuring dozens of aircraft that either lumbered or lit up the skies over the European and Pacific theaters more than 70 years ago.

The museum, at 755 Aviation Way, compliments the region’s rich military presence of four Air Force installations and an Army post.

It honors a time when the Air Force had yet to be conceived and pilots flew with the Army Air Corps in daring bombing runs and sorties deep over Nazi Germany and Japan, such as during the 1942 Doolittle Raid.

Included at the museum are a — SEE SOUTHEAST • PAGE 28

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FYI / THE GAZETTE

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

John Henry, museum spokesman, walk past a B-25 Mitchell plane in June 2016 at the National Museum of World War II Aviation at the Colorado Springs Airport.

SOUTHWEST

Retail booming along South Nevada Ave.

BY RICH LADEN

rich.laden@gazette.com —

Colorado Springs’ southwest side is known for its variety of neighborhoods, parks and recreational opportunities.

Now, it’s getting more retail.

City officials and a trio of real estate development groups have launched a makeover of portions of Nevada Avenue and Tejon Street south of downtown.

In late 2015, the Colorado Springs City Council declared about 100 acres along South Nevada and South Tejon, between Interstate 25 and East Cheyenne Road, as an urban renewal district.

The area is known for its 1950s-era hotels, pawn shops and cluttered look and feel.

One of the first projects now under construction, which will be easily accessible for southwest side residents: The Broad— SEE SOUTHWEST • PAGE 28

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Developers have purchased several parcels, and plan to bring new restaurants, stores, apartments and the like to the area on South Nevada Avenue.

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27

SOUTHEAST

SOUTHWEST

FROM PAGE 26

FROM PAGE 27

—

rare twin-engined P-38 Lightning fighter, a Grumman HU16 Albatross, a Grumman F3F2 fighter and a disassembled P-47 Thunderbolt fighter. They are spread among 3,000 artifacts and historical documents at the museum. And the facility includes several 1940s-era military vehicles, including a M2A1 Half-track and a M3A1 Scout Car. The museum typifies a time of growth at the Colorado Springs Airport — a key economic driver for the city’s southeast side. The airport gained momentum with Frontier Airlines having resumed local service in April 2016. The Denver-based, low-fare carrier operates nonstop flights to eight cities and will add Fort Myers and Tampa, Fla., in Oc-

—

tober.

The airport also operates a business park that houses offices for defense contractors Aerospace Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. and a military terminal used for troop deployments.

The airport’s west side has been in an expansion mode for several years following the approval of tax breaks for businesses operating there by the Colorado Springs City Council, the El Paso County commissioners and the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority.

To learn more about the National Museum of World War II Aviation, visit www.worldwariiaviation.org.

— Gazette reporter Wayne Heilman contributed.

moor Shoppes on South Nevada, southwest of Nevada and Navajo Street. It will include Natural Grocers, Chick-fil-A and fast-casual restaurants Zoes Kitchen and Mad Greens.

Several buildings — including the Chief Motel, Stardust Lodge and Gray’s Tire & Auto — already have been razed to make way for the Broadmoor Shoppes.

Additional development paralleling South Tejon, west of Nevada, is expected to include a hotel, an 8,000 to 9,000-squarefoot retail building and apartments and townhomes. Prime 25, an upscale restaurant, opened early this year in a remodeled building along South Tejon.

Those projects, along with

future redevelopment efforts along the Nevada and Tejon corridors, follow the rehabilitation of the former Ivywild Elementary School into a mixed-use commercial center.

Bristol Brewing, a bakery and deli are among businesses at the school.

Retail projects that already serve the southwest side include the Broadmoor Towne Center, the Southern Cross Shopping Center, Cheyenne Plaza and the Cheyenne Mountain Center.

The new retail, restaurant and commercial projects along South Nevada and South Tejon will be within a short drive of Ivywild, Skyway, Gold Hill Mesa and Broadmoor Bluffs, among other neighborhoods.

BY THE NUMBERS:

BY THE NUMBERS:

Number of passengers that departed the Colorado Springs Airport during the first six months of 2017.

The number of visits (punches on a punchcard) it will take to earn an anniversary bumper sticker at Starsmore Visitor and Nature Center in 2017.

363,028

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • Colorado Springs Airport — The 275,000-square-foot, 12-gate facility opened in 1994. The concourses are easy to navigate — the furthest gate is less than 1,000 feet walking distance from ticket counters or baggage carousel. Free shuttle service in short- and long-term parking is a bonus for travelers.

• Leon Young Sports Complex — The complex named after Colorado Springs’ only African-American mayor offers eight baseball/softball fields and a playground.

• El Pomar Youth Sports Park — The park includes 18 playing fields on 58 acres, with nine baseball/softball fields, eight natural grass soccer/lacrosse fields, one championship artificial turf field, batting cages, inline hockey rink, concession area and trailhead to the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail.

25

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • North Cheyenne Cañon Park — Amenities include Helen Hunt Falls, Silver Cascade Falls, the White Fir Botanical Reserve and the Starsmore Visitor and Nature Center.

• Cheyenne Mountain State Park — This 2,701-acre Colorado state park that opened in October 2006 includes 21 miles of trails, an archery range and campgrounds. To preserve the ecosystem, no dogs are allowed. A day pass is $7 per vehicle.

• Section 16/Palmer Trail Loop — This 6-mile popular trail south of Manitou Springs and southwest of Old Colorado City offers great views of Garden of the Gods, Red Rock Canyon Open Space and Pike National Forest. You’ll gain 1,678 feet, including a challenging climb if you hike counter-clockwise.

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TRI-LAKES

THE GAZETTE FILE

Morgan Gainer, 16, of Monument models boots and a handbag from Saboz, a ladies’ accessories store on North Tejon Street in Colorado Springs, during a fashion show at the Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts in Palmer Lake.

Center a unique stop for cultural events

BY TERESA FARNEY

teresa.farney@gazette.com —

The Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts in Palmer Lake is a place to find exhibits by local and internationally known artists, concerts by the likes of Judy Collins, Colin Hay and Paula Cole, lectures, dances, art classes and fundraisers.

Built in 1898, the historic building could probably tell some interesting stories if only walls could talk. It was originally the Thomas A. Hanks Livery Stable and Transfer Service,

BY THE NUMBERS:

41

Number of restaurants currently serving the Tri-Lakes area

the first livery stable. Through the years the building was used for other businesses. In 1957 it became an Angora rabbit wool processing plant, owned by Charles Orr. The Denver Rio Grande Railroad used the south end of the building to repair train cars. At one point Trailways bus company used it as a bus stop. In 1969 the building

was purchased by Fred Walker, who used it to pursue his hobby of restoring Kaiser and Frazer cars.

In the summer of 1998, local artists got together to create an arts center in the building.

In 1999 the organization was granted nonprofit status with the mission to nurture emerging artists, demonstrate cultural creativity, and promote the fine arts and humanities in the TriLakes area and beyond.

For the past two decades, the center has hosted exhibits, con-

certs, benefits, children’s events, lectures, theater, demonstrations, receptions, classes, workshops and community events. In 2017, seven resident artists are featured at the center including: Laura Maddox, Ronny Walker, Gregory Hoff, Debi Story Maddox, Maria Rae Miles, Rikki Stiltner, and Randy Elliot Hull.

The center is at 304 S. Colorado 105. Hours are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

— SEE TRI-LAKES PAGE 33

T H E G A Z E T T E / 2 0 17 F Y I

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UTE PASS

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Internationally known artist Bruce Munro’s installation art project “Field of Light” lit up the night at the 2017 Green Box Arts Festival in Green Mountain Falls on a hill near the center of town.

Festival makes town a summer arts mecca

BY MICHELLE KARAS

michelle.karas@gazette.com —

The picturesque town of Green Mountain Falls, about 11 miles west of Colorado Springs, wows lovers of arts and culture with its summertime Green Box Arts Festival.

The unique cultural celebration was started in 2009 by Christopher Kirkpatrick Keesee, a New York City-based philanthropist and chairman of Kirkpatrick Bank and Kirkpatrick Oil & Gas Co., and Larry Keigwin, a choreographer and artistic director of Keigwin + Co. The festival dates to times when professional artistic companies such as the Metropolitan Opera and ballet troupes would perform on the road in the summer.

What began as an artist-in-residency program featuring Keigwin’s troupe blossomed after residents expressed interest.

The event now attracts up to 1,000 people and has broadened to include music, the culinary arts and classes and activities, including yoga, stargazing, conversations with artists, wine tasting and bingo.

“Every year it is an artist-in-residency 30 2 0 17

FYI / THE GAZETTE

program, a place for artists to come and create works of art in the atmosphere of the beauty of Green Mountain Falls,” said Rachel Shortt, festival marketing director.

This summer, the festival forged a relationship with the Manitou Springs School District 14, offering children’s art classes that were fully integrated into the district’s summer classes.

Big names in the 2017 festival included Houston’s METdance, performing pieces by nationally known choreographers, including Camille Brown’s 2005 “New Second Line.” Denver’s vintage jazz band Joe Smith and the Spicy Pickles provided music.

The 2017 artist-in-residence is Bruce Munro, an internationally known installation artist from England. He illuminated the night sky with two light-filled pieces: “Field of Light” in Flagpole Park and “Tepees” on Mountain Road Corner. These are free to see and are lighted nightly from dusk to 10 p.m. through September.

More information can be found at greenboxarts.org.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1

Number of Big Foot Crossing signs on Pikes Peak Highway. The sign marks the approximate location where a visitor spotted a Big Foot-like creature in 2001.

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS: • The Catamount Trail — This trail scales the steep mountain south of Green Mountain Falls, taking trekkers through the Garden of Eden and into the Pikes Peak’s North Slope Recreation Area.

• Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center — If you’re a dinosaur nut, you’ll especially enjoy this museum’s educational displays and skeletons of reptiles, pterosaurs and fish of North America’s Cretaceous period.

• Mueller State Park — Head south out of Divide on Colorado 67 a few miles to get to this beautiful park. Mueller has hiking, camping, a nature center and is one of the most popular Teller County stops during the fall to see the golden aspen. A day pass costs $7 per vehicle.

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WEST SIDE

THE GAZETTE FILE

Gen. William Jackson Palmer’s castle, Glen Eyrie, in Colorado Springs. Palmer built the castle in 1904 for his wife, “Queen” Palmer.

Enjoy high tea or an overnight at castle

BY KAITLIN DURBIN

kaitlin.durbin@gazette.com —

Glen Eyrie is a place of peace and serenity.

Nestled at the base of the Queen’s Canyon, near Garden of the Gods, the historic castle and stunning grounds are where locals and visitors come to retreat, recenter and reconnect with loved ones and with their creator.

It was built by Colorado Springs founder Gen. William Jackson Palmer in 1904 for his young wife, Mary Lincoln “Queen”

Mellen Palmer, and stays true to its origins: love and commitment.

Since 1953 it has housed the ministry The Navigators, and continues to provide Christ-centered service, hospitality and opportunities for growth in marriage and in faith through a number of intimate retreats.

Glen Eyrie’s beauty and spiritual heritage is promised to “create a uniquely sacred environment that opens the heart, mind, and

soul to moments of reflection, discovery, heartening change, and genuine personal transformation,” bringing guests “closer to what truly matters in life,” according to its website.

The English Tudor-style castle and adjacent 700 acres are open to the public for historical tours, elegant teas and overnight stays.

— SEE CASTLE • PAGE 32

WHAT IF I

GOT LOST?

LICENSING MAKES REUNIONS POSSIBLE License your pet today — ask your veterinarian or log on to licenseapet.org/ale 32 2 0 17

FYI / THE GAZETTE

ANIMAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

FROM PAGE 33

—

Visitors are invited to walk the trails shared with herds of wild Bighorn sheep and explore Garden of the Gods’ towering red, pink and white sandstone rock formations. Morning and afternoon guests are encouraged to sip tea and nibble decadent finger foods at one of the regularly scheduled events. Overnight guests can view the night sky from one of the AsIAN luxuriously decorated rooms inside the century-old Castle.

With over 16,500 square feet of meeting space, Glen Eyrie also can accommodate conferences, special events and other parties up to 200 people.

AsIAN Don’t miss the annual Madrigal Banquet — a festive celebration of the coming Christmas season set in the 16th century-style Great Hall, complete with entertainment and a four-course meal. It runs Thursdays-Saturdays during the holiday season. Tickets cost $112-$122.

AsIAN

AsIAN

Shinji’S SuShi bar

AsIAN

BY THE NUMBERS:

24

THE GAZETTE FILE

6552 s. AcAdemy Blvd. • 576-8855 A small, consistent sushi bar. ........................................................................... $

4331 N. AcAdemy Blvd. • 593-1800 One of the original Japanese restaurants in Colorado Springs.............$$

Shinji’S SuShi bar

Suehiro japaneSe reSTauranT

562 w. colorAdo highwAy 105, moNumeNt • 488-9898 The new Thai hot spot in Monument.............................................................. $

5670 N. AcAdemy Blvd. • 594-9343 • BestsilverPoNdchiNese.com This regular Best of the Springs winner goes beyond standard dishes. We especially like the scallion pancakes. .................$$★

Silver ponD ChineSe reSTauranT

INGREDIENTS Shin Sa Dong Korean CuiSine

Shangrila reSTauranT

The best Vietnamese egg rolls in town...................................................... $★

INGREDIENTS

308 s. eighth st. • 475-0669 Fabulous one-man-band of a sushi bar, now doing all-you-can-eat and ramen.......................................................................................................$$★

3845 e. Pikes PeAk Ave. • 638-2695 Authentic Korean food in a casual atmosphere. The soups are terrific... $

8850 N. uNioN Blvd. • 495-1738 UNDER THE RADAR • Shangrila exhibits little gourmet or fusion ambition; it serves Chinese standards done very well.

Love the crab rangoon. .................................................................$

1107 s. NevAdA Ave. • 634-4270 Strong Chinese offerings, including great sesame chicken and Mongolian beef. ........................................................................................... $

WITH THE SAME OLD

WITH THE SAME OLD

TRI-LAKES INGREDIENTS

Shinji’S SuShi bar

The entryway of the Glen Eyrie castle remains much Saigon SpringS Saigon SpringS 3408 N. AcAdemy Blvd. •General 597-1175 the same as it was when Palmer lived there.

3408 N. AcAdemy Blvd. • 597-1175

The number of fireplaces in the 67-room English Tudor-style castle.

• The Michael Garman Museum and Gallery — Works by the prolific sculptor Michael Garman feature golfers, firefighters, Western figures and the military.

The gallery includes Magic Town, 1/6-scale miniaturized artful dioramas of city life.

• Bear Creek Regional Park — The 545-acre park offers pavilions, playing fields, tennis courts, playgrounds, archery range, horseshoe pit and volleyball and basketball courts. There are 10 miles of trails.

• Red Rock Canyon Open Space — The 789-acre city park in the foothills off U.S. 24 features canyons, ridges and views of Garden of the Gods and the city and an extensive trail system.

The best Vietnamese egg rolls in town...................................................... $★

San Chang houSe

3659 AustiN Bluffs PArkwAy, suite 45 • 598-1707

San Chang houSe

An old school Korean restaurant with good beef short ribs. .............. $★

Shinji’S 3659 AustiN Bluffs PArkwAy, suite 45 • 598-1707 Shinji’S Tofu grill SuShi bar line. SuShi bar through Seoul Fe Railway It passes the An old school Korean restaurant with good beef short ribs. .............. $★ 296 s. AcAdemy Blvd. • 550-2000 • seoultofugrill.com Saigon SpringS

eastern edge3408ofN. AcAdemy the Air AcadeUNDER THE RADAR • With its authentic Korean and Blvd.Force • 597-1175

California Koreatown recipes, Seoul offers mild and spicy,

$★ my campus. The best Vietnamese egg rolls in town......................................................

WITH THE SAME OLD familiar and exotic, bargains and extravagances................. $$

INGREDIENTSINGREDIENTS

SuShi ai

—

SpiCy baSil

FROM PAGE 29

Shinji’S SuShi bar

Seoul Tofu grill Saigon SpringS Saigon San Chang houSe • Monument Lake —SpringS The reservoir is 3659 AustiN Bluffs PArkwAy, suite 45 • 598-1707 3408 N. AcAdemy Blvd. • 597-11753408 N. AcAdemy Blvd.

• 597-1175 296 s.

AcAdemy Blvd. • 550-2000 • seoultofugrill.com ChineSe reSTauranT less than ainhalf-mile from An old school Korean restaurant good beef short ribs. 2 .............. ★ The best Vietnamese egg rolls town...................................................... $town...................................................... ★ Shanghai The best Vietnamese egg rolls Monument. in with $$★ WITH THE SAME OLD 821 cheyeNNe meAdows roAd •UNDER 540-8288 WITH THE SAME OLD THE RADAR • With its authentic Korean and shANghAi2chiNeserestAurANt.com Fishing is plentiful here, with •anglers 3 THINGS NOT TO San Chang houSe California Koreatown recipes, Seoul offers mild and spicy, San Chang houSe Specializing in egg fu yung and other Chinese specialties. ...................... $ Seoul Tofu grill 3659 AustiN Bluffs PArkwAy, suite 45 • 598-1707 reeling in rainbow trout, sucker, 3659 AustiN Bluffs PArkwAy, suite 45 • 598-1707 296 s.

AcAdemy Blvd.

• 550-2000 • seoultofugrill.com MISS: familiar and exotic, bargains and extravagances................. $$ An old school Korean restaurant with beef short ribs. .............. with $•★ UNDER THE RADAR With its authentic and $★ An good old school Korean restaurant good beef shortKorean ribs. Cafe ..............

Shanghai brown trout, catfish and Smallmouth California Koreatown recipes, offers Ave. mild •and spicy, 1107Seoul s. NevAdA 634-4270 familiar and exotic, bargains and extravagances................. $$ bass.

• New Santa Fe Regional Trail —This Strong Chinese offerings, including great sesame chicken Seoul Tofu grillSeoul Tofu grill and Mongolian beef. ........................................................................................... $ 296 s. AcAdemy Blvd. theDeer #1•With550-2000 Place trail is a hit with runners, hikers, bik- Voted • King’s Golf296• seoultofugrill.com Club —Blvd.

The regulas. AcAdemy • 550-2000 • seoultofugrill.com Shanghai 2 ChineSe reSTauranT 2 RADAR ChineSe reSTauranT UNDER THE RADAR •Shanghai its authentic and • With its authentic UNDERKorean THE Korean and 821 cheyeNNe meAdows roAd • 540-8288 821 meAdows roAd • 540-8288 ers and families with its scenic views, tion 18-hole championship golf course CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE Koreatown recipes, Seoul offers mild and spicy,recipes, Seoul California Koreatown offers mildcheyeNNe and spicy, reSTauranT to eatCalifornia with your family • shANghAi2chiNeserestAurANt.com Shangrila •8850 shANghAi2chiNeserestAurANt.com familiar and exotic, bargains and extravagances ................. $$ and extravagances exotic, bargains ................. $$$• 495-1738 N. ...................... uNioN Blvd.

Specializing in 7,400 egg and fu yung and other Chinese wildlife sightings and geological opened in 1999.

Atfamiliar feet, it’sspecialties. the Tyler Woolley, left, and Jim Kallemeyn check their time UNDER THE RADAR • Shangrila exhibits gourmet and or Specializing in egg fulittleyung other Chinese specialties....................... $ features. A portion of the trail follows highest elevation course on the Front the closed section of the New Santa Fe fusion ambition; it after serves Chinesereaching standards done very well.

Shanghai Cafe Shanghai 2 ChineSe reSTauranT Shanghai ChineSe reSTauranT Love the crab rangoon. .................................................................$ 1107 s. NevAdA Ave. •2 634-4270 the old Atchison, Topeka and Santa Range.

Regional Trail on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016.

821 cheyeNNe meAdows roAd • 540-8288 821 cheyeNNe roAd • 540-8288 Strong Chinese meAdows offerings, including great sesame chicken • shANghAi2chiNeserestAurANt.com

Pizza Shanghai Cafe Voted the #1 Place Shin Sa Dong Korean CuiSine to eat with yourShanghai family Pasta Cafe Shanghai Cafe Voted the #1 Place Shinji’S SuShi bar Pizza Voted the #1Voted Place the #1 Placesalad ColoradoShuttle.com toeateat with your family to with your family Shangrila reSTauranT to eat with your family Shangrila reSTauranT Shangrila reSTauranT Pasta SilverALL ponD ChineSeDAY, reSTauranT EVERY DAY Pizza Pizzasandwiches Pizza saladShin Sa Dong Korean Dong Korean CuiSine SpiCy baSil TO Pasta Pasta soupShin SaCuiSine sandwiches Shin Sa Dong Korean CuiSine Shinji’S SuShi bar Shinji’S SuShi barSuehiro japaneSe reSTauranT Pasta salad salad soup2910 E. Platte • 473-5540 SuShi ai Silver ponD ChineSe reSTauranT Silver ponD ChineSe reSTauranT Shinji’S SuShi bar sandwiches sandwiches salad 719-687-3456 2910 E. Platte • 473-5540 ★ soup soupSpiCy baSil SpiCy baSil •and shANghAi2chiNeserestAurANt.com Mongolian beef. ........................................................................................... $ Specializing in egg fu yung and other Chinese specialties. ...................... $ Chinese specialties....................... $ Specializing in egg fu yung and other

1107 s. NevAdA Ave. • 634-4270

3845 e. Pikes PeAk Ave. • 638-2695 Shangrila reSTauranT Strong Chinese including great sesame chicken Authentic Korean food in a casual atmosphere.offerings, The soups are terrific ... $

THE GAZETTE

2910 E. Platte • 473-5540

8850 N. uNioN Blvd. • 495-1738 1107 s. NevAdA Ave. • 634-4270 1107 s. NevAdA Ave. • 634-4270 UNDER THE RADAR • Shangrila exhibits little gourmet or Strong Chinese offerings, includingStrong great sesame chicken Chinese sesame chicken fusionofferings, ambition;including it servesgreat and Mongolian beef. ........................................................................................... $Chinese standards done very well.$ and Mongolian beef. ...........................................................................................

Love the crab rangoon. .................................................................$ 308 s. eighth st. • 475-0669

Pizza Pasta salad sandwiches soup

and Mongolian beef. ........................................................................................... $

Fabulous one-man-band of a sushi bar, now doing all-you-can-eat

and ramen.......................................................................................................$$★ Shin Sa Dong Korean CuiSine

8850 N. uNioN Blvd. •3845 495-1738 8850 N. uNioN • 495-1738 e. Pikes PeAk Ave. • Blvd.

638-2695

8850 N. uNioN Blvd. • 495-1738

UNDER THE RADAR •Authentic ShangrilaKorean exhibits little or UNDER THE • Shangrila exhibits little or food in gourmet aRADAR casual atmosphere.

The soups aregourmet terrific... $ 5670 N. standards AcAdemydone Blvd.very • 594-9343 • BestsilverPoNdchiNese.com fusion ambition; it serves Chinese standards done very well. Chinese fusion ambition; it serves well. UNDER THE RADAR • Shangrila Love the crab rangoon. .................................................................$ Love the crab rangoon. .................................................................$ This regular Best of the Springs winner goes beyond fusion ambition; it serves Chinese standard dishes.

We especially like the scallion pancakes. .................$$★ 308 s. eighth st. • 475-0669

exhibits little gourmet or standards done very well.

Love the crab rangoon. .................................................................$

/

Shinji’S SuShi bar

2012 DINING GUIDE

Fabulous one-man-band of a sushi bar, now doing all-you-can-eat and ramen.......................................................................................................$$★ 3845 e. Pikes PeAk Ave. • 638-2695 3845 e. Pikes PeAk Ave. • 638-2695 562 w. colorAdo highwAy 105, moNumeNt • 488-9898

Silver ponD ChineSe reSTauranT

Authentic Korean food in a casual atmosphere.

The soups $ The newThe Authentic Korean foodare in aterrific casual...atmosphere. are terrific ... $ ............................................................. $ Thaisoups hot spot in Monument.

5670 N. AcAdemy Blvd. • 594-9343 • BestsilverPoNdchiNese.com This regular Best of the Springs winner goes beyond standard dishes. We especially like the scallion pancakes. .................$$★

3845 Pikes PeAk Ave. • 638-2695 308 s. eighth st. • 475-0669 4331 N. AcAdemy Blvd.e.

• 593-1800 Fabulous one-man-band of a sushi Fabulous bar, now doing all-you-can-eat one-man-band of a sushi bar,One nowofdoing all-you-can-eat the original Japanese restaurants in Colorado Authentic Korean foodSprings in .............$$ a casual atmosphere. and ramen.......................................................................................................$$ ★ and ramen.......................................................................................................$$★ 308 s. eighth st. • 475-0669

SpiCy baSil

fargospizza.com

562 w. colorAdo highwAy 105, moNumeNt • 488-9898 The new Thai hot spot in Monument.............................................................. $

DIA

The soups are terrific... $

6552 s. AcAdemy Blvd. • 576-8855 5670 N. AcAdemy Blvd. • 594-9343 • BestsilverPoNdchiNese.com 5670 N. AcAdemy Blvd. • 594-9343 • BestsilverPoNdchiNese.com

consistent sushi bar. ........................................................................... $ Suehiro japaneSeA small, reSTauranT

regularDINING Best of theGUIDE Springs winner goes beyond 308 This Best ofBlvd. the Springs winner goes beyond 4331 N. AcAdemy • 593-1800 / This2012 / regular THE GAZETTE

/

2012 DINING GUIDE

s. eighth st. • 475-0669 Fabulous one-man-band of a sushi bar, now doing all-you-can-eat and ramen.......................................................................................................$$

standard dishes. We especially like standard the scallion pancakes. .................$$ WeJapanese especially like ★ the scallion pancakes. .................$$ ★ One of thedishes. original restaurants in Colorado Springs .............$$

SuShi ai

28

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Voted the #1 Place to eat with your family

Shanghai Cafe

Specializing in egg fu yung and other Chinese specialties....................... $

CASTLE

3 THINGS NOT TO MISS:

562 w. colorAdo highwAy 105, moNumeNt • 488-9898 6552w.s.colorAdo AcAdemy Blvd.

• 576-8855 562 highwAy 105, moNumeNt • 488-9898 The new Thai hot spot in Monument. $............................................................. $$ A ............................................................. small, sushi ...........................................................................

The newconsistent Thai hot spot in bar.

Monument.

THE GAZETTE

T H E G A Z E T T E / 2 0 17 F Y I

33

AROUND THE PIKES PEAK REGION

PHOTOS BY CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Concertgoers play in the Julie Penrose Fountain during the Gettinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Down Downtown Summer Concert Series in on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at America the Beautiful Park in Colorado Springs.

Pretty as a picture

Leslie McWilliams of Colorado Springs rides through tall sunflowers Wednesday, July 29, 2015 in Red Rock Canyon Open Space.

34 2 0 17

FYI / THE GAZETTE

The sun shines through the Joelly balloon on Monday, Sept.

5, 2016, during the Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off in Memorial Park.

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