Things to Do in Monument/Colorado Springs

[RichardGraham]

Hey Folks,

As a result of a lucky coincidence (my sister's family going on vacation at about the same time as the NCRHA National Championship), I'll be in Monument the next 18 days.

What are some of the things to do in Monument (not much, I'm finding) and Colorado Springs? (I know about Garden of the Gods. It's awesome. See attached photograph that I shot last summer.)

And will anyone have the time and interest to drive to Aspen to see the following Neil Young exhibit at the Aspen Art Museum:

"What Would Neil Young Do?"
Aspen, CO
February 15 - April 13
Jeremy Deller: Marlon Brando, Pocahontas, and Me
American identity, history, politics, war, peace, medical innovation, information technologies, and music: Deller's multi-faceted exhibition takes as its starting point the career and interests of musician Neil Young. Among the contemporary artists included in the exhibition are: Paul Chan, Mark Dion, Peter Doig, Sam Durant, An-My Le, Dave Muller, and Sean Schneider.

Let's roll!

[5280]

Hey Folks,
What are some of the things to do in Monument (not much, I'm finding) and Colorado Springs? (I know about Garden of the Gods. It's awesome. See attached photograph that I shot last summer.)



How can you say there's not much to do in Monument? They have a WalMart now!

Seriously, Monument is a weigh station on the path from Denver to Colorado Springs. Some things worth doing/seeing in the area would include Red Rocks (Morrison), Royal Gorge (Canon City), if you have kids, North Pole Colorado (if they're open for the season yet), a trip to the mountains, like your Aspen idea, checking out the Broadmoor hotel for the Western version of elegance, and Cripple Creek for small stakes casino gambling.

[InlineMBA]

Pike's Peak Cog Railway http://cograilway.com/default.asp?utm_source=denver-%20org&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=bnr-denver-org

Steve Inge - ROXBURY 8

[Rzorbck]

Skiing or snowboarding - if you have a full day the snow is still great.

Pikes Peak COG Railway - you can't drive up right now but you can take the train. It is windy and cold up there so bring a jacket.

United States Air Force Academy

United States Olympic Training Center

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

The Broadmoor Hotel

NORAD (if you know someone important you might be able to get a tour)

Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame

IAFF Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial

There is also plenty to do in Denver, which is only about an hour away.

[RichardGraham]

Hi 5280,

Thanks for your reply.

I was being a bit facetious -- I've been hiking with Muddy, my sister's Chocolate Labrador Retriever, every day since I've been here. If I hadn't discovered Cork'n Bottle Liquor's "choose six microbrews" for $8.99, I might even be losing weight. ;)

[RichardGraham]

Hey Steve,

I did that last summer. Great trip. What I liked even better was hiking at about the 8,000-foot level last summer with my sister's dog, Muddy. Thanks for the suggestion.

[RichardGraham]

Hi Rzorbck,

Which of those things on your list is in Monument? ;)

What's worth visiting at the United States Air Force Academy? I keep hearing that, but with no specifics.

I would like to check out some of the other places on your list; maybe I can tag along with some of the folks who will be arriving early for the tournament. I'm not sure how available my sister's van will be once she and her family get back from vacation, and IHC's brain trust says that rental cars are too expensive. ;) I will pitch in for gas, however.

Thanks for the great list!

[RichardGraham]

Hey Folks,

Here's a shot of Muddy. You might meet him in Monument, though I can't get him too near the inline hockey rink because he goes nuts and barks at all the crazy people on wheeled contraptions:

http://bp3.blogger.com/_Dfn6KmFqDEA/RsQzXbKc6ZI/AAAAAAAAADU/RHNsat9ftI0/s320/Muddy+Looks+Sly,+small.jpg

[InlineMBA]

Rzorbck - Well before I saw your post I did a little research on NORAD http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norad since I'm a big fan of the flick War Games http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames .

So Richard, if you don't have an in with a friend at NORAD, you can always go to the front gate and knock.

We'll just read about you in the Colorado Springs newspaper the next day.

Steve Inge - ROXBURY 8

ps - the moral of the story is: No Tours

[RichardGraham]

Hi Steve,

You might read something BY me in one of the Colorado Springs newspapers if they'll give me a chance to write up the tournament for them -- I was here last summer and wanted to write up a USA Hockey InLine tournament, and they never even replied. And people wonder why newspapers are in trouble... (No offense, Bourque.)

As for NORAD, one of my sister's neighbors told her the other day that it had been shut down. Where would she get that impression?

[Rzorbck]

Last I checked it was just the Cork N' Bottle and the Village Inn in Monument, no cool tourist attractions. The new Walmart might have doubled the size of the town though.

At the Air Force Academy you basically have the chapel, although it is a beautiful campus right at the base of the mountains. It's pretty overcast up there today so I wouldn't head out now. The chapel used to be the most visited tourist attraction in Colorado but that may have changed after 9/11 when they tightened security.

Good luck getting something in the paper. We've tried for three years to get a little ink for the Colorado Springs Thunder and have had no luck.

[5280]

Last I checked it was just the Cork N' Bottle and the Village Inn in Monument, no cool tourist attractions. The new Walmart might have doubled the size of the town though.

Hey, there's a WalMart AND a Home Depot!

Word of warning to all, though. The Arby's in Monument has a problem. After 6 PM, it's about 50/50 as to whether they'll have any roast beef (I'm not kidding...when my kid used to play out of Soc-n-roll, excuse me, CSC, we tried about 8 times at 7 PM. They were out of RB four of them).

[indiangoalie33]

you can do the alpine slide![end sarcasm]

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

Hey, there's a WalMart AND a Home Depot!

Word of warning to all, though. The Arby's in Monument has a problem. After 6 PM, it's about 50/50 as to whether they'll have any roast beef (I'm not kidding...when my kid used to play out of Soc-n-roll, excuse me, CSC, we tried about 8 times at 7 PM. They were out of RB four of them).

Yeah, he's serious. On Saturday we were comming home from the Blizzard PIHA games and they didn't have it. We just went to the McDonalds right next to it. We also told the Manager that Arbys not having RB is like Starbucks not having coffee.