Colorado Springs - 2012

The Air Force Academy is both a military organization and a university. Much of the Academy is set up like most other Air Force bases, particularly the 10th Air Base Wing, but the superintendent, commandant, dean of faculty and cadet wing are set up in a manner resembling a civilian university.

Cripple Creek played an integral role in the rich heritage of Colorado. The first homesteaders arrived here in the mid-1800s. In 1890, a ranch hand named Bob Womack discovered gold and Cripple Creek changed forever. By 1900, more than 50,000 people called the gold camp home. When the golden era ended in 1918, more than $300 million in gold had been mined in what would be the last great gold rush in North America. By the 1920s, only about 40 mines remained.

Garden of the Gods is an outstanding illustration of the lithologic character of sedimentary rocks, and of the vertical forces that produced the front range of the Rocky Mountains. Located within Garden of the Gods Park, the site contains the uncommon honey ant, and is one of the best sites in Colorado for observing white-throated swifts, swallows, and canyon wrens.

The Manitou Cliff Dwellings is a rare historical treasure. Preserved under a protective red sandstone overhang, cliff dwellings over 800 years old await you here. You are encouraged to explore the dwellings room by room using a self-guided tour. These fascinating architectural remnants are from an American Indian culture that roamed the Four Corners area of the Southwest from 1200 B.C. to 1300 A.D.

The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine is a historic vertical shaft mine near Cripple Creek, Colorado. The mine shaft descends 1,000 feet into the mountain, a depth roughly equal to the height of the Empire State Building in New York City. The mine currently gives tours.

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers are two campuses created by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Lake Placid, New York.

Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. The ultra-prominent 14,115-foot fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, 12 miles west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town of Manitou Springs lies at its base.

The Royal Gorge is a canyon of the Arkansas River located west of Cañon City, Colorado. The canyon begins at the mouth of Grape Creek, about 2 mi west of central Cañon City, and continues in a west-northwesterly direction for approximately 6 mi until ending near U.S. Route 50.

The Broadmoor Seven Falls is a series of seven cascading waterfalls of South Cheyenne Creek in South Cheyenne Cañon, Colorado Springs, Colorado. It has been a privately-owned tourist attraction since it was opened in the early 1880s.