Devastating flash flood in Manitou Springs

Photo by Michael Ciaglo, the Gazette.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know how much I love Manitou Springs, the little town adjacent to Colorado Springs' west side. Manitou experienced a devastating flash flood on Friday evening. I was stranded at my photography studio in the Old North End around 5:30pm by a violent thunderstorm, and it was more than half an hour before the storm let up enough for me to make a dash for my car. Unfortunately, just a little to the southwest of me, Manitou was having it far worse. Manitou basically sits at the bottom of Ute Pass -- the foothills of Pikes Peak. Because of the enormous scorched area in the foothills left by the Waldo Canyon fire last June, there is no vegetation to prevent a massive flood if Mother Nature were to dump a large storm on us. And dump she did. All that water and all that ash quickly turned into a violent flash flood, completely overrunning Fountain Creek with churning black sludge in a matter of minutes. Anyone and anything in its path was doomed. The photo above, taken yesterday morning, gives you an idea of the aftermath. I'll link to a couple more images below (all from the Gazette.com), and if you want to see more, click HERE. As far as I know, there is one confirmed death and three people have been reported missing. It's tragic.

Photo by Michael Ciaglo, the Gazette.

Photo by Michael Ciaglo, the Gazette.  This photo was clearly taken from right in front of the historic Cliff House, where I shoot many weddings. This is very upsetting.

And for a truly terrifying look at what it's like to be caught in a flood like this, watch this video: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=198131633688835&set=o.147277778656245&type=2&theater  This was shot just up the street from my friend Lorelei's house. Lorelei reported today that her basement is literally full of mud, almost to the ceiling, and there is a giant tree lying uprooted in her front yard.


I have many friends in Manitou. Everyone is devastated, but they are rallying together to clean up and put things back to normal. Yesterday, hordes of volunteers came together and shoveled mud for hours. So much progress was made, it was very heartening for us all. I'd like to share my friend Noel's Facebook update from yesterday afternoon. He had spent all day helping to dig our beloved, historic Manitou Penny Arcade out from under tons of mud. Here is what he had to say:

I just got home from shoveling mud with about 400 other fellow Manitoids/Manitou lovers who made their way down to Adams and the Penny Arcade. I stayed three hours, but there were people who'd been there since well before dawn. I shoveled next to a big guy with a back brace in obvious pain who confessed he'd had 3 backsurgeries and was on morphine. He handed out water when he couldn't handle the pain any more. We moved arcade rides and games and shoveled the muck that had collected beneath them into a mountain range in the center of the walkways so the front loader could drive in and scoop it up. By about noon, there were so many people with shovels that people came with wheelbarrows because the front loader couldn't keep up. Alan, the owner of the Penny Arcade showed up, looked me in the eye and said: "I told you I didn't need your help!" He's my favorite curmudgeon. When Ursen was a little boy we'd stand around complaining about anything and everything while he slipped quarters into Ursen's hands. He'd always talk about how he was going to shut the arcade down. When I saw him last night and the arcade and boardwalk were covered in mud he looked particularly despondent as he swept sludge out the horse race room (always my favorite!). "Living the dream," he said. Then he leaned on the broom and said, "Maybe I'll just shut it down for the summer." I've heard these threats from Alan a dozen times, but I wouldn't have been surprised if he was serious this time, and maybe he is.

I shoveled with an ex-military covered in patriotic tattoos—an American flag with stripes that turned into bombs at the end and a "Valhalla" on his left chest; I shoveled with counsellors from Summit ministries, hippies, next-door neighbors, co-workers, city councilperson and Pikes Peak marathoner Matt Carpenter (who said, by the way, that short of putting in a dam at The Narrows in Williams Canyon, that this is probably the new normal). No one really seemed to need to be told what to do. There weren't any "leaders" that I could discern other than someone occasionally calling out for more shovels in one place or another. Some people brought food around, tuna on crackers, sandwiches. I ran into Chuck Murphy who owns the Spa Building. He was in a button up shirt and khakis splattered with mud. "Only in Manitou," he said, looking around at the dozens of volunteers sweeping mud off the patio of Adams into the creek. While I don't agree that Manitou has some special corner on community spirit, I was particularly taken with how many people had anarchically self-organized. People had just shown up and everyone worked together without a lot of talking or direction and no one was trying to be a hero.


I saw Farley at Adams. She seemed stalwart, bolstered by the myriad volunteers. Apparently, a neighbor who'd arrived early told me, people had left the restaurant in such a hurry when the flood sirens went off last night that there were still unfinished meals and drinks on the tables this morning.


As I was leaving, almost all the mud had been removed from the arcade. I ran into Mike, the manager, and told him to tell Alan I said goodbye. He said that Alan had been so moved by all the volunteers that he couldn't speak.


I am not surprised at how quickly our community came together in this crisis. We saw the same spirit last year during the Waldo Canyon fire, and again only a few weeks ago when the Black Forest fire destroyed over 500 homes on the east side of our city. We have had it rough here the last couple of years, but we are resilient.

My heart is aching for all the damage done to all the many little restaurants, bars, hotels and shops that I've known and loved in Manitou over the years, some of them owned by friends of mine. I couldn't get to sleep last night. Seeing the photos and videos on the news, and reading all the shocked and devastated Facebook updates from my many friends who live in Manitou Springs... it was so upsetting. It has proven to me more than ever how much my heart is tied to the Pikes Peak region and my city.

Manitou Springs

My brother Chuck and I took a little drive through Manitou Springs on Sunday to see if there was anything photo-worthy going on. Manitou is a little town directly west of Colorado Springs -- there is no separation between the cities, you just drive under an arch and you're in Manitou. You'd think that, since the two cities are literally side by side, there would be no real difference between the two, but that's not the case. Manitou has a certain ultra-liberal, "anything goes" vibe that isn't as prevalent in Colorado Springs! Its residents, affectionately known as "Manitoids", are sometimes characterized as hippies and bikers but it's actually very diverse (there are plenty of "yuppies" there too!), which is great. There is even a witch coven in Manitou. This little town celebrates its funkiness with events such as the annual coffin race around Halloween, the annual fruitcake toss (post Christmas), old-time melodramas and stage shows, many different art fairs, shops and galleries, and myriad tourist attractions.

During the winter months things get noticeably quieter in Manitou. This photo is of the town clock right in the heart of downtown. I like this particular angle on the clock with the church in the background. Except for the road sign, it almost looks like it was taken in England. Very Charles Dickens!

Manitou Springs update

Dear readers, I apologize for the long gap between posts! I had planned on sharing these photos a couple of weeks ago, but my job got a little crazy and I didn't have any free time at all. (For those of you who don't know, I'm a professional wedding and portrait photographer, and this time of year is very busy for me.)  Also, I took a quick little vacation to southern California to visit friends last week, so trying to get all my work done before I left, then getting caught up when I got back (not to mention shooting a big wedding in Fort Collins), well... let's just say it's been a little frantic over here!  But it's all good now, and I can finally post these pictures of Manitou Springs that I took a couple of weeks after the big flood of August 9th. (Click HERE to read about that.)

Thankfully, there hasn't been a huge amount of rain since the flood, although there have been a couple of uncomfortably close calls.  Manitou is still cleaning up the mess, so cross your fingers and hope that we can get through to the winter with mild weather and no major thunderstorms. As you can see, evidence of the flood is still everywhere, although everyone's open for business, so please do visit Manitou and do some shopping or dining if you're in the area!

Normally tame, Fountain Creek raged over its banks in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately it runs right through the main drag. Anything in its path was immediately flooded.

Canon Avenue was hard hit. All the businesses on this stretch of the road were inundated.

But as you can see, thanks to the countless volunteers who pitched in to clean up, everyone was back in business as quickly as they could muster!

The entrance to beloved local artist Charles Rockey's studio and storefront. I was devastated when I heard how badly he was flooded. I love his art. It's beautiful.

The Dulcimer Shop, owned by the family of my friend Bud. The basement, where all of their woodworking tools and equipment are located, was badly flooded.

Sandbags are everywhere you look.

I really hope that the town of Manitou can (QUICKLY) come up with a way to mitigate flash floods so that this doesn't happen again. I would hate to see my friends go through another event such as this.

The Lonely Manitou Indian

Manitou Springs is known for its natural mineral springs (surprise!). Several of them are still active around town, and if you've ever sampled the water, you know it's very distinctive tasting. On and off over the last century, there have been attempts to bottle and sell Manitou's mineral water. Case in point is this guy, more or less known as the "Manitou Indian", who lives in front of the building at the west edge of town where the water was once bottled. I've blogged about him before (HERE). Water used to flow from the jug in his hands, but for some years now he's just been crouching there silently, waiting for the next entrepreneur to come along and peddle Manitou's famous natural resource. In the meantime, it looks like the building remains empty -- or maybe not, since it's now posted "Private Property", with signs warning of security cameras. It's entirely possible that it now houses a marijuana growing operation, which, as you know, is legal here. Who knows? I'm glad the old Indian is still there, even though he looks a little glum these days!

The Manitou Indian

Did you ever wonder why so many Colorado cities have the word springs in their name? There's Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Pagosa Springs... it's because of the water! Manitou Springs once had a thriving economy based on the natural mineral springs that the Indians considered sacred. This sculpture of an Indian sits outside the building on the west end of town that was once a bottling plant for Manitou Water. I see the flow of water has ceased flowing from the vessel in his hands, and the building is long-abandoned. But Manitou has a wealth of active little fountains scattered here and there, so if you want to sample its famous water all you have to do is take a little stroll around its picturesque downtown.

The Royal Tavern in Manitou Springs

I took this photo last month while shooting a wedding -- this was actually a test shot to gauge the lighting for some bride and groom portraits (for the curious, the wedding can be seen HERE). The Royal Tavern is right on Manitou's main drag, Manitou Avenue, in the heart of their tiny downtown. When I was in college I always wanted to go there, drawn as I am to dive bars, but was too chicken because there were always tons of Harley Davidsons parked outside. At the time, Manitou was a little less yuppified and a little more biker-fied ;o) Now lots of people seem to hang out at the Royal Tavern; its tough biker reputation has mellowed a bit over the years. Maybe I'll go and check it out one of these days.

Massive flooding in Colorado

Lyons, Colorado, September 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

I suppose by now you've watched the footage on the news and seen the grim photos online. Large swaths of northern and eastern Colorado have been completely, utterly devastated by flooding of biblical proportions. We've literally had seven straight days of heavy rain, and it only let up this morning. President Obama has declared Colorado a disaster area.  I'm in it. I'm in Colorado Springs, which received something like 13" of rain in less than 48 hours. (For some perspective:  our average ANNUAL rainfall in the Springs is around 15".) It's been insane. At times it felt like the water would never stop coming. As I type this, I don't hear the noise of raindrops hitting the roof of my house. It's strangely silent. Today, Tuesday, they are saying that it will finally be sunny and dry. My flood-weary friends in Manitou Springs will be relieved beyond measure. The stress has been nearly unbearable for them, living directly in the path of unpredictable flash flooding resulting from the Waldo Canyon burn scar. One of my friends has now made the sad decision to move out of Manitou, because this has all been just too much for her.

Colorado Springs has seen its share of flooding in the last few days, but parts north of us have had it far worse. The above photo was taken in Lyons, a picturesque town not far from beautiful Estes Park. I have shot many weddings in Lyons, most recently THIS one. Last summer I shot a wedding at a gorgeous ranch in Loveland called Sylvan Dale (photos HERE, showing a much more sunny, happy day), which is now a total ruin. In fact, the Big Thompson River, which runs through the property, apparently carved itself a new path and completely annihilated all the existing buildings, barns and even the ponds. I am heartbroken, and I can't even imagine how the owners must feel right now. Thankfully they were able to save all of their livestock before the water got out of hand, and that's a blessing.

Estes Park is under water, and so are parts of Greeley. Boulder is hard hit, along with the suburbs between it and northeast Denver.  Then there's Longmont, Jamestown, practically all of (mostly rural) Weld County; Fort Collins (where just nine days ago I shot a wedding under sunny skies), Fort Morgan, Golden, parts of Denver, and of course Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. People were being rescued by helicopter. Over a thousand are still unaccounted for, although I suppose that might be in part because cell phone service and electricity have been nonexistent for the last several days in the hardest hit areas. As many as a thousand are left stranded. They are saying about 1,500 homes have been destroyed, and close to 18,000 have been damaged. Some people may not be able to go home for months, because entire highways have been washed away. The loss of property is staggering, and yes, lives have been lost too, which is even worse.  We are all so stressed! We need relief!

My big fear is this:  living in a dry, arid climate like Colorado (well, normally, anyway) -- how many of these people had flood insurance? How many of them are looking at a total loss of home and property, and no way to recover it? My heart breaks for anyone in this position. Thankfully Pat and I live on top of a large hill, so we're not in a flood plain so to speak, but this crazy, weeklong event has proven that anything can happen.

They say it's a thousand year flood. Lucky us. If you would like to see more images of the devastation around my beautiful state, click HERE, and for video click HERE.  As for me, I am very much looking forward to a sunny day today.

I'll leave you on a (bitterly) humorous note. We could all use a laugh. 

You put the "spring" in Manitou Springs

Pat and I were in Manitou for breakfast on Sunday, and afterward dropped into a couple of shops on the main drag. This mineral spring, one of many in Manitou, is situated in front of the Penny Arcade. I know what your question is: can you drink the water? Yes, you can drink it but be prepared, it doesn't taste like tap water! It has a very strong mineral taste.

And on a different note, I received my first run of Colorado Springs Daily Photo calendars, and they're beautiful! I will post pictures and purchasing info on the CSDP Facebook page in the coming days. Get 'em while they're hot!

Ute Trading Post

This classic old sign can be found on the east side of Manitou Springs, on the north side of Manitou Boulevard. Though the town may be undergoing a bit of a spruce up these last few years, it's still our beloved funky, familiar old Manitou.

Spring Forward

Manitou's beautiful town clock, at the intersection of Manitou Boulevard and Ca­­ñon Avenue. According to the metadata on this photo, it was taken on April 5th at 1:11pm, but if you look closely you can see that the clock reads 12:11pm. Ahem. It's time to spring forward, Manitou! The rest of us sprang forward last month! 😉

The Wagon Man

I first blogged about this fellow in August of 2012, and I didn't know anything about him other than he'd recently begun walking around downtown with a placard emblazoned with the words BE POSITIVE in large block letters, dragging a train of wagons behind him. I found him to be inspirational, because I surmised (correctly, as it turns out) that he was homeless at the time, yet he had a great attitude despite his disadvantages. I've since learned that his name is Phillip Cargile, but he's been dubbed Wagon Man by the press and local residents, and the nickname seems to have stuck.

Lately, Mr. Cargile has been in the news because he's insisted on walking on the streets of Manitou -- and when I say streets, I literally mean he's refused to used the sidewalk, and instead walks in the actual road. This, of course, can be dangerous, even though Manitou has a very low speed limit for motorists (20 miles per hour on the "strip") and there are always plenty of pedestrians about. Because of his tendency to jaywalk, he's received a few tickets. Many locals have protested this as unnecessarily draconian, and Mr. Cargile and his wife do not have the means to pay the hefty fines. Last month he went to court to face the charges on most of the tickets, and because of a vague loophole in the law, he was found to be not guilty. (You can read "Side Streets" Bill Vogrin's brief account of the trial HERE.) He received an admonishment from the judge and from his wife, urging him to stay on the sidewalks.

And so the Wagon Man is once again free to roam Manitou with his wagon train.  I saw him the other day and snapped this photo as I drove past. Hooray, he's on the sidewalk!

April 16, 2014 edit: Alas, the Wagon Man and his wife have moved back to Florida! (In fact, they moved two days before I posted this picture.) We'll miss him and his positive message around here. You can read more about this latest development HERE.

A room with a view

A view of Manitou Springs, that is. Yesterday I spent most of my day at the Cliff House, a very large, beautiful Victorian hotel, doing a series of boudoir shoots. I had reserved a posh room at the top of the hotel for my boudoir marathon -- the Clark Gable Suite, to be exact. I'm told Mr. Gable actually slept there! How cool is that? While I was waiting for my last client to have her hair and makeup finished (cute/funny aside: my 23 year-old makeup artist did not know who Clark Gable was and had barely heard of Gone With the Wind), I peeked out the window and saw this nice view opposite me, which I captured with a telephoto lens. You can see how hilly Manitou is, and how quaint. It's a nice place to live.

The historic Manitou Springs Penny Arcade

The old-fashioned Penny Arcade in Manitou Springs is a local institution going back for generations. If you grew up here, you have fond memories of this place, no matter how old you are! When I was in college my best friend Janet worked at the Arcade, and most nights I'd hang out there and wait for her shift to end so we could go out afterward.

The Arcade has games and rides dating way back to the 1920s, if not older. But they also have cool pinball machines from all eras, classic '80s video games like PacMan and Centipede, and current games of all types as well. They even have pool tables and and old photo booth (remember those?). It's a blast to hang out there. I am forever doing engagement portraits or wedding portraits at the Arcade, but it's been ages since I went there just for fun. An opportunity arose last week when some friends visited from out of town with their nine year-old daughter. Of course the Arcade sprang to mind, what a great place for a kid to spend a rainy afternoon! There were plenty of families there with children of all ages, but I was surprised at how many adults were there just to play games. We had a great time. I even played Skeeball (I assure you I'm consistently dreadful at it but I always have fun trying). I wandered around and took a bunch of pictures while my friends tried out all the games.

February theme day: umbrellas

Ah yes, it's already February! The first of every month is Theme Day for City Daily Photo bloggers, and this month's theme is umbrellas. Alas, I was under the mistaken impression that the theme was going to be café chairs, so I was not prepared for umbrellas! Rather ironically, we spent all of last week enjoying the wonders of Costa Rica, including spending vast quantities of time on the beach where there are umbrellas galore. But instead of taking pictures of the colorful beach umbrellas, I took pictures of café chairs! I even had the perfect café chairs photo all picked out for theme day -- too bad! Ha ha!

So yesterday Pat and I went in search of umbrellas in Colorado Springs, but it was pretty slim pickings. What I had in mind was THIS little boutique in Manitou, which I featured for Theme Day in August 2010. If you click on the link you'll see that there are four beautiful umbrellas over their storefront. But I was sad to see that the umbrellas weren't there, oh no! So we wandered around Manitou and encountered exactly what I expected to see: empty patios with folded up umbrellas. This time of year is cold, no one wants to dine al fresco, and the umbrellas are all wrapped up for the winter. And as for rain umbrellas, forget it! There's no rain here in January, only snow. And not a lot of rain during the rest of the year either!

I hope you enjoyed this sad picture of folded up umbrellas ;^) To see more Theme Day pictures by CDP bloggers all over the world (hopefully better ones than mine), just click HERE!

A spring in Manitou Springs

One of the many old springs that give Manitou Springs its name. The water is potable and has a noticeable mineral taste. This particular spring is located about half a block west of the Cliff House on Canon Avenue.

Skywatch Friday

Here's an assortment of oddly disconnected objects to be found at Memorial Park in Manitou Springs:

1. A life-sized statue of a World War I soldier
2. American flag and P.O.W./M.I.A. flag
3. Large carved portrait of a "mountain man" with a squirrel on his shoulder
4. Plaque commemorating the life of a man named Homer Sharpton, at the base of a rather sad-looking tree

There's more random stuff in the park that I didn't photograph, but you get the idea. I love the disorganization of it all. It's so MANITOU.

For more Skywatch Friday pictures from bloggers all over the world, click HERE. Have a great weekend!

Sunday Style!

On Wednesday afternoon I was driving through downtown Manitou when I spotted this beautiful person in the middle of the road, taking in the sights. I found the nearest parking spot and chased her down. Her name is Elisha and she's not a tourist, she lives in Colorado Springs and was just randomly hanging around Manitou that day, like me. Cute purse, cute shoes, great hair, love the sweater, and that shade of blue looks fabulous on her. Elisha, thanks for the pictures, and it was nice meeting you!

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The fountain that sits in front of the historic Cliff House in Manitou Springs, captured on September 29th. In the background is the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade.

The Wiz

I've always wanted to take a picture of this funky mural in Manitou, and yesterday I finally got around to doing it. Manitou Springs isn't as delightfully weird as it used to be but it still has its moments.

The heat is on

The Waldo Canyon fire continues just outside our city limits, and it's still 0% contained.  It's now reached 3,600 acres with no end in sight.  I know that it just looks like a little plume of smoke in this picture, but if you look more closely you'll see that everything to the right of that dark plume of smoke is, well, more smoke. And those "clouds" to the left of it?  Again, more smoke.  It's really bad and getting worse.  To add to the drama, the mercury broke 100 F degrees yesterday (38 Celsius), and the record-breaking heat is expected to continue with no moisture predicted at all.

There is some good news, though:  Manitou Springs residents, who were 100% evacuated last night, have been allowed to go back home for now; the winds have kept the fire away from Colorado Springs and contained to Forest Service land; and not a single life or structure has been lost.  There has been a huge outpouring of support among residents for both the evacuees and the firefighters, with donations of non-perishable food, money, ice and Gatorade.  Even though Manitou residents are back at home, many many residents of Colorado Springs and the smaller towns up the pass remain in shelters, not to mention the countless tourists that came here expecting a nice vacation. They will have some stories to tell when they get back home! 

Meanwhile, fire-watching has become somewhat of a spectator sport among the locals. People are gathered at various high spots in town, cameras in hand, trying to get pictures of the out-of-control blaze that threatens our city. The photo above was taken at the Garden of the Gods overlook on Mesa (the same spot where I took the photo for yesterday's post). There were dozens of curious people there, in the parking lot and along the road. Not only has this fire been unsettling and frightening, it's been more than a little fascinating for those of us who live here.