Maximum security

Did you know that we have a large number of prisons in the area? Actually they're in Cañon City and Florence, two small towns that sit side by side in Fremont County, 50 miles from Colorado Springs. The prisons are a very large employer in Fremont County. Most notably among the penal facilities, in Florence we've got the infamous Supermax, "the Alcatraz of the Rockies", the only federal Supermax prison in the country and home to some very notorious criminals. Some of its current denizens include Zacarias Moussaoui and many other well known terrorists whose names I can't pronounce; Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber" -- thanks, Richard, it's your fault that I have to take my shoes off to go through airport security; Theodore Kaczynski, a.k.a. the Unabomber; Terry Nichols, who conspired with Timothy McVeigh to bomb the Federal Building in Oklahoma City; Eric Rudolph, convicted for bombing the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta; as well as numerous spies, mafiosi and notorious gang bosses. Yes, these guys are 50 miles from my house. Gulp! I'm glad they're locked up! I took the above photo of the Supermax as we whizzed past in our car on the way home from Bishop Castle. (It's not exactly advisable to stand in front of the Supermax with your camera and make like a tourist.) The photo below is the Centennial Correctional Facility (I think), a state maximum security penitentiary. Like the other photo it was taken from the car as we drove past, just outside of Cañon City on Highway 50.