The Broadmoor World Arena

I found myself smack in front of the World Arena today, not by design but by mistake: I took a wrong turn. Since I was there and I had a camera with me, I took a picture. The World Arena was built in the 1990s and it's the place you go to for large events and concerts. There's also a skating rink where Olympic (and Olympic hopeful) skaters train.

Who Gives a Scrap?

I met up with my friend Teresa this weekend at Who Gives a Scrap. I just love this place! They have some pretty fun stuff. It's basically sort of a thrift store for makers -- you know, knitters, crocheters, sewists, artists of all kinds, scrapbookers... you can donate your unwanted crafting stuff (and it's a non-profit, so hello tax write off!), and you can buy pretty much any crafting supply you can think of here for cheap. Some of their offerings are pretty interesting and you never know what they're going to have in stock. I'm not exactly "crafty" but I do love to sew and knit, so Who Gives a Scrap is right up my alley. I think every city needs a place like this.

Evergreen Cemetery Walkabout (Part 5)

I'm ending my series on Evergreen Cemetery with this grave. I've always been a bit curious about it because there's a Janitell Street and a Janitell Junior High School on the south end of town. I haven't been able to find any info at all about the Janitells of Colorado Springs, but it isn't a common surname I'm just going to assume that the name on this gravestone has some significance in our city's history.

Legends

I've never been to this bar, Legends, but I really like the mural on the side of the building. In the last couple of weeks I've had the occasion to drive past it twice on errand runs, so I made a mental note to come back to it today and grab a picture.

Mushrooms

Little apartment buildings like this -- and some not so little ones, too -- are springing up like mushrooms downtown and the areas immediately surrounding it. I took this picture on October 2nd on the near west side, just west of the interstate. This corner has been empty lot for as far back as I can recall (although maybe in the darkest recesses of my memory I can vaguely recall that my friend Earl lived in a ramshackle little house in this spot long ago). I guess it's been a while since I've driven past this intersection, because I never even knew that it was being developed, and now look at it. This apartment building is not only fully built, it's obviously fully rented. What?!? I can't keep up with the pace of the urban infilling that's going on right now. I strongly believe that these opportunistic developers should focus more attention on the southeast side of the city, where there are many areas that desperately need refreshing. I suppose they'll eventually run out of room downtown to do stuff like this, so maybe soon they'll start launching infilling projects further afield.

Not All That Interesting, Just Funny

This is the name of a local restaurant in Southgate. I find it hilarious. Why's the chicken so angry? Maybe it has something to do with ending up on someone's dinner plate.

The Myron Stratton Home (Part 2)

A few snaps of the Myron Stratton Home. Unfortunately you can't see the fine old buildings very well because there so many beautiful, mature trees obscuring them. You'll just have to take my word for it that this is a lovely and serene place!

The Myron Stratton Home (Part 1)

Winfield Scott Stratton was a well known Colorado Springs philanthropist who derived his great wealth from the gold rush. Early in his career, he was a carpenter earning $3 a day before striking it rich (very rich) in the Pikes Peak or Bust era of gold mining in Cripple Creek. Mr. Stratton generously deployed his newfound prosperity to help his community, donating land to the city and giving assistance to the poor. He originally created the Myron Stratton Home (named after his father) as a home and farm for the destitute. In his words, it was "a free home for poor persons who are without means of support and who are physically unable by reason of old age, youth, sickness or other infirmity to earn a livelihood." Over time it has evolved into a compound housing a consortium of non profit organizations that offer assistance to the poor and the elderly. It also provides housing for some lucky senior citizens, including my friend Sarah's grandmother, who is nearly a century old. I'll show you more of this beautiful campus tomorrow.

Cheyenne Mountain Resort (Part 4)

A final shot from the patio at Cheyenne Mountain Resort, this time looking southward. There's a large, manmade lake and a golf course, as well as an indoor swimming facility. (And many McMansions in the distance.) This is both a country club and a hotel. You can pay to be a member and use their many facilities, but you can also stay here as a guest. The place is simply enormous. Pat and I come here some years for their Christmas buffet, and of course I've shot many a wedding at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort.

Cheyenne Mountain Resort (Part 1)

I shot a wedding at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort on Saturday and I actually remembered to take some pictures for the blog. Miracle! They have a nice view. You can't really see Pikes Peak as well from there, but the foothills and Cheyenne Mountain are prominently visible from practically anywhere on the property. More tomorrow.

Untitled

This dejected looking little building sits behind the Taco Star at Circle and Airport. What was its original purpose? Was it once a restaurant too? I think it's probably moved beyond the "needs some love" category into the "tear it down" category. Poor thing!

Broken Spire

I don't know why, but I found this poor, bent church spire in Southgate hilariously funny.

Sad News

I forgot to blog last night! Darn it! I had this photo prepped and ready to go, but because I was distracted by a (rather vexing) sewing project, I completely forgot to follow through and actually post it. So I'm going to cheat a little and backdate this post to 11:59PM yesterday.

Anyway! If you live in the U.S. you've probably heard that Sears is planning on closing many of its stores. In fact their downhill slide has been going on for a few years, but the two locations in this city managed to escape the ax until now. It looks like the Southgate Sears will soon be no more. That's so sad! My mom would take me school shopping there when I was in high school. I got my washer and dryer at that Sears location over 20 years ago and they're still going strong. I even used the garage there from time to time, for basic service on my cars. So now we'll be down to only one Sears, at the Chapel Hills Mall, and I hope it doesn't close too. 😢

A beach in Colorado Springs

We may be in the mountains, but we do have a "beach," or what passes for one. It's at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort and it even has sand! I was there a little over a week ago, location scouting with a client who wanted to choose just the right setting to propose to his sweetheart. This was the spot! I took this picture just as the sun was about to dip behind the foothills. A couple of days later, I hid behind a boat shed and snapped away while he got down on bended knee, and I'm happy to report that she said yes! I plan to share a few of those pictures in a day or two on my Facebook business page, and when that happens I'll link to it on this blog.

Chartreuse and pink

Sorry for the late post! I've been sick in bed all day. I'm finally starting to feel human again and it's almost time for tomorrow's post. I'd better get on it!

Here's a picture I took a few days ago in Southgate. The eastern redbud are in full bloom with their pretty pink blossoms, and some of the other trees are starting to wake up too, making for a nice chartreuse foil. Such a beautiful color combination, brought to you by Mother Nature. I'll post more eastern redbud pictures tomorrow. 😊

Hurricane force winds in Colorado Springs

If you live here, I don't have to tell you that yesterday was obnoxiously windy. And when I say obnoxious, I mean Category 2 hurricane, record breaking kind of wind. There was a 101 MPH gust recorded at Cheyenne Mountain. Tens of thousands of people in our city, including my brother Chuck, have gone without power for most of the day, with utilities crews unable to repair the damage because the high winds were too dangerous to work in. On Facebook, my friends are reporting damage to their cars and homes. I've seen photo after photo of tree-flattened vehicles, torn roofs, broken windows, even itinerant trampolines! At some point during the day, the Colorado Department of Transportation declared a ban on all high profile vehicles, so all the school buses in town were grounded and parents scrambled to pick up their kids. There were multiple traffic snarls because of overturned 18-wheelers. (I'm hearing that up to 36 semi trucks flipped over in the wind. I can't confirm that number but holy mackerel!) Roads were blocked off around town as emergency crews dealt with downed trees and/or power lines. The county courthouse was evacuated because part of the roof was torn off. KRDO posted a video HERE of some of the madness. You should watch it, it'll "blow" your mind. (Pun intended!) And HERE's another crazy video of shingles flying off a building on the south side of town. In short, this windstorm can only be described as catastrophic.

As for me, I had a doctor appointment in the morning, and I decided to drive around afterward to try and document the windstorm in progress. This was a terrible idea. It felt like I was either going to be blown off the road or that at any moment a tree would topple over and flatten me inside my car. Heck, I drove for over a mile before I even got to a working traffic signal (and the drivers here are baaaaad -- trusting their judgement at a major intersection with a non-functioning traffic light is nerve wracking). I took most of these pictures from my car, because I didn't want to get out of it for fear of getting brained by a flying branch or road sign or poodle. Downtown was nearly deserted (this made it very easy to take pictures from my car, I must admit -- I could simply stop in the middle of the road with total impunity). I've never seen so many empty parking spots! Even the ever present panhandlers were absent. I did get out of my car for a few minutes, to pick up a sandwich at Wooglin's, and while I was there I dashed across the street and took a picture of the giant trees whipping in the wind on the CC campus, and I made a little video too. I'm happy to report that I made it home in one piece after that. So far no tree has landed on my car, our roof is still attached to our house, and our fence is leaning dramatically but it didn't fall over (at least not yet), so that's good. It's supposed to be very windy for the next few days. Hang on to your hats, Colorado Springsians! It's gonna be a long week!

Pikes Peak and Wahsatch.

A downed fence and some random debris at the outdoor ice skating rink in Acacia Park.

In the Near North End, Tejon at about Dale Street.

On the Colorado College campus, looking north from Cache la Poudre Street.

At Wooglin's Deli. Glad she didn't blow over -- I nearly did, just trying to get back to my car!

Cache la Poudre and Wahsatch. Notice the TV news truck in the background.

This guy braved the wind to deal with a giant tree that had fallen (shown at the top of this post), also at Cache la Poudre and Wahsatch.

An enormous tree blew over at Help of Christians Roman Catholic Church on Cache la Poudre just east of Institute. It was huge. Poor tree! And as you can see, this man was not wearing a coat. Even though the winds were gusting continuously at 70 to 80 MPH, it was weirdly warm outside, around 55°.

You can get a better idea of it from this shot. I'm sad to see such a beautiful old tree lost!

The sisters at Help of Christians kindly brought water to the men who were working to clear away the downed tree. I thought this nun was going to take flight! (Remember that TV show? It was silly but I loved it when I was a kid. )

A few blocks west of my house, this minivan on Bijou Street had a close call. Look at that huge tree! It actually blocked the eastbound lane. Somehow it missed both the minivan and those power lines. Whew!

Close call indeed! The owner of this vehicle must be so relieved.

Last but not least, here's a little video I made at CC. It's shaky because I was getting blown about. Turn up the volume to get a better sense of what it was like. Look at all the flying debris. I had to wear eye protection. Crazy!

For more pictures of storm madness taken by citizens all over town, click HERE and scroll down to the bottom.

The Mysterious Smudge of Smoke in the Sky

The Mysterious Smudge of Smoke in the Sky, the Nancy Drew book you never read! But seriously, folks, Pat and I were driving on the southwest side of town yesterday, and we noticed this plume of black smoke way off on the horizon. It looked like it was situated near the airport, so we thought it might have been from a plane crash. Dramatic! Thankfully there has been no news of downed aircraft around here. It was just a case of our imaginations running wild. We're still wondering what the mysterious smudge of smoke in the sky was all about! Local readers, do any of you happen to know?

Extremely bad hail storm in Colorado Springs

On Thursday night, Pat and I were at home when a thunderstorm threatened. Our part of the city (just east of downtown) got lots of blustery winds, and certainly we saw lightning and heard thunder, but we got nary a drop of rain. We were the lucky ones. To the north, south and east of us, Colorado Springs got hammered by a violent hailstorm. The hail was tennis ball sized in some areas! My Facebook feed was inundated with laments and photos of the damage today. Cars destroyed, roofs in a sad state, windows broken, gardens flattened. My brother Chuck, who is a claims adjuster for a large auto insurer with offices in Colorado Springs, told me that there had been about 4,000 claims filed by 1:00pm. (My response was "Holy macaroni!", in case you're wondering.) Here are some pictures taken by my friend Dacia, who graciously allowed me share them, and her account of the storm. Thank you Dacia! In her words:

When the storm started I knew it wasn’t good. I’ve never heard such a loud roar interspersed with huge “thunks” against the roof and windows. Hail is a normal occurrence here, but as those big “thunks” grew louder, and coming more rapidly, my heart sank. I was on the phone with my dad and we couldn’t hear each other speak. It felt like the storm would never end! This morning I took a quick drive around the area and realized that I’m lucky my damage isn’t worse. Some people have every south-facing window broken out, dented cars, broken car windows; it’s a mess. Many neighbors were out sweeping up the debris and gathering on the streets to compare damage. My heart went out to a man who was taking photos of his home that has a For Sale sign in the yard. What horrible timing for him! Most of us here have vinyl siding, so the holes in our houses look like our neighborhood was hit with a giant shotgun blast, or we’re some kind of giant Swiss cheese display.

Dacia, I'm sorry you're house was so badly damaged! That's awful! For my local readers, if you have damage to your roof from the storm and need a recommendation for a good roofer, allow me to refer one of my oldest friends, Todd. Here's his website: www.reynoldsroofingsystems.com. When our roof was hard hit by a bad hail storm a couple of years ago, Todd and his crew took great care of us!

Skywatch Friday

Last's night's interesting and beautiful sunset, captured at 8:20pm from the Southgate neighborhood. For more Skywatch Friday goodness from bloggers all over earth, click HERE. Have a great weekend!

Air Force Thunderbird crash in Colorado Springs

It's a longstanding tradition for the Air Force Thunderbirds to do a dramatic flyover at the moment the Air Force Academy graduation concludes. You can see them in the skies, practicing in the days preceding graduation. Every year, there's a Very Important Person on hand to deliver the commencement speech. And when I say Very Important, I mean VERY important. This year it was President Obama. The speech is delivered, the cadets graduate, then on cue they all fling their hats skyward as the Thunderbirds go screaming by overhead. It's spectactular, thrilling and utterly unforgettable. This year was no different, with one notable exception: after the flyover and subsequent air show, the T-Birds were heading back to Peterson Air Force Base when one of the pilots got into trouble and had to eject from his jet moments before it crashed into a field near the intersection of Powers and Fontaine. That certainly made the news! The pilot was fine. In fact, he was picked up by a helicopter forthwith and flown to Peterson, where he met the president! Coincidentally, about an hour later, a Navy Blue Angel also crashed, near Nashville, Tennessee while practicing for an air show. Sadly, its pilot was killed.

Of course, all of this has been a big topic of conversation around here. My friends have been posting blurry cell phone pictures of the jet, still lying there in the field since the crash last Thursday. Pat and I thought it might be worth a try to get a picture of it for the blog, so we headed over there yesterday around noon. What perfect timing -- the jet was in the process of being removed just as we arrived! Several TV news crews were on hand, parked on the shoulder along with a dozen or so lookie-loos (ahem). We joined the crowd and I took a few pictures from the car. Fascinating!