Colorado Springs: It's Not a Religious Commune

Colorado Springs is seemingly viewed as having a right-wing religious cultist atmosphere and its only other purpose is to strengthen our nation's defenses. Not so, I say. Colorado Springs has a lot of wonderful qualities that most anyone would enjoy.

National news articles over the years have focused on sensationalistic subject matter like Ted Haggard's downfall (now former pastor for the largest Evangelical church in the city). The United States Air Force Academy hit major headlines with the handling of female cadets who were sexually assaulted by male cadets. Most recently our fair city made Jay Leno's monologue because of an overzealous principle that nixed the game of "tag" on elementary school grounds. But as a lifelong resident of this city, I hope to give you a better picture of the things that make Colorado Springs a great place to live and visit.

With Pikes Peak as the backdrop of Colorado Springs, recreational opportunities are abundant all months of the year. Hiking, biking, golfing, tennis, hockey, soccer, baseball, etc. are all popular sports. Snow isn't likely to hang around long, despite a common misconception, as we aren't in the mountains, so it's easy to get out of the house in the dead of winter. Well, most winters. I've been known to hike up near Cheyenne Mountain in late December with my camera taking photos of the city's downtown, various natural features including Garden of the Gods and even a deer leg with no other parts of the deer to be found.

Speaking of deer, they can be found in relatively sizeable numbers west of I-25 and they dot other parts of our city. Throughout the area wildlife like foxes, coyote, mountain lions, black bears, raccoons, peregrine falcons, rattlesnakes and many other species call this place home. Many are rare occurrences but when you see them it's a sight to behold. Even if you are stuck in your home office and you look out to see a falcon gliding above the field behind your house it can make a tedious day getting a monitor tan seem extraordinary. We even had the presence of a moose a few years back, which was talk of the town. Moose are not common in our area but nature likes to surprise.

While Colorado Springs strongly caters to families, there are many opportunities for people of all flavors in the area to enjoy a night out. The downtown area features a strip of restaurants, coffee shops and bars most of which are located on Tejon St. Parking can be a bear but if you plan it right you can head on down for a good meal at various establishments and make your way up and down the vicinity using your own two feet with little trouble. The bars, pubs and restaurant/bars accommodate a variety of social and musical tastes, which can make for a very interesting outing.

During the day, downtown Colorado Springs provides unique retail shopping, health and beauty services, places of worship, museums and a favorable mix of other light commercial businesses. The local downtown business district has a free shuttle with expanded evening hours on Friday and Saturday nights as well as a development authority to revamp areas in and around downtown to enhance the original vision of General William J. Palmer, founder of Colorado Springs. It also features the recently expanded Fine Arts Center, which is a gem of fine art collections, the Bemis School of Art, theater performances and has a mid-day café with a stunning view of Pikes Peak.

If the downtown scene isn't your bag, the city has what I call "Street of Chains" (for the amount of chain restaurants and big-box stores located here) which is basically located from the entrance of the Air Force Academy on North Academy Blvd. south towards Ft. Carson covering roughly 15 miles. Most everything you could think of for food, shopping and entertainment is located along this stretch of road and now has spilled over to Powers Blvd. just east and parts in between. Along this stretch, however, there are many local businesses but they seem a little over shadowed by the big guys.

We are not without major entertainment. The Pikes Peak Center and the World Arena offer big name talent on occasion. I've seen Sting, George Winston, Bill Cosby, Sam Kineson, George Carlin and most recently a production of the Broadway musical "The Producers". I admit I am not much of a theater buff but many other Broadway shows have come to town and the musical acts vary from metal to country to classical. In addition, the World Arena hosts major figure skating events, Colorado College Hockey and also serves as training facilities for various ice related sports. Other events there include various rodeos and the annual car show that benefits Operation School Bell.

The city is proud to be the location for the headquarters of the United States Olympic Committee and probably the most important of the United States Olympic Training Centers, which is ideal given our official altitude at 6,035 feet (1,839 meters). Many are housed in old Air Force barracks turned into dorm rooms and athletes from all over the world train and live here. It's a hot spot during the Winter and Summer games with tours and a gift shop.

Colorado Springs also boasts of one of the few hotels and resorts that have received the venerable five-star rating year after year, The Broadmoor Hotel. Built in the late 1800s, The Broadmoor has stood the test of time providing heads of state, the famous, the wealthy and those desiring a truly unique experience, nearly unmatched service and accommodations in the Rocky Mtn. region. Fine dining, golf courses, a spa, meeting facilities as well as shopping provide guests plus locals true luxury and lends Colorado Springs with a bit of refinement without being overly pretentious. It is surrounded by some of the oldest and grandest homes in the city and is close to some of the areas best attractions. For the not-so-wealthy, it is a nice diversion from the ordinary. This is not to say there are not other exceptional hotels in Colorado Springs. The Antler's Hotel in downtown Colorado Springs, also built in the late 1800s, has had a colorful past and is on (I believe) its fourth incarnation that includes being rebuilt after a fire in the hotel's relative infancy. The Antler's lacks the ability to have golf, a lake, tennis and other activities, as it is located in the heart of downtown surrounded on all sides by the origins of Colorado Springs. It is, however, another example of luxury that our sleepy city has to offer.

The gay and lesbian community, despite the presence of Focus on the Family and other strong religious entities, is gaining ground of acceptance in Colorado Springs. While our city leadership needs to get their proverbial heads out of the sand (not to mention a key orifice) to support all our residents, the local LGBT community holds various events in the city including the annual PrideFest in Acacia Park. The Pride Center, organizer for PrideFest, provides local advocacy, support and networking opportunities and has done so since 1978.

Christianity isn't the official religion of Colorado Springs, I think. There are very strong communities of various Wicca and other pagan groups, Jewish, Muslim, as well as other spiritual organizations although the primary source of religious activities do center on Christianity. But you don't even have to be religious to enjoy living or visiting here.

Politics, I admit, tend to be on the Republican side of things here. I gather this is historically due to the spirit by which the city was created and the large presence of military. Not to say there aren't Democrats in the military or in Colorado Springs but experience has led me to come into contact with those maintaining a more conservative stance. As the area changes though, politics are starting to swing a little bit back more to the center. In the earlier days of Colorado Springs and Colorado, in general, political leanings were an old version of Republican ideals rather than what it morphed into. You may know it more of the Old West attitude, "live and let live and get off my land". Rather simplistic but it gets the point across.

Economically speaking, it's kind of lopsided here like most cities of its size. But homes are generally affordable, taxes are relatively low and unemployment is low as well. A big bonus for upcoming economic development is the expansion of Ft. Carson and the addition of around 9,000 Army personnel. With new troops coming to town, the city and surrounding communities are busy creating new homes, businesses and services to accommodate the needs of the soldiers and their families. Troop transfer should be complete, if memory serves me correctly, by 2010. While a chunk of our economy is greatly dependent on the military, there are other key industries located here.

There's a lot more to be said about this city that is my hometown (as I only scratched the surface) but there's only so much you can put out there without writing a novel length piece and I have pushed it as it is. It must be said that just like any city, Colorado Springs is not perfect. The usual infrastructure issues, tax distributions, social services, schools and other public needs are a constant dialogue in local newspapers and in coffee shops. Over all, however, Colorado Springs is a nice place to live.

Most of the information here has been through years of living and loving the area. The information presented came mostly from inside my brain but a few items were double checked for accuracy.

If you want more information on Colorado Springs, please take a gander:

Colorado Springs Convention and Visitor's Bureau
Downtown Partnership
City of Colorado Springs
Pikes Peak Country Attractions Association
The Official Site of the U.S. Olympic Team