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COLORADO SPRINGS |
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Seventy miles south of Denver on I-25, COLORADO SPRINGS was origi-nally
developed as a vacation spot in 1871 by railroad tycoon William Jackson
Palmer. He attracted so many English gentry to the town that it earned
the nickname of "Little London." Despite sprawling for ten miles
alongside I-25, modern Colorado Springs, a bastion of conservatism
compared to liberal Denver, still retains much of Palmer's vision,
thanks to a high military presence, fundamentalist religious
organizations, the exclusive Colorado College and a well-to-do Anglo-American
community.
Motorists whisk through the incredible Garden of the Gods , on the west
edge of town off US-24 W, without bothering to get out of their vehicles.
This gnarled, twisted and warped red sandstone rockery was lifted up at
the same time as the nearby mountains (around 65 million years ago), but
has since been eroded into finely balanced overhangs, jagged pinnacles,
massive pedestals and mushroom formations. The visitor center , at the
park's eastern border (tel 719/634-6666), has details on hiking and
mountain biking trails .
At the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame , 101 Pro Rodeo Drive, off I-25 exit 147
(daily 9am5pm; $6; www.prorodeo.com ), videos and displays explain the
sport's various disciplines (calf roping, barrel racing and the like).
Other local exhibits of note include the painting and sculpture gardens
of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center , 30 W Dale St (TuesFri 9am5pm,
Sat 10am5pm, Sun 15pm; $6), ranging from Native American art to
Post-Modern pieces; the displays and demonstrations of specialized
mining equipment at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry , east of
I-25 exit 156A (MonSat 9am4pm, Sun noon4pm; $6); and the town's history
museum, the Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum , 215 S Tejon St (TuesSat
10am5pm, Sun 15pm; free), part of which is a restored courtroom,
location for a number of Perry Mason episodes.
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