Colorado Springs - June '26 

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I attended a family reunion in Colorado Springs, in mid-June, a great time to visit. I stayed four nights at the Fillmore BW (at I-25), not far from where my sisters Doris & Mary (and Roger), live. 

Brother Don drove from Las Cruces, NM, Theresa flew from Phoenix, and Don's son Pat flew from Austin, while another son, Tom, lives in the Springs, and his girlfriend Heather was at gatherings, too. 

Not far from the hotel were both Red Rock Canyon & Garden of the Gods, where the first two hikes were. The third hike was at Palmer Lake, about 20 miles north on I-25, at Monument, Co. 

I'm glad to say I've had a 40+ year history & interaction with this area's unique landscapes. Of course, from almost anywhere in this city you can see impressive Pike's Peak above, at 14,115 ft.

The City is at elevation 6,500 ft., and it always takes me a day or two to acclimate.   

Thursday at Red Rock Canyon 

	Mary & Mackenzie		RR Canyon & G of the G's		self-portrait (a jet-lagged man)

After the walk I was back at the hotel for awhile & also drove to a nearby market for a few things for the kitchenette. Later I drove to Mary's & she drove us to a Safeway and next door Cheers beer store.  

That night Mary served us wild Alaskan Salmon and salad, and we sat outside or in and talked about things. It was an NBA Finals night, too.  

Friday at Garden of the Gods - with Doris, Mary & Theresa

This was a good general walk, maybe 2 or 3 miles. The visitor center, as usual for June, was crowded & tourists almost always opt to mob the roads, rather than park & walk. Thus, the few walkers we saw out on the trails had the benefit of good scenery & privacy.  

Afterwards, we drove to nearby Old Colorado City for food/coffee at Jive's Coffee Lounge, where a couple from Croatia have created an atmospheric cafe and their house coffee was quite strong.  

This is an attractive 1800's mining town, which has retained its antiquated look, and from where we sat we could could see a Carnegie Library just up the street.  

We meandered & browsed shops for an hour, and none of us were inspired to buy anything.    

	see note 1		scrub oaks		Theresa
		high plains look		near visitor center
	see note 2

note 1 - the original cabin was built in 1867 by homesteader Walter Galloway; this is a restored version.

Once back at the hotel around 1 pm, I had Keurig coffees & read for a few hours, and later used some light weights in a exercise room; an afternoon off.    

Later that evening, at 5 pm, Doris took the assembled clan to dinner at Panninos, her favorite restaurant downtown, for years ! 

Afterwards, Doris & Theresa and I drove to Target, completely deserted on a Friday at 8 pm, perfect for exchanging coffee makers, and Keurig won out over some imposter brand.  

Later the group re-assembled at Doris' home, and, sat outside in her park-like back yard, and it was the first time all of us were together. It was a really pleasant night & there was plenty to talk about. I especially enjoyed speaking with nephew Tom, a civil engineer/public agency bureaucrat, just like I was, about infrastructure....

As Tom explained, the attractive open-space land behind Doris' home is due to the presence of a huge City water treatment plant, not far away, and its huge distribution pipes are in a permanent utility easement here, so the back yard view shall remain the same, in perpetuity.  Doris said that's why she bought that property.  Well, having a backyard view of Pike's Peak is also nice.

Saturday at Palmer Lake  - with Mary, Theresa & Pat

	it's bright in Monument !		El Paso County park
				flowering Yucca cactus
	scrub oaks & front range (looking south)		Pat
		Palmer Lake

After the Saturday morning hike, Theresa and I drove into the small downtown area to get coffee, around noon, parking at Acacia Park, where we learned that a few hours earlier, a City fire engine, moving at full-speed (& sirens at full volume) crashed into a City bus at the intersection of N Tejon & E Bijou, virtually the 'city center'.  

First responders had done their job and nothing had been moved since.  The front of the bus was smashed-in, while the fire engine careened into a corner crossing/landscape barrier, wrecking half of the front port of the fire engine. On the ground in front of us was a broken-off concrete chunk, a corner piece, say 3 ft square. It was a shocking sight, but I took no photos. 

After that, we walked about 3 or 4 blocks north, and found a quiet Colorado College campus.  

Later we were back at Mary & Roger's for Saturday dinner plus the NBA Final, or, a simple corn hole game being played out back, where Don, Tom, Roger, and Pat were fully engaged. 

Later on, Tom took the family photo below.

	on a walk downtown				Roger & Mary's  place
		Maya		out front & Colorado Blue Spruce next door
	Woodland sage		Shrubby cinquefoil		volunteer Marigolds
		Tom & Heather and cornhole game		the fam in '26

Postscript -

Flights there & back to the Springs, via Denver, were good, as usual.  I always enjoy seeing Nevada, with its many mountain ranges & vast playas, from 35,000 ft., much better than driving Hwy 50 across it. 

On my early Sunday flight home from Denver, as the United flight left the gate & taxied out, there were 50 planes ahead of us, so it took an hour to get aloft.

Later, on the approach to SMF, the pilot said the backup at Denver got to 80 planes, about 30 minutes before our fight, all due to an unexpected IT outage at the air traffic control tower. 

It was a smooth flight home & I read most of the way.  Linda knew I'd be late and was right on time. 

Plant names are from Picture This.

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From May '25 reunion -

	Cheyenne Mountain		Pike's Peak		Roger & Mary
		Pike's Peak from Doris' back yard

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