Leaving Denver, we headed south to Colorado Springs, close to the site of Pike's Peak. We started by touring the US Air Force Academy, well, actually, just a small portion of it, since it’s huge. The tour was fairly sanitized. In fact, the focus was their chapel building, a very impressive building housing Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Hindu sanctuaries. Recruits were going through basic training, so these areas were off-limits, as were several other restricted areas.

However, we weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to climb Pike’s Peak, so we took the cog railway to the top, at 14,000+ feet, something that people have been doing for decades . Up top, the air was thin, but the views made us understand why it inspired the song "America the Beautiful". What was scary was the realization that one wrong step and you were vulture food. Because so few guardrails existed, that possibility was real.

From these lofty heights, it was ironic that, in Colorado Springs, we encountered what was to be the bottom of the barrel in motels. In a Day’s Inn there, we found a dirty, dangerous motel, which we had pre-booked and pre-paid the day before, so we were locked in to the commitment. We got there late at night., and in the dark, the motel was scary, populated by sketchy people and it felt just grungy. As far as we knew, it might have rented rooms by the hour. The only saving grace were the beds themselves, which were quite comfortable. Next morning, we left there early and did not look back! It would be a valuable lesson for the rest of the trip.

Now, some further irony. In Denver, the previous night, we had stayed at a 4-star Marriott. While there, we witnessed a guy being led by police through the lobby in handcuffs. Why, we don’t know. Yet, in our sleazy, dangerous Colorado Springs motel, nothing. No police. No handcuffs.

That experience notwithstanding, Colorado is just full of charming towns with historic downtowns that have been reclaimed with cafes, galleries, cool bars, boutiques, quaint shops, and other tourist draws . As we drove, we would pass through these towns, some of which included ski-related resorts with an alpine feel. Along the way, we rode a gondola up a ski slope, we listened to a bluegrass–playing family in a 100-year old former bank, lunched at a creek-side inn that was a stop for stagecoaches heading westward, and more. We just never knew what we’d encounter, but if it looked good, we went for it.

One of our favourite dalliances were the hot springs in Colorado. We went to a town called Glenwood Springs, which has the largest mineral spring water pool in the world., over a city block long It was divided into hot water and just mildly warm water. We spent a delightful day there soaking up the sun’s rays and taking multiple dips. It was to be the first of several hot springs we visited.

We cannot emphasize enough just how beautiful Colorado is. The mountains are magical, monumental, and breathtaking . They form the valleys and meadows that lend to unforgettable views and vistas. Varying in colour, intensity, size and composition, every turn in the road leads to a new surprise. The drive was truly part of the holiday for the visual rewards,

As for the Coloradans, themselves, they seemed to be a meld between the west coast and the wild west. People are individualistic, in tune with the environment, valuing personal freedom of choice in their behavior, philosophies and lifestyles. Ironically, the gun culture plays into this equation. Gun shops, gun shows, gun pawn shops. Imagine going into a McDonalds and seeing a customer in line wearing a holstered gun at his side. Hey, we saw it, and it’s perfectly alright here. That takes some getting used to, I’ll tell ya.

In contrast, the alternative lifestyle movement is alive and well here. Everywhere, tons of healing arts, organic-related businesses, energy conservation, and so on are evident. It was all good, of course, and the vibe, from our admittedly limited perspective, was laisez faire, “live and let live”. Every so often, you’d see people who had clearly taken this to heart. themselves “off the grid”.

In short, for all its natural beauty and with all its quirks, we fell in love with Colorado. Hope to get back there soon.

Next stop: National parks in Utah.