Manitou Springs, Colorado

Manitou Springs, known originally for its natural healing springs, is a charming little town that sits at the foot of Pike's Peak. In fact, in earlier days, the path to Pike's Peak ran right through the middle of town. And with the cog railway being in Manitou Springs, in a sense, it still does!

For its size, it has an amazing number of attractions, including Anasazi cliff dwellings, cave explorations, the Pike's Peak cog railway, a castle and a chateau and several parks. Its downtown historic district is one of the best I've seen with restaurants and wonderful shops that are more than just souvenir shops. And, Garden of the Gods, though not technically within the Manitou Springs city limits, is just at its backdoor.

This summer of 2012 has placed Manitou Springs in a very vulnerable position. The Waldo Canyon fire was in the lower mountains just above it, so the entire town had to evacuate for a day.

Then, in late a July, a Monday, heavy rainstorms came through and once again put the town in peril. Fountain Creek runs through the middle of the town's historic district, and that's the same creek that originates north of the Waldo Canyon burn area. So, flash flooding was a real concern. It never flooded the streets, but the color of the rushing water through the stream turned from a clay red to a charcoal black. All the soot, ash and possibly retardants from the fire came flowing down.

Manitou Springs lies west of Colorado Springs. Often the two cities are combined and referred to simply as "The Springs."

These chairs are lined up on top of a building. I have no answer as to why. But I can tell you about the mountain in the background and that diagonal path that goes up it:

That's Mount Manitou, and what appears to be a stip of dirt is called Manitou Incline. In the early 1900s a tram was built to help carry loads to a hydroelectric construction site. After that job was completed, the tram was bought and turned into a tourist attraction, carrying people in the car up to the top of the mountain.

This attraction went on until the late 1960s, but maintenance because of land- and rockslides became too expensive. The tram attraction closed, but the rails were left in place.

Today, hikers climb the one-mile 2,000-ft incline for a 'workout.' However, they are doing it illegally. The land is private property, but negotiations at the time of this writing are in the works to open the incline to the public.

Yes! A 2,000-foot elevation gain in one mile! Yikes!!

Miramont Castle sits on one of the higher streets in Manitou Springs. It is built mostly of Manitou greenstone, found only in this area. It was originally built for a Catholic priest, that was back in the 1890s, then was sold and bought various times. For a while, in the 1940s, it was apartments, then in 1976 it was purchased by the Manitou Springs Historical Society, opened for tours and placed on the National Register of Historical Places.

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