Labor Day Lift Off

Every Labor Day weekend (that's the first weekend in September) my home town of Colorado Springs hosts a big balloon festival. This year I went to Saturday evening's balloon glow, and was treated to strange designs like this cool crab.

There are always lots of people here to view the glowing balloons.

It's always fun to look straight up.

And of course, a closeup of the flames is mandatory!

Our World Tuesday

Big Balloon

Taken on Saturday evening, here's a balloon proudly showing off my city's Olympic City designation. The USA's Olympic Training Center is here, as well as the United States Olympic Committee Headquarters, and a future Olympic Museum.

Skywatch Friday

Pretty Park Skies

Here are a couple of shots from a Colorado Springs park for Skywatch Friday.

Thanks to our Veterans

On Veterans Day, I'd like to thank all of our veterans who have kept America safe. Here are some photos from Saturday's Veterans Day parade in downtown Colorado Springs.

There's a big military presence in our town so holidays like this mean something. I'm linking this to Our World Tuesday.

Today's Hike (Sondermann Park)

Socks and I did a little hike today in Sondermann Park, not far from downtown Colorado Springs.

The skies were blue and Pikes Peak had snow from last week's storms.

I still can't get used to cacti next to the trails, even after living in this dry climate for over 20 years.

I liked the shadows of this large tree, which should show signs of life in the next few weeks.

And finally, these fallen branches lying across the river made for an interesting pattern.

These freshly made photos are for Our World Tuesday.

Prospect Lake Sunrise

These photos are taken at Prospect Lake early one morning, near downtown Colorado Springs.

The first was taken with a wide-angle lens, while the second was taken from the same spot with a telephoto lens.

Visit the awesome Skywatch Friday meme for lots of great photos!

Phantom Canyon Brewing Company

Brewpubs which brew their own beer are very popular in Colorado. Here's one in downtown Colorado Springs.

Their beer is excellent and the food is tasty too. It's my entry for Our World Tuesday this week.

Long Train

Last week I showed you some train tracks in Colorado Springs. These tracks are active, with coal being most commonly transported.

These trains are very long and take many minutes to pass by.

They have several engines at the front and back to help them get over the nearby hills (specifically, Monument Hill which is around 7,300 feet or 2,225 meters elevation at the low point where the train goes over it).

The freight cars can seem endless.

It's a big part of Our World Tuesday.

Train Tracks

For this week's Our World Tuesday entry, here are some train tracks taken on a walk in Colorado Springs late last year.

I wonder what we'll see on these tracks for next week's entry?

Colorado Springs Sculpture

For Skywatch Friday this week, here's a simple photo of a sculpture in Acacia Park in downtown Colorado Springs.

If you're attentive you'll realize it was taken earlier in the year while the trees were still bare.

Summer Flowers

Here are some summer flowers at America the Beautiful Park, near downtown Colorado Springs.

This post is serving double-duty, as I'm linking to both Scenic Sunday and to Weekend Flowers.

Wildfire

There's a nasty wildfire on the west side of our city. It's burned 2,500 acres, and over 7,000 people have been evacuated, including some within Colorado Springs city limits. We can only hope that the weather forecast is wrong - it's supposed to be a windy day with record heat.

This photo was taken near our house, which is on the other side of town from the fire. The office where I work is within the evacuation zone.

Julie Penrose Fountain

Tina's PicStory theme this week is Round. So here are some photos of the Julie Penrose Fountain at America the Beautiful Park, near downtown Colorado Springs.

Spencer and Julie Penrose are two of the most famous people in the history of our city, known for their philanthropy.

The above shots were taken before the fountain was turned on; in the next one you can see the water flowing.

Originally the city tried to keep people away from the fountain. But it was just too attractive to hot children on the sunny summer days that are so common here, so they gave up and hired a lifeguard instead.

I can only imagine how refreshing it must be, but I didn't get wet!

And it's a part of Our World Tuesday.

Springtime in the Rockies (Blossoms and Snow)

It's springtime in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, which means an incredible variety of weather. It seems early in the year, but suddenly this one type of tree has blossomed all along the front range, in Colorado Springs and Denver. I don't know what type of tree it is, but it's certainly beautiful.

Those photos were taken in downtown Colorado Springs on Sunday, walking around in a t-shirt and shorts. This next photo was taken on Tuesday, at the end of a spring snowstorm.

And this great variety of weather and skies within two days is my entry for Skywatch Friday.

America the Beautiful Park

For this week's Our World Tuesday, here's a piece of my town, Colorado Springs - in this case, it's America The Beautiful Park, just outside of downtown. My Town also happens to be the theme of Tina's PicStory meme this week. The park entrance has two large obelisks.

There's a plaque explaining the naming of the park - the song America The Beautiful was inspired by the view from Pikes Peak.

 There are views of this Pikes Peak from the park - this was the middle of the summer so there's no snow.

 Parts of it are designed to look like the uplifted mountains...

 ...and the switch-backing trails that cross those mountains.

 The most famous part of this park is the fountain, but I've run out of space for this post so you'll have to come back later to see that. But as a bonus, here's a photo of a bush taken yesterday evening in my yard, showing some of the last of the leaves. I'm surprised there are any left this late in the year, after two snowfalls with more on the way this week.

My Western World

My city Colorado Springs has strong ties to the classic American West. For example, every year the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo is a major event in town. Although I've never seen the rodeo (I need to fix that next year), here's a downtown statue of Hank the Cowboy, who has promoted the rodeo for years.

The Pikes Peak Range Riders were founded in 1949 to promote the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, and they still have a range ride every year. Here's a photo of their memorial, also downtown.

There's a lot more Western culture here - the ProRodeo Hall of Fame is in town, and horses are a common sight in the suburbs. I frequently run into horses when I'm taking Socks for a walk in our local park, as I did yesterday. But that's enough of my world for today; to see other non-Western parts of the world visit the My World Tuesday web site.

My World Tuesday - Animal Sculptures

It's time to visit My World Tuesday again and see many interesting things from around our small world. Here are a couple more sculptures from downtown Colorado Springs. This first one is called Double Eagle and it's by Jim McCain. I really like the curves on this one and how the two eagles fit together.

The second is Bison “Bison Americanus” by Richard Jagoda. It's a very interesting contrast with the huge animal full of holes making it much lighter.

I need to go back downtown and spend more time walking around, there's lots more to see.

My World Tuesday - Colorado Springs Sister City

Colorado Springs has several cities around the world with which it maintains "sister city" relationships. The first of these relationships was created in 1962, with Fujiyoshida, Japan, and this gate and shrine (in the middle of a busy downtown road) commemorate this.

The My World Tuesday blog site contains lots more fascinating worldly snapshots so please visit.

My World Tuesday - Uncle Wilber Fountain & Cubicle Cactus

In downtown Colorado Springs is the fun Uncle Wilber fountain. It's one of those areas where water shoots out of the ground, and every so often the fountain opens up shooting water everywhere. Needless to say, on a hot summer day the area is filled with kids, but this photo was taken in the early spring when it wasn't operating.

Right next to it is one of the Art On The Streets pieces, the Cubicle Cactus by Kat and Bob Tudor. I think it's an entertaining, shapely, and colorful sculpture, and perfect in its location.

For more photos showing interesting worlds from around the globe, visit the My World Tuesday page. And for this week's Skywatch Friday post I'll be putting up a nice lightning shot from Saturday night so check back for that!