Colorado Springs Post 1

We left Lincoln, Nebraska for one of our longest drives of the trip ... west on I-80 across the state, then I-76 W into Denver (where we got our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains), then I-25 S down to Colorado Springs (about an hour below Denver).

We got lucky in Colorado Springs because we changed hotel reservations from a Drury Inn to a Doubletree and they upgraded us free to a "presidential suite" ... about the size of four regular hotel rooms with a kitchen/bar, dining room and living room, three balconies looking out at the Rockies, and a four-person jacuzzi tub. I wanted to move in (and we did stay 3 nights).

The first day there we visited the Manitou cliff dwellings and a park called the Garden of the Gods. The next day Susan went to the top of Pikes Peak on the Cog Railway, and the final day we visited the US Olympic Training Center.

It was a great time and tough to leave. Here are some pics from the first day or so ... will post Pikes Peak soon. By the way ... if you get to the bottom of a page you can just click older posts to see earlier posts from the trip.

This big Prairie Arch across I-80 was about the only landmark on the plains of Nebraska ... farm land as far as you could see.

OK Ronny K ... here's your baseball stadium (although can't see it too well ... Coors Field lights are on). You must have forgot about those Busch Stadium pics earlier - or Red Sox fans may not acknowledge it.

Lights of Coors Field ... downtown Denver

Invesco Field ... home of Broncos

Rocky Mountains southwest of Denver

Presidential Suite at Doubletree in Colorado Springs ... it was great!

View from balcony ... Pikes Peak is just to upper right (out of sight)

Manitou Cliff Dwellings just outside Pikes Peak/Colorado Springs

Garden of the Gods outside Colorado Springs

Coming soon ... Susan braves 4 degree temps to take the train up Pikes Peak

Lincoln Nebraska

After leaving Lawrence, we headed west about 20 minutes for a brief stop in Topeka. The Kansas capital is a nice, small, clean city ... but the reason we stopped was so I could get an order of onion rings at Bobo's Drive In ... a restaurant I've seen on Diners-Drive Ins-Dives. Rings were pretty good (not up to Varsity standards), but overall the place couldn't hold a candle to the Dari Chief my aunt and uncle ran for years.

From Topeka, we got off the interstate and drove north on HWY 75 into Nebraska and Lincoln.

Lincoln is also a capital city and the University of Nebraska is right down town (but the city is so small that it does not feel like an urban campus). It's about like Knoxville.

Our hotel was a Holiday Inn and our room had a view of the Cornhusker football stadium. A nice drive and visit to UN that night before a long westward drive to Colorado the next day.

Enjoy the pics (click on any to enlarge).

From Topeka ... we drove north on HWY 75 and saw a whole bunch of Kansas and Nebraska scenery ... most of it like the picture above and those below.

Above - pool atop Holiday Inn in Lincoln

View from our room ... you can see lights of football stadium

The tall white structure at top left of pic is main grandstand of stadium

We love visiting campuses and the rec center at Nebraska was nice

We left Lincoln for one of the longest drives of our trip ... all the way to Colorado Springs, Colorado at the base of Pikes Peak. It was an all day drive with no sightseeing (other than out the car window).

Coming soon ... Days 6-8 in Colorado Springs ... Denver, Pikes Peak, US Olympic Training Center, Air Force Academy (from road). Will post soon.

We are in Rawlins, Wyoming at 36 degrees with moderate snow falling! See you all soon.