Manitou Springs, CO

We continue to be blessed with fantastic weather. Clear skies and mild temperatures continued today as we headed out to Manitou Springs. Manitou Springs is a nice artsy suburb of Colorado Springs today, but many years ago it was its own destination location based on the springs and as a gateway to Pikes Peak.

There are numerous restaurants and art shops. There are many Native American art shops and they all had great stuff. We had lunch at a nice outdoor café called the Townhouse Lounge. It was great for lunch, but I bet it is a busy watering hole in the evening.

 The rapidly rising terrain that enfolds Manitou Springs leaves little room to spread out, so the residential areas start only a block off the main avenue. Most homes are small and quite old. In general it is a nice place to walk and window shop. As for living here, I would defer since the tourist crowd gets too hectic in the warm months and the steep roads make it difficult in the icy colder months. Besides, we like our solitude.

We are really starting to like the area west of Colorado Springs up around Woodland Park and Divide. That is where we headed after lunch. We had a four o’clock appointment at the Wolf and Wild Life Sanctuary, so we first went to the Florissant Fossil Bed National Monument. Originally on the property of a mid-1800’s homestead, it became a tourist destination in the 20’s when fossils were found here. Volcanic dust trapped all sorts of small creatures that are now revealed in thin sand stone shale. We do not get to see these specimens here other than a few samples in the visitor center, but on the hiking trails you can see some impressive petrified redwood tree stumps.

The original homestead still exists, and is impressive. Adeline Hornbeck was a single mother of four when she became one of the fist women to secure a homestead in Colorado. It was a 160-acre plot, and within four years she had built a substantial home and outbuildings and accumulated $4,000 worth of livestock. Besides working the homestead and raising the four kids she also worked at the Florissant General Store.

The highlight of the day however came towards the end. Barbara made reservations for the feeding tour at the Wolf and Wildlife Sanctuary in Divide. This facility receives and cares for wolves, mostly, that otherwise would be destroyed. It is a nice facility and the owners seem to really understand wolves and how to care for those that they have in their care. This is not a rescue facility that rehabilitates and releases injured animals. They take in animals and allow them to live out their lives in a stress free environment. They are currently at max capacity and cannot accept more animals. They pair compatible animals in large fenced areas. These holding areas are about an acre each, so the wolves have lots of room to run. We got to join the staff as they fed the wolves at the end of the day. I say wolves, but they also have coyote and fox. Did you know that fox have the same scent glands as the skunk? Yep, and it was evident.

At the end of the tour/feeding the staff member lead us in a “pack” howl to see if the wolves would respond in kind. She let out a long howl, and after an appropriate delay we (the four tourists) responded. What a wonderful result! All the wolves, plus the coyotes, started a response howl. Actually, it went on for quite a while. Eerie! But, really cool! What a great way to end the day!

Tomorrow we will wash the coach of the dust from the Albuquerque’s dust storms and otherwise get ready to depart Friday. In the afternoon we should tour the Academy itself since we have been here so long we should at least see the campus.