Another database class; another business trip. I had to go to Colorado Springs, Colorado for a four day class on data modeling. If you've never been to an advanced database design or data modeling class, I highly recommend it.
The class was to run from the 22nd through the 25th, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Again, I decided that since I didn't want to miss any of the class, I would fly up on Sunday afternoon so as to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed come Monday morning. This time, I actually made it... on SUNDAY! Anyway...
The flight from Jacksonville to Colorado Springs, via Dallas was completely uneventful. The only thing remotely exciting was the drive from the airport (I've never flown to) to the hotel (I've never stayed in) in the dark. The travel industry hasn't changed much, but between cell phones and Google, the modern traveler has come a long way baby!
Oracle University has some first rate facilities. The settings are quite comfortable and spacious. There's plenty of room to work, and for every Oracle class I've been to, the instructors have been top notch, extremely knowledgeable people. Plus, they have coffee, juice, candy, anything one could imagine for snacking... these places don't do much for my girly, little figure.
Monday - School...
Tuesday - School...
Wednesday - School...
Founded in 1871 by General William Jackson Palmer, a Civil War cavalry hero, while expanding his Denver and Rio Grande Railroad lines, Colorado Springs had its humble beginnings as a small Rocky Mountain resort hamlet.
I found Colorado Springs to be a "nice" place. Like Denver, it's an incredibly clean and well kept city, and the people are genuinely pleasant. But, where Denver has found that rare mix of cosmopolitan and comfortable, Colorado Springs seems to be suffering badly from the effects of urban sprawl. I don't think I've ever been anywhere that seemed so open and so congested at the same time.
Yet, with the large windows in the class room, and with this particular Oracle site being literally across I-25 from the United States Air Force Academy, by the time school was over on Wednesday afternoon, I was chompin' at the bit. Additionally, we were to finish school a little early on Thursday, so I was off to do some very serious sight seeing. There still aren't many places better than Colorado Springs to do just that.
Many thanks have to go to my good friend, Mr. Ron Sauer, for his insights on viewing the sights in the area... "Thanks for the tips, Bud." And so, I was off.
What an inspiring place the United States Air Force Academy is! The "Falcons" are young people from all over America, learning to do whatever is needed to secure our way of life, and in one of the most pituresque settings I've ever been. If you're ever in a position to visit one of our nation's five U.S. Service Academies, do it. It's an incredible feeling one gets knowing that these kids are standing guard and willing to give their very lives to defend ours.
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My first stop was to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings located just down the road from Colorado Springs in Manitou Springs, Colorado. The dwellings are a combination of faithful reproductions and authentic ruins pillaged from what is now Mesa Verde National Park, and reconstructed as a tourist attraction in the 1890s.
"Portions of the Spruce Tree House, the picturesque Cliff Palace and the far-famed Balcony House as originally built in the Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado, have been here constructed at great expense. Careful measurements, plans and photographs of those ruins were made by the best architects and engineers; other Cliff Dwellings, built on private land, were then acquired and the walls of these ruins carefully taken down and the original stones shipped to Manitou, where exact reconstructions of the above named ruins were set up." (Ancient Cliff Dwellings).
Still, the parts taken from Mesa Verde are believed to be around 700 years old, and the ruins are interesting. And, the fact that they're reproductions shouldn't detract from the history of the "Ancient Ones," an American Indian civilization known as the Anasazi that lived in the four corners area of the American Southwest (where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah all meet) from about 1200 B.C. to 1300 A.D., and that would have made their homes of similar construction. For more on the history of the Anasazi, see the Anasazi Heritage Center website.
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From the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, I hot-footed it over to Seven Falls. Seven Falls is a series of seven distinct water falls beginning at the southern edge of the Pikes Peak watershed and tumbling down 181 feet of pikes peak granite to the base of South Cheyenne Caņon. The entrance is a 41 foot wide road (just big enough for two traffic lanes) bordered by two huge, monolithic rocks called the "Pillars of Hercules." The left and right pillars are 790 and 940 feet high respectively, just a shade over three quarters of the height of the 1250 foot Empire State building. From there, it leads into a natural box Caņon, suitable for an old John Wayne western, and eventually down to Seven Falls. The seven falls are (from top to bottom):
It's hard to get a sense of scale out of any two dimensional photo, but we can try. As you look at the photos, notice the people on the stairs leading up to the falls. If that doesn't do it, notice the fully grown Spruce trees on the caņon walls.
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At the urging of friend and Colorado Springs founder, General William Jackson Palmer, in 1879, Charles Elliott Perkins, purchased 240 acres on which to build a summer home. Perkins bought additional acreage over time, but never built on the land. Rather, he was quite pleased to leave it alone for the public to enjoy. Perkins died in 1907. Knowing their father's wishes, in 1909, Perkins' children deeded 480 acres of land over to the city of Colorado Springs stipulating
"where it shall remain free to the public, where no intoxicating liquors shall be manufactured, sold, or dispensed, where no building or structure shall be erected except those necessary to properly care for, protect, and maintain the area as a public park."
Sources vary as to how the Garden of the Gods was named. I've seen some that state that it was part of the 1909 deed to Colorado Springs and that "it would be known forever as the Garden of the Gods." Other sources tell the tale of two surveyors, M. S. Beach and Rufus Cable, who in 1859 were surveying what would become Colorado City, and came across the sandstone formations. Beach said that it would be a "capital place for a beer garden, when the country grows up." Cable exclaimed "Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods." as it has been known since. The official website has both stories, so draw your own conclusions, or maybe even submit a new tale of your own (History).
The sandstone formations within the Garden of the Gods are ancient. 300 million years ancient. What is amazing is how large they are... as you look over the pictures, look for fences, people and cars. It's the only way to get a perspective on the size of these things.
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My flight out of Colorado Springs wasn't until Friday afternoon, so I had a little time on Friday morning to do some more sight seeing. I just had to get to the mountain top.
The Manitou & Pike's Peak Cog Railway runs from Manitou Springs (elevation 6571 feet) to the summit of Pike's Peak (elevation 14110 feet), or just a shade over 1.4 miles as the crow flies... if you can find a crow willing! Visiting in the late 1880s, Zalmon Simmons (owner of the Simmons Mattress Company) took the three day pack mule trip to the top of Pike's Peak. Mr. Simmons decided there should be a more comfortable and efficient way to ascend to the summit. By 1889, the Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway Company was formed. On June 30th, 1891, a church choir from Denver became the first M & PP Ry passengers to make it to the summit. The M & PP Ry is a cog railway system. Cog rails use a third, center track that meshes with a gear on the train to pull the train up such a steep grade. A significant length of the track at different stages is up to 25% grade, meaning for every 100 feet forward, there is 25 feet of ascension. Visit their website for considerable information on the history and facts about the system. Some interesting M & PP Ry facts:
Our engineer for the trip was a quiet lady, but our conductor was quite the comic and may have missed his calling to do standup. He explained the cog system, and how it was used to get us up the mountain. He further explained that on the way down, gravity did the work and how the train used hydraulic brakes to keep us from running away. He continued...
"Should the hydraulic system fail, as a backup, we have springs... Manitou Springs, and Colorado Springs."
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Pike's Peak is named for Lieutenant Zebulon Pike, an early explorer of the American Southwest. He first saw what he called the "Great Peak" in November of 1806. Within a few days, he and a few groupies were off to conquer it. Heavy snows turned them back and he postulized that it might never be climbed. Botanist Edwin James became the first known person documented to climb it in 1820, and Julia Holmes became the first known woman to climb to the peak in 1858. In 1893, teacher and poet Katharine Lee Bates made the summit to Pike's Peak. She was so inspired by the view, she penned the poem, "America the Beautiful." For more information about Pike's Peak, see either the site above, or the Cog Railway Pike's Peak site.
On the day I visited, it was 79° in Manitou Springs; a beautiful August day, and I was dressed in a pair of my Sunday best jean shorts and a t-shirt for the day's outing. On the way up, the conductor explained how at around 11,500 feet, the distinct timberline is the area where trees stop growing and is caused by permafrost. PERMAFROST?! I'm in shorts and a t-shirt and you're talking about PERMAFROST?! Oh, THIS BITES!!! It was 27° at the summit, and the wind chill was 18°. Thank goodness I was suffering from altitude sickness or I would have frozen my hiney off!!!
In the top row of photos, the two ranges shots are distant pictures of Kansas (left) and New Mexico (right). And of course, that's me in the pics next to the signs.
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Colorado Springs to Dallas.
Dallas to Jacksonville.
I made it...