Overview of 30th
30th Anniversary Celebration for Nancy and Dennis
Colorado Springs, CO
May 30–June 2, 2018
Our 30th Anniversary Celebration took place in 2018, and we’ve left the detail pages here to show the typical level of planning for these events.
We’ve been working hard preparing for Colorado Springs, and the schedule is settled!
We’ve put together four days of activities, culminating with the Anniversary Dinner Party on Saturday, June 2. We will provide group transportation for all of the activities. We’ve arranged for a guide for the day on Thursday, as well as a photographer who will accompany us to the wolf sanctuary on Saturday.
To get the group rates for our activities, we are paying in advance for most of them. Payment for the activities you choose can be given to us any time before or during the tgrip. Your costs for the activities will include entrance fees to some venues and lunches during the outings.
The schedule and description of selected activities are here, as well as links if you need more information. We’ve included an afternoon of free time on Friday, so information about other activities in the area is listed as well. We’ve even put together a little restaurant guide, based on input from a local friend (and foodie!).
HIGH ALTITUDE TIPS
Schedule of Events
Schedule of Events for Colorado Springs
DOWNLOAD FULL SCHEDULE
DATE |
ACTIVITY |
WED, May 30 |
All-day bus trip to Royal Gorge and Canon City. |
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Bus loads at 8:30 am. |
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Royal Gorge Bridge: in addition to enjoying the bridge and park, we’ll also be having lunch here before we head off to the Train in the afternoon. They have 3 different restaurants at the Bridge. |
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Royal Gorge Train: the Train is subject to TSA rules, so they do not allow backpacks on the train. You will be able to leave anything on our bus, which will be secure. |
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Hosted Dinner with Bernie the Guide in the Hotel Conference Room. Bernie will be accompanying us on Thursday’s trip. |
THU, May 31 |
All-day bus tour of local attractions with Bernie the guide. |
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Bus loads at 8:45 am. |
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Garden of the Gods, including an introductory video at the Visitor Center. |
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Western Museum of Mining |
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Air Force Academy Chapel |
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Dinner tonight is entirely optional — we plan to meet in the lobby at 6:30 pm, and then walk over to the Outback Steakhouse. There are multiple restaurants within walking distance if you would like something else. |
FRI, Jun 1 |
The big excursion up Pike’s Peak on a private tour bus! |
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Bus loads at 8:15. |
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Tour Bus Ride up Pike’s Peak, returning to Hotel at 1 pm. |
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FREE TIME — enjoy Colorado Springs! We have information about other things to do here, including the Zoo. |
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Dinner tonight is entirely optional — we plan to meet in the lobby at 6:30 pm, and then walk over to Carraba’s Italian Grill. There are multiple restaurants within walking distance if you would like something else. |
SAT, Jun 2 |
All-day bus trip to Wolf Sanctuary. The Anniversary Dinner Party is in Colorado Springs in the evening. |
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Bus loads at 8:45. |
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Wolf Sanctuary (with professional photographer Mike Pach) |
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Bus loads for the dinner party at 6:30. |
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Anniversary Dinner at 7 pm in Colorado Springs |
SUN, Jun 3 |
The Party is over! 🙁 |
Hampton Inn
Hotel Contact Info
Hampton Inn & Suites Colorado Springs South
2910 Geyser Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80906 • (719) 884-0330
Local Recommendations
Local Recommendations
The restaurants and other businesses in this list came from a friend of ours that has lived in Colorado Springs for many years.
Name |
Type |
Location |
RESTAURANTS |
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Organic. Vegan and non. |
26 Manitou Ave |
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SW / Four Corners |
321 N. Tejon St. |
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Bingo Burger |
Burgers/shakes/beer |
132 N. Tejon St |
Boonzaaijer’s Dutch Bakery |
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Fine Dining |
Manitou Springs |
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Brewery + food |
1604 S. Cascade Ave. |
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Restaurants, shops, spa, golf, zip-lining. |
1 Lake Ave |
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Burrowing Owl |
Vegetarian. |
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Mediterranean, Greek. |
4375 Sinton Road |
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Good Cheesecake. Gluten-free restaurant. |
616 S. Tejon St. |
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Traditional English pub |
The Broadmoor, 1 Lake Ave |
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King’s Chef Diner |
"searing hot green chili" |
131 E. Bijou St; 110 E. Costilla St. |
French Bistro. |
2417 W. Colorado Ave |
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117 E. Pikes Peak Ave |
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4440 N. Chestnut St. |
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Gourmet burgers |
1904 Southgate Road |
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All-you-can-eat soup & salad lunch. This is where we’re having the Anniversary Dinner. |
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French Bistro & Bakery. |
4605 Centennial Blvd |
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Health-conscious food. |
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Coffee, pastry, breakfast, lunch |
1019 S. Tejon St. |
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Chef-driven, industrial gastropub. |
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Chef-inspired, beer-required foodery. |
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Italian. Great lunch specials. Highly rated in 2017 in 3 categories! #1 Italian for last 10 years. |
2802 W. Colorado Ave. |
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Italian. Rustic, fresh ingredients. |
2527 W. Colorado Ave. |
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Poor Richard’s (Used & New Books) / Rico’s Cafe and Wine Bar |
Books, hand-tossed pizza, soups, salads, fresh food including vegetarian. |
324 1/2 N. Tejon St. |
Restaurant, brewpub. Pet-friendly inside. |
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Jamaican. Jerk sauces, spicy. |
405 N. Tejon St. |
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multiple locations |
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Noodle bowls and soups. |
323 N. Tejon St. |
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Panoramic view of CS |
230 Point of the Pines Drive |
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Colorado Cuisine Restaurant, bakery, market, sushi counter. |
9633 Prominent Point |
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The Warehouse Restaurant |
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Coffee house, wine bar, light lunch items. Live music. |
401 N. Tejon St. |
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OTHER FOOD/DRINK |
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Coaltrain Wine & Spirits |
Beer & Wine |
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Ice cream! |
111 E. Pikes Peak Ave. |
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Supermarkets. |
(multiple) |
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Upscale bar. |
1604 S. Cascade Ave |
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Ranch Foods Direct |
Butcher / meat market |
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Micro-breweries |
Laughing Lab, Fat Tire, New Belgium Brewing Co. |
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ACTIVITIES |
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Art Museum |
30 W. Dale St. |
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Easy walking. |
320 Pepper Grass Lane |
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Helen Hunt Falls |
Short, scenic easy hike. |
3440 N. Cheyenne Canyon Rd. |
Mueller State Park |
Pretty. Views of Pikes Peak. |
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The Paint Mines |
Painted desert. |
1 hr NE of CS. |
Palmer Park |
Views of Pikes Peak. |
North side of CS. 3650 Maizeland Rd. |
1474 acres: trails, views. |
Ridge Rd at US 24. |
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OTHER STUFF |
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Independent movies, food, charming. |
115 E. Pikes Peak Ave. |
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Huge shopping, jewelry, Native American. |
324 Beckers Lane, Manitou Springs |
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Used CDs, LPs, books. |
(multiple) |
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Little Richard’s Toystore |
Toys. |
324 N. Tejon St. |
Gift Shops |
Terra Verde; CJ Kard |
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Shopping Centers |
The Promenade Shops at Briargate; University Village Colorado; Chapel Hills Mall. |
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Other Activities
Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs is all about the Great Outdoors and natural beauty (like Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods), but there are plenty of indoor activities: several museums, an art center, the US Air Force Academy, the Olympic Training Center, and even a castle. The weather is mild and dry, with 300 days of sunshine. Temperature ranges: May 37/65; June 46/73.
Here are some of the many activities available in the Colorado Springs area.
Attraction Name |
Description |
Suspension bridge 1000 feet above Royal Gorge. Walk the bridge, or the bold ones can take a gondola or zip line across the gorge! |
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America’s most spectacular rail journey along the Arkansas River in 1250-feet-deep Royal Gorge. They even have a bubble-top dinner car. |
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This picturesque National Landmark and city park features 300′ sandstone rock formations at the base of Pike’s Peak. |
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America’s only mountainside zoo (elevation 6,800′) lets you hand-feed giraffes and budgies, experience animals up-close, and witness a view like no other! Check out the live GiraffeCam, too. |
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The Cadet Chapel is the most visited man-made tourist attraction in Colorado. This aluminum, glass, and steel structure features 17 spires that shoot 150 feet into the sky. It is considered among the most beautiful examples of modern American academic architecture. |
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Built by city founder General Palmer. The guided Historical Tour has stories of turn-of-the century railroad wars and oil tycoons up to what is now the soul-stirring property of Glen Eyrie. The 90-minute Historical Tour includes a brief video filled with history of General Palmer and The Navigators, and a Guided Walking Tour through the Carriage House and the first and second floors of The Glen Eyrie Castle. General Palmer worked on some projects with Nikola Tesla, too. |
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America’s largest museum dedicated to numismatics explores art, history, and science to promote the diverse nature of money. Exhibits include the most complete U.S. gold coin set ever assembled. Owned and run by the American Numismatic Association. |
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Shopping district with lots of historic buildings, with fine old brick structures, quaint alleyways, boutiques, fine & cultural jewelry, galleries, and restaurants. |
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Brings the rich mining history of Colorado to life for you through exhibits that feature working mining equipment (and two burros). Over 4,000 artifacts are on display at the 27-acre indoor/outdoor site, including a ten-stamp ore mill, a multi-purpose visitor center and theater, and a research library. |
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Family-rated walk through a half mile of Colorado caverns and experience total cave darkness on a 45-minute guided tour discussing cave history and geology. |
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Private tour with close encounters (in the pen!) and photography of wolves. They provide sanctuary, rehabilitation, and environmentally natural housing for captive-born wolves and wolfdogs who have suffered injuries or abuse. |
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Built in 1936, it’s a museum, theatre and art school under one roof. 132,286 square-foot facility hosts major international traveling and changing exhibitions, including an unprecedented Tactile Gallery. They have Van Briggle pottery and Chihuly glass collections. |
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This is the flagship training center for the U.S. Olympic Committee. Swimming and Shooting have their headquarters on complex. This is reportedly dull unless teams are actively training; we’ll try to find out. |