Colorado Springs

The contented residents of the Colorado Springs area believe they live in an ideal location, and it's hard to argue with them. To the west, the Rockies form a majestic backdrop. To the east, the plains stretch for miles. Taken together, the setting ensures a mild, sunny climate year-round, and makes skiing and golfing on the same day feasible with no more than a two- or three-hour drive. You don't have to choose between adventures here: you can climb the Collegiate Peaks one day, and go white-water rafting on the Arkansas River the next.

The region abounds in natural and man-made wonders, from the red sandstone monoliths of the Garden of the Gods to the space-age architecture of the U.S. Air Force Academy's Cadet Chapel. The most indelible landmark is unquestionably Pikes Peak (14,110 feet); after seeing the view from the peak, Katharine Lee Bates penned "America the Beautiful." Pikes Peak is a constant reminder that this very contemporary city is still close to nature. Purple in the early morning, snow-packed after winter storms, capped with clouds on windy days, the mountain is a landmark for directions and, when needed, a focus of contemplation.

General William Jackson Palmer, president of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, founded Colorado Springs in the 1870s and shaped it as a utopian vision of fine living. Original broad, tree-lined boulevards still grace sections of the city. With the discovery of hot springs in the area, the well-to-do descended on the bustling resort town to take the waters and to enjoy the mild climate and fresh air. It became known as "Saratoga of the West" and "Little London," the latter for the snob appeal of its considerable resident and visiting English population. Folks who had tuberculosis also came here, and spent days sitting on the wide porches in the more-historic sections of the city, believing that the clean, clear air would help heal them. The discovery of gold at nearby Cripple Creek toward the end of the 19th century signaled another boom for the Springs. In the early part of the 1900s, until the mines petered out just before World War I, the residents' per-capita wealth was the highest in the nation.

After World War II, city leaders invited the military to move in, and the Colorado Springs personality changed drastically. Today, the military is the largest employer in the city; the local economy is dependent on Department of Defense contracts related to the army's Fort Carson (Colorado's largest military base, just south of downtown Colorado Springs), NORAD, Shreiver Air Force Base, and the Peterson Air Force Base complex.

If Colorado Springs is anything, it's organized, and it manages all the utilities, one of the hospitals, and the airport. The state's second-largest city, it is known as a politically and socially conservative bastion, and the reputation is somewhat deserved (the evangelical group Focus on the Family has its headquarters here). Yet, though tax-raising school bond issues have a hard time at the polls, the Springs voted to fund new open-space initiatives by a two-to-one margin. This is the West, but a West that understands the value of stewardship when it comes to its natural resources.