SNOW SEASON IN COLORADO SPRINGS

The millions of years old mountains and the dinosaur fossils on display in the museum make for mysterious attraction.

As I softly sang, “It’s snowing outside, I’ll take you to Colorado Springs this afternoon,” I drove my beloved to the Garden of the Gods, a beautiful rock park is located along the city and was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1971.

This natural rock garden is a major tourist attraction along with key attractions of Colorado Springs such as Wind Cave and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, where you can see giraffes and serows in their natural habitat. The millions of year old mountains and the dinosaur fossils on display in the museum create a mysterious attraction here.

This area of 5,500 m2 large is free and open to the public year-round. These rocks are like giant mushrooms that emerge from the ground, creating a unique beautiful landscape. We told our guide about the scenic Ha Long Bay in Vietnam which is famous for its thousands of large and small islands and said that calling this place “Ha Long on land” is not too exaggerated!

The guide also happily told us that this place was also known as “Beer garden of the Gods” with many kinds of Colorado beer brewed from the Rocky Mountain water.

MANY VISITORS GO TO THE CITY OF DENVER, THE CAPITAL OF COLORADO (UNITED STATES) TO LOOK FOR SKI RESORTS, WHILE WE TRAVELED BACK TO COLORADO SPRINGS, WHICH IS ABOUT TWO HOURS DRIVE AWAY, TO WATCH THE SNOW...

THE TRAIN THROUGH THE CANYON

After the “Garden of the Gods”, we headed towards the city of Cañon to experience the rail journey aboard the “Royal Gorge Route”. It is known that each year this railway serves about 125,000 passengers and leaves many possitive impressions for international tourists.

Began operation in the 1950s, departing at Santa Fe station, this historic two-hour rail journey has been very effective until today. Although the ticket price is not cheap, the average train ride has about 300-400 passengers and it is not rare to see 800 passengers on board. Of course, when it was winter, the feeling of being warmed up in the cabin and looking out to see the snow was poetic.

We decided to choose a Colorado specialty, bison burger, for lunch. The bison steak was soft and tasted very different from the one I usually eat at fast food restaurants. The guests sitting next to me were served the famous local drinks such as Coors beer, Budweiser beer, The Winery wine... by the bar in the train.

Mr. Rich, CEO of the Royal Gorge Route Railroad, explained: “This train is named after the Royal Gorge.

Everyone who comes here has to try going under the Royal Gorge suspension bridge and experience the train ride through these craggy canyons.”

It made us so curious that after the train ride ended, that suspension bridge became our next destination. The Royal Gorge was the tallest suspension bridge in the United States from its construction in 1929 until 2003. Walking along this bridge when it was snowing was a truly unique experience in my life. While my body was freezing cold, my head was hot due to the bright sunlight because the height here makes us closer to the sun. We traveled by a tram called “Gondola”. This was a “peaceful” way to see the beautiful scenery and only took us about 5 minutes to go across the mountainside. Under the feet of the mountain were the young pine covered in the snow, some chamois looking for food in the winter or the tourist bus waiting for the time to start.

In the way back, I walked along with other pedestrians to touch the cables that were too big for me to imagine and hold my breath to look at the bottom of the canyon through the holes of the planks or taste the snow still on the bridge. From above, the feeling of being small in nature is amazing!

Back in the city center, we checked in at The Antlers Wyndham Hotel, which has a history associated with city, on S. Cascade Avenue. The first hotel was built in 1883 by Antlers, burned down in 1898 and reopened in 1967. The second Antlers hotel was completed in 1901, destroyed in 1964 to make room for the current hotel. From the VIP room windows overlooking the city landscape, the mountains of Pikes challenged us to conquer tomorrow...

At 4,300 m above sea level, Mount Pikes is known as the “mountain of the United States”. This is the main peak of Rocky Mountains, the second highest in North America and the second most visited in the world.

The Grayline bus slowly followed the winding road that made us excited from the bottom of the mountain. Of course, the higher we went, the thicker the snow would be, so conquering the peak of Pikes in the winter would be a tough challenge that not everyone can accept. However, once standing on the top of Pikes, the whole paradise of snow will be collected in the eyes of visitors. A sweet donut - a “specialty” made at the top of the mountain - will help you regain energy as well as have beautiful photos in the snowy scenery.

If you are adventurous type, you can hike to the top through the spectacular Barr trail. The gravel trail is longer than 19 km, at an altitude of more than 2,400 m. You will have to find your way around winding forests, past meadows, through creeks and rocky paths. But this is not an easy trip and you can take from 6 to 10 hours to reach the destination. In addition, the Seven Falls or Hellen Hunts waterfalls covered with snow will also be an interesting “check-in” place for visitors from the tropical country.

MORE INFORMATION

Visa: You should plan to go to the US early, get a visa before the date of travel from 6 months to a year. To successfully apply for a US visa, you need to carefully prepare the application, fill out the online form, pay the visa fee, schedule an interview and wait for the appointment date at the American Embassy/consulate.

Itinerary: From Vietnam, you can take an international flight to Denver airport, then a domestic flight to Colorado Springs.

Transport: Trains and buses are very convenient way of public transportation in Colorado Springs.

Weather: The snow season in Colorado Springs starts from December to April next year, there is not heavy snowfall every year but in the evening, the temperature here is definitely below 0°C.

Accommodation: Colorado Springs has a variety of hotels at many prices to choose from. If you are a history lover, you can stay at The Antlers hotel for only 152 Usd/night or choose the 5-star hotel The Broadmoor - which has hosted a lot of heads of state, celebrities and stars - with a cost of about 420 Usd/night.

Cuisine: Colorado Springs is a culinary paradise with famous dishes such as oysters of the Rocky Mountains, lobster, Colorado-style pizza, lamb chops, Palisade peaches, bison... This is also the city with many Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants for Vietnamese tourists who find it difficult to adapt to strange foods.

Other notes:

 Colorado Springs City Tourism Center (515 S. Cascade Avenue/phone: 719.685.7639) is what you need to remember if you want to find out more information for your journey here.