Travels with Tish Girlfriends’ Getaway Guide

Oh, you will enjoy the Broadmoor. It is the epitome of a luxury resort, set at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain on the outskirts of Colorado Springs. During our trip, Sandy and I had the opportunity to tour the Broadmoor, enjoy lunch and hear a bit about its glamorous history. Would we enjoy staying at the Broadmoor? You bet!
(However, you may recall, we opted to try a “cottage” in the mountains near Divide which we very much loved. These are two distinctly difference experiences, so you have to decide what you prefer.)

Spa. Tennis. Golf. Boutiques. Dining.
I can’t begin to tell you about all the amenities offered to you at The Broadmoor. This is a place you could easy stay for a week or two — and still not want to go home.

The Spa. Oh, it was luxurious. I believe 41 private spa service rooms. About 40 different services. The Spa groups its services into 6 distinctive collections from Fitness to Beauty to Exotics to Indulgences. We thought we’d love to try the Gold Shimmer or Pearl Glow Body Therapies that use pearl essences from white mother-of-pearl and black pearl or an anti-aging gold wrap.

Tennis. This is the #3 rated tennis facility in the country. And its instruction is rated #1 by Tennis Magazine. Need to brush up on your game? Sign up for a clinic. If you love tennis, check out its Web page for more detail.

Golf. Three top-rated courses, including the redesigned Mountain Course which reopened last summer. Jack Nicklaus won his first national title here and then had his company return to redesign the course for the Broadmoor. The Broadmoor courses have earned a 5-star rating from Golf Digest.

Boutiques and Dining. Guests can enjoy dining at 15 different restaurants, grilles or cafes on the property. We had lunch in the Garden Room at The Tavern and it was excellent. The Broadmoor also offers 25 unique on-property boutiques which, of course, we checked out while we were there. Beautiful selections.

What More Could You Ask For?
I’ve reported on many nice facilities, but The Broadmoor seems to be a one-stop destination that would delight any girlfriend group. It sits on 3,000 acres, rooms either have a lake or mountain view. The Broadmoor has a zoo on Cheyenne Mountain. And it even runs daily shuttles to Cripple Creek, home of Colorado’s casinos.

You’d never have to leave the resort to enjoy each day. But it is in close proximity to all the sights I’ve been mentioning in the Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs area. So you have many choices as to how you’d spend each day out there.

And one of the best conveniences being added is nonstop service to the Colorado Springs airport from Kansas City aboard Midwest Airlines. So if you didn’t want to bother driving down from Denver, you could easily fly in and take a shuttle to the resort.

Impeccable Guest Service. By the way, if you’re a Midwest customer, you’ll discover that Midwest Airlines and The Broadmoor share customer service values. We noticed that employees in all areas of the resort greeted us with genuine friendliness and hospitality. It’s just the “how may we serve you” or “how can we make your visit even better” culture that both The Broadmoor and Midwest Airlines have developed over the years and it’s reflected in the employees you encounter. It’s a very nice amenity that you just don’t find very often. And we appreciated it very much.

NEXT: Milwaukee Rocks in the Summertime

TIPS:
1) The Colorado Springs Airport is just 16 minutes away. Midwest Airlines begins service between Kansas City and Colorado Springs July 1, with connections from East and West Coast cities, as well as Milwaukee.
2) Airport Shuttle Service. The Colorado Springs Airport roundtrip shuttle is just $30.
3) Onsite Car Rental. During our tour, I noticed a car rental office near the main lobby. If you just wanted to rent a car for an afternoon or a day during your visit, you could do so.
4) Artist in Residence and Special Tours. Love to dabble in painting, drawing or photography? Enjoy it while you vacation. The Broadmoor has an Art on Location program that features instruction and tours from prominent local artists.
5) Special Package Rates. Check out the Broadmoor’s Web site for some exceptional package rates for specific dates this summer. These are limited but very affordable rates for a resort of the caliber.

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You could spend two or three days just enjoying Manitou Springs and all it has to offer. Its main street is filled with art galleries and unique shops with beautiful jewelry, native crafts, clothing, and more. Sandy and I browsed almost every shop — and sampled homemade fudge along the way. We particularly liked the beautifully handcrafted turquoise and onyx jewelry.

The Avenue Hotel — A Victorian B&B
At the end of one block, we ran across a lovely B&B that was actually on my agenda to find. It belongs to a friend of a friend. We stopped in for a tour. The Avenue Hotel — A Victorian Bed & Breakfast dates back to 1886 and has been lovingly restored and maintained. It has 7 or 8 guest rooms and suites plus a carriage house. We found the rooms large, some with multiple beds and all with private bathrooms. Very well suited for a group of gals out on the town for a few days. This B&B, by the way, was immaculate and nicely decorated. The innkeeper, Kevin, is also a massage therapist and esthetician. Consequently spa services are also offered to guests at the inn — which I believe is unique in the B&B type of accommodations.

Room rates, as well as spa services, are very reasonable and affordable. For example, the Meadows Room with both a king and single bed and private bath is just $115 in season and $99/night in the off season.

NEXT: More Manitou Springs Adventures

TIPS:
1) Dining. I’m giving you a link to the many area restaurants — it will be tough to choose. We enjoyed lunch at Adams Mountain Cafe. Really wanted to return to the Mission Bell Inn, where I had dined on a previous trip, but it was not open for lunch. It has been owned by the same family for more than 30 years and has always been good.

2) Park Your Car and Stroll. Manitou Springs offers you the opportunity to park (for free) and stroll down its streets, stopping in shops and cafes along the way. If you’re staying at the B&B, all the shops are right out your door.

3) Natural Springs. These towns are called “springs” for a reason. There really are springs in and around town. Several in Mantiou Springs itself. You can sample the water from convenient fountains. We tasted the “soda” water from Cheyenne Springs. It was good, had a slightly sweet flavor.

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Most folks want to get to the top. Not me. Been there — done that a long time ago. But don’t let that stop you from getting to the top of Pikes Peak. It’s a spectacular sight to see and one of the treasures of our American landscape.

Manitou Springs.
Drive about 15 minutes or so out of Colorado Springs and you’ll find the delightful little town of Manitou Springs — and the home of Pikes Peak. By the way, Manitou Springs itelf is a very nice little town that bears the title of a National Historic District.

Car, Rail or Trail to the Top
You do have a choice on how you’ll get to the top of Pikes Peak. You can drive up the Pikes Peak Highway to the 14,110-foot summit. You can hike up. Or you can take the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. It’s a modern train designed by a Swiss rail car company. The fare runs $30-$32, depending on the month. But be sure to check the Web site for discount coupons before you go. At the top, you’ll find a restaurant, gift shop and an unbelievable view in every direction.

Manitou Cliff Dwellings.
Ever heard of the Anasazi Indians? They lived in Colorado and New Mexico about 700 years ago and appear to be ancestors of the Pueblo Indians. A well-preserved example of their cliff dwelling architecture is right at Manitou Springs and can be explored at no cost. Next to the Cliff Dwellings is a reconstructed Pueblo building that houses a museum and gift shop. You are free to walk through the Cliff Dwellings and see the unique methods the Ancient Ones used to protect themselves from the elements. I’ve climbed through the dwellings before, but enjoyed it again on this trip. It doesn’t take too long and is worth fitting into your itinerary.

NEXT: More Places to Visit Around Manitou Springs

TIP: Flying directly into Colorado Springs (on Midwest Airlines) makes sense when you realize how much you can see and do in and around that area. Everthing is just a short drive away — even the mountain towns. And many of the sights are in close proximity to each other.

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Looking for an ideal summer getaway spot? Try Colorado — especially the Colorado Springs area. It wraps up all the best of mountain scenery, outdoor opportunities, Wild West and Native American culture and outstanding local arts into one terrific locale. If you want mountain biking, hiking or river rafting, it’s there. If you want elegant accommodations, art galleries and unique shopping, it’s all there. And if you really want some breathtaking views of a classic American landscape, it’s there all around you.

What to See and Do.
The first place we stopped was the U.S. Olympic Training Center on the outskirts of town. Sandy and I, like so many folks, do love to watch the Olympics. And here you can see the top Olympic competitors and hopefuls go through their training paces. The Welcome Center offers some interesting history about the games and the tour takes you to various gyms and the aquatic center on the campus. We saw gymnasts working the pommel horse and parallel bars. Several pairs of boxers were sparring under coach guidance. We watched sharpshooters practicing. And we saw a number of women working out in the weight-lifting area. The tour was well worth the hour or so we spent. The campus is beautiful and inspirational as well.

U.S. Air Force Academy
Our time did not permit us to visit the Air Force Academy, also on the outskirts of Colorado Springs. But we passed it a couple of time and it is a very large facility that is open to the public for tours. The day we might have visited was also graduation day for th cadets and we thought we’d avoid the thousands of people who come in for the event.

NEXT: Manitou Springs

Tips:
1) Easy to Get Around Town. Wherever you stay, in town, at the edge of town or out a bit in Manitou Springs or even Divide (where we stayed), you can easily get in, out and around town. Of course, I’d recommend a rental car.
2) Check the Web sites. Before you go, check out the Academy and Olympic Training Center Web sites for visitor hours.
3) Midwest Airlines begins service to Colorado Springs on July 1. (2 roundtrips each weekday and a total of 3 on weekends) It’s an easy airport to get into and out of. Very convenient to all the great stuff you’ll want to see around the area.
4) More to See and Do. Visit PeakRadar.com to find out activity, event and entertainment options in the area. It’s a new site filled with entertainment choices.

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Not only does the Colorado Springs area offer outstanding natural beauty, it also offers a wide range of hotel/resort/cabin/cottage options. Sandy and I chose a “cottage” option out in the mountains of Divide. But we took time to tour a bed & breakfast in Manitou Springs and an exceptional resort just outside Colorado Springs and will report on those in a later post.

Pikes Peak in Full View.
The Village at D&B Ranch is a most unique place to stay. Located outside of Divide (which is outside Manitou Springs, which is outside of Colorado Springs — really about 30 miles outside of Colorado Springs), the Village encompasses 3 custom-designed “cottage” homes. One is Victorian in style, one is Colonial and the other is a Williamsburg brick style. All are placed alongside a mountain trout stream running off of Pikes Peak. All have been thoughtfully designed and beautifully appointed. Natural cherrywood floors. Gorgeous antique furniture. Handmade quilts and down comforters. An efficiency kitchen with excellent breakfast fare waiting in the refrigerator.

No musty cottages here — these are guest homes that were built just 5 years ago. We thoroughly enjoyed the comfort of the 1-bedroom Victorian with a huge gas fireplace in the living room and an oval whirlpool tub and separate shower in the bathroom. The bedroom offered an alcove, complete with a pair of comfortable chairs, to look out through the valley at Pikes Peak.

The Village at D&B Ranch is about 5-6 miles out of Divide, the last few miles on a wide dirt road. But don’t be put off by a dirt road as it leads to a gorgeous small and very private valley with these vacation home cottages.

Long-horned sheep are frequently seen on the side of the mountain. This mini-valley is situated in the middle of the 12,000 acre Mueller State Park. It’s quiet, beautiful and very comfortable. While we were there, we noted that a honeymooning couple and a young family were in the other two cottages. Hardly ever saw them.

The nightly rates are very reasonable, especially when you consider this spectacular location and the high quality (and very clean) cottages. We would love to return there with our husbands.

NEXT: What to See Around Colorado Springs

TIPS:
1) In season, a 1-bedroom runs about $125/night. The 2 br, 3 bath, 3 fireplace cottage runs $200/night. All have a kitchen, jacuzzi, access to BBQ and gazebo with full outdoor kitchen with free laundry, 2 ponds. Off-season rates are a bit lower.
2) The location is just 9 miles from Cripple Creek, an old gold mining town that now has about 20 small to medium-sized casinos. A mining town/western theme. Very fun.
3) The kitchen and refrigerator were stocked with bacon, eggs, high quality orange juice, half-and-half and Tully’s coffee from Seattle. We chose not to cook and found it an easy drive into town to local restaurants.
4) If you’re into trout fishing, you’ll also find the South Platte River nearby — apparently a prime fly-fishing location.
5) You can find out more at www.dbranch.com.

6) Midwest Airlines begins service to Colorado Springs on July 1. (2 roundtrips each weekday and a total of 3 on weekends) It’s an easy airport to get into and out of. Very convenient to all the great stuff you’ll want to see around the area.

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Are you good with maps? Or do you need one of your girlfriends to navigate when you go on a trip? Are you chronically afraid of getting lost in a strange town?

It doesn’t matter which of the above fits your navigation skills. I’m going to recommend you get a Garmin. I’m good with maps. I manage to navigate just fine and arrive at my destination (sooner or later) no matter where I’m traveling. But this week I discovered that a Garmin StreetPilot will now be an indispensible item in my carry-on luggage.

What is a Garmin StreetPilot?
It’s a Global Positioning System (GPS) that guides you from one destination to another — absolutely effortlessly, almost mindlessly. It’s a satellite-based navigation system. But don’t let that scare you. Garmin’s StreetPilot is user-friendly. I never read the manual and barely paid attention as my husband tried to explain his new gizmo to me. But it looked easy, intuitive. And it is. That’s why I asked him to lend it to me for my trip to Colorado Springs. With barely 3 minutes of instruction, I had it up and running the next day in my rental car as I headed to the mountains.

How It Works.
You plug it into your car’s cigarette lighter or power source, turn it on and begin the easy programming. The StreetPilot knows where you are, so you can simply enter an address on the touchpad screen and press “Go.” It will quickly calculate the route for you and display it in color, step by step on the screen. And, it will talk to you, telling you where to turn and how far to go on any given road. If you miss a turn or stop along the way, the StreetPilot automatically recalculates your trip and arrival time. Yes, it even gives you a pretty darn accurate arrival time.

Looking for a Restaurant, Airport, Gas Station?
Simply scan the standard categories until you find the one you want. Press it and the StreetPilot will give you a list of restaurants or whatever in your vicinity — and will provide you a route to find the one you want. If you have a specific place to find, like a Starbucks for example, you just type in the name and it will give you a route to it.

We Never Needed a Map.
I packed several maps for our girlfriend getaway, but I never had to crack one open while enroute. The StreetPilot did all the work. And my friend, Sandy, became a GPS expert, too. In fact, she really loved taking charge of our routing and entering our destinations into the GPS. We just returned from Colorado Springs last night and I’ll bet she’s already bought one for herself. She loved it and knew her husband would, too.

We stayed about 10 miles beyond Manitou Springs, which is outside of Colorado Springs. Way into the mountain area, our accommodations were located on a somewhat remote dirt road. The StreetPilot reassured us that we were turning off the highway onto the right dirt road. It was great. On our last day, we had to drive from Divide, CO (where we were staying) to the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs. We just searched the hotel section, found the Broadmoor listed and pushed the “Go” button for a routing. That’s it. I started the car and just drove, following the verbal instructions from the StreetPilot. We arrived effortlessly — did I say mindlessly? — at Valet Parking at the Broadmoor’s front door. Then we easily re-programmed it to guide us to the Thrifty Car Rental Return at the airport.

Ladies, you’ll love it. You don’t need to be a techie of any sort. It will become indispensible tool for your travels.

NEXT: Rocky Mountain Highs

TIPS:
1) Some rental car companies also rent Garmin’s StreetPilot. You can try before you buy.

2) We used a Model c330 Garmin StreetPilot. Its full retail value is about $350. But ladies, don’t ever pay full retail. Shop around and also check the Internet. My husband got a whale of a deal online for a full GPS package that included a 3-footed friction mount for dashboards — can be easily moved from car to car. A friend of ours also got a good online deal for a refurbished StreetPilot. If you want to see one, you’ll find Garmin at major electronics and discount department stores.

3) This may sound like a commercial for Garmin, and it is, I guess. But not a paid commercial. Sandy and I both loved the product and whole-heartedly recommend it because of its value as a travel tool.

4) Midwest Airlines begins nonstop service to Colorado Springs on July 1. It’s a very easy airport to get in and out of and less than an hour from the Manitou Springs area where we stayed.