Colorado Springs Balloon Classic

Every September, the Colorado Springs Balloon Classic is held at Memorial Park. Watching tons of gorgeous hot air balloons take off early in the morning and throughout the weekend is a spectacular sight.

After the balloons launch, they float through the city of Colorado Springs, past Pikes Peak, high in the air. From our home in Colorado Springs, we used to watch them float in front of Pikes Peak every September during the Labor Day weekend. They are so beautiful to watch, and even more so up close and personal.

Early one Saturday morning, our family drove over to Memorial Park around 6 am (no easy feat with three small children under five!) to see the balloons by the lake. We were excited, fascinated, and pretty thrilled as we watched the balloons fill with air, fire up, and ascend with people in them! The only thing cooler would have been if we had gotten to go up in the balloons ourselves.

We got to talk to some of the owners of the balloons as they were unfolding them and getting them ready to fill. Most of them go to various balloon festivals around the country, such as the one they have in Albuquerque.

The variety of balloons is amazing. We saw a lot of colorful rounded ones like the kind you normally see when you think of hot air balloons. We also saw some unusually shaped balloons at the Colorado Springs Balloon Classic, like Tyrannosaurus Rex, pictured above.

Our kids were excited to see dinosaurs, Spiderman, Tony the Tiger, cowboys, and various animals go up, up, up in the air early in the morning chill.

You might be surprised to know that Memorial Park was very crowded that early in the morning with hundreds of spectators. The crowd grows as the sun comes up. All through the day for the entire Labor Day weekend, the balloons lazily float across Pikes Peak.

If you are in Colorado Springs during the Labor Day weekend, be sure to visit Memorial Park early in the morning and watch the incredible balloons blow up and seem to come to life!

Antlers Hilton Colorado Springs

The Antlers Hilton Colorado Springs claims they are the only full service hotel in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs on their web site. I never stayed there but it is a very good hotel according to some friends of ours who have stayed there.

It is located at 4 South Cascade Avenue and you can learn more by visiting their web site.

This hotel has 285 guest rooms and seven suites. Each room has electronic locks for your safety. There is a work area with two telephone lines and voice mail. This comes in handy if you are staying in Colorado Springs on business. To go with the work area, you get free high speed internet access, which is a must these days.

Of course, there is the usual cable TV and you can order pay per view movies as well. You get an iron and ironing board, coffee pot with free coffee and tea, and a hair dryer. The rooms look very nice and the scenery outside is spectacular so you will enjoy staying here.

Suites also offer a jacuzzi and a full-sized refrigerator, but no microwave. I like having a microwave so I can make popcorn while I watch a movie late at night and have done so all across the country so I am not sure why they do not include one.

They have a full-service restaurant that serves food from 6:30am until 11:00pm everyday of the week.

There is a coffee bar, a beautiful indoor swimming pool in a room with a lot of windows looking out at Pikes Peak and a lot of gorgeous scenery, and a fully equipped health club for your convenience. It is close to many Colorado Springs attractions, restaurants, museums, and shopping areas. There is valet parking as well.