Caching in CO Springs and Manitou Springs 6/13/2010

This morning we drove into downtown CO Springs to do 4 virtual caches. The first cache was at the site of Engine 168 which was a narrow gauge locomotive that pulled the first Denver & Rio Grande passenger train from Denver, CO to Ogden UT on May 21, 1883. It was retired in 1933 after 50 years of continuous service and presented to the city of CO Springs by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad on August 1, 1938.

Next was a cahe at the IAFF National Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial. The mission of the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial, which is located in the shadow of Pike’s Peak, is to honor the sacrifice made by IAFF members who serve as professional fire fighters and emergency medical personnel who have given their lives in the line of duty. Since its creation in 1976 through June 2009, the names of 2,274 fallen IAFF members have been engraved into the wall of honor located behind the memorial. As a constant reminder of the peril that fire fighters and paramedics put themselves in every day for the betterment of their communities, the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial is a touching remembrance of our fallen heroes and what they stood for. The attraction features a statue of a fire fighter making his way up a ladder, as well as a Wall of Honor behind the statue, featuring the names of fallen fire fighters and paramedics from the United States and Canada. This was a very lovely and touching memorial as you can see by the pictures especially the following poem "The Last Alarm which was engraved on part of the memorial:

My father was a fireman, he drove a big red truck
and when he'd go to work each day
he'd say, "Mother, wish me luck".

Then dad would not come home again, until sometime the next day.
But the thing that bothered me the most was
the things some folks would say.
"A fireman's life is easy. He eats and sleeps and plays,
and sometimes he won't fight a fire for many, many days."

When I first heard these words,
I was too young to understand.
But I knew when people had trouble
dad was there to lend a hand.

When my father went to work one day
and kissed us all good-bye, little did we realize
that night we would all cry.

My father lost his life that night, when the floor gave way below.
I wondered why he'd risked his life for someone he did not know.

But now I truly realize the greatest gift a man can give,
is to lay his life upon the line so
someone else might live.

So as you go from day to day and pray to God above,
say a prayer for your local firemen.
He may save the ones you love!

Then it was on to a cache concerning Nikola Tesla. Who was he you ask? Nikola Tesla was an inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer. He was one of the most important contributors to the birth of commercial electricity, and is best known for his many revolutionary developments in the field of electromagnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla's patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems, including the polyphase system of electrical distribution and the AC motor, which helped usher in the Second Industrial Revolution.
Born an ethnic Serb in the village of Smiljan, Croatian Military Frontier in Austrian Empire (today's Croatia), he was a subject of the Austrian Empire by birth and later became an American citizen. After his demonstration of wireless communication through radio in 1894 and after being the victor in the "War of Currents", he was widely respected as one of the greatest electrical engineers who worked in America. Much of his early work pioneered modern electrical engineering and many of his discoveries were of groundbreaking importance. During this period, in the United States, Tesla's fame rivaled that of any other inventor or scientist in history or popular culture, but because of his eccentric personality and his seemingly unbelievable and sometimes bizarre claims about possible scientific and technological developments, Tesla was ultimately ostracized and regarded as a mad scientist by many late in his life. Tesla never put much focus on his finances and died impoverished at the age of 86.
The International System of Units unit measuring magnetic field B (also referred to as the magnetic flux density and magnetic induction), the tesla, was named in his honor, as well as the Tesla effect of wireless energy transfer to wireless powered electronic devices (which Tesla demonstrated on a low scale with incandescent light bulbs as early as 1893 and aspired to use for the intercontinental transmission of industrial power levels in his unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project).
Aside from his work on electromagnetism and electromechanical engineering, Tesla contributed in varying degrees to the establishment of robotics, remote control, radar, and computer science, and to the expansion of ballistics, nuclear physics, and theoretical physics. A few of his achievements have been used, with some controversy, to support various pseudosciences, UFO theories, and early New Age occultism.

Then it was on to our last virtual in CO Springs which was at Memorial Park. The cache was in the park at the site of the CO Springs Veteran's Memorial. The Colorado Springs Veterans Memorial, is 50 feet high and 80 feet in diameter. Each of the five columns of Colorado granite weights 45 tons. The circular grills at the top are of preoxidized bronze and are the seals of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard.
All five branches (Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines) are honored here. It is surrounded by additional smaller, more recent monuments to participants in the Korean War, Vietnam War, Submariners, POWs, and several more. There were in all 17 additional smaller monuments around the large monument and each of them was very unique and beautiful as you can see by the pictures. The park is a central focus for outdoor activities in town, including fireworks, symphonies, and hot air balloons. Facilities for boating, tennis, baseball, volleyball, cycling, horseshoes, ice skating, and swimming are located here as well as the U.S. Olympic Veladrome where our Olympic team trains for biking.

Then we drove back out to Manitou Springs for the rest of our day caching. Our first cache was a NRV in Crystal Valley Cemetery cut into the side of the mountain and was a very lovely setting.

Next was a virtual in downtown Manitou Springs at the site of the first cog locomotive to be used to climb to Pike's Peak. The engine was built in 1893 and was actually in service for 46 years. It also had an extraordinary record for safe operation too. After this locomotive was retired they started using the diesel engines.

Then we did 5 Earthcaches that had to do with the mineral springs in Manitou Springs. The 5 springs were 7 Minute Spring, Wheeler Spring, Chief Ute Spring, Iron Spring and Cheyenne Spring. The Native Americans who traveled in this region long ago considered the land around the springs sacred. The bubbles, or natural carbonation in the water, represented to them the breath of the Great Spirit "Manitou". With the westward spread of early settlements and the foresight of individuals like the town’s founder Dr. William A. Bell, Manitou Springs developed around the mineral springs, becoming a destination resort for people desiring a health vacation in the "Saratoga of the West". Visitors arrived with doctors’ prescriptions to drink specific waters as a cure for their ills.
The 1930’s saw a change in medical treatment. The drinking of mineral waters was replaced with drugs, synthetic vitamins and minerals. The country’s economy was also under severe stress. Priorities changed, and the mineral springs and spas took a back seat to more pressing concerns of the day. Numerous attempts at restoration have been made over the years, but lack of continued upkeep and the natural toll that Mother Nature took on the springs left them in disrepair time and again.
Historical records from Manitou Springs describe the Ute, Arapahoe, Cheyenne and Kiowa Native American tribes leaving beads, talismans and other signs of gratitude near the many springs. Records indicate water from the natural springs cured respiratory ailments, including tuberculosis; indigestion; arthritis pain; dry skin; and healed wounds. Prior to the discovery of antibiotics the Pikes Peak region was a well known destination for sufferers of tuberculosis. Most hospitals in the region emerged as tuberculosis sanitariums.
To understand the hidden powers of Colorado's springs, scientists have examined the dissolved solid content of natural spring water to isolate the active ingredients. Early studies indicated that many natural springs absorb minerals from the ground including carbonic acid, which accounts for the bubbles seen in spring water.
Elements found in abundance in Colorado’s natural springs include sulfur, salts, calcium, phosphorus, lithium, silica, radium, and magnesium. In Manitou Springs, concentrations of these elements are often two to three times higher than more familiar watering holes such as Saratoga Springs and Baden-Baden. Natural radium, in particular, proved to be an excellent cure for tuberculosis. Before the discovery of antibiotics, visitors from all over the country came to the many tuberculosis sanitariums that emerged near Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs.

We did one more traditional cache and it was on back to the coach for the afternoon before the rains hit again. It has rained the last 3 days here but the temperatures have been considerably cooler which is lovely. Well that's it for today so until tomorrow we love and miss you all. Mom & Dad Dori & Dick