Colorado Springs fire 2012

We are all in shock here. Last Saturday afternoon during my son's baseball game, we spotted smoke on the mountain side. We all decided it must be a house fire because it looked very close to town. Just an hour later this smoke pole grew into a much bigger one, and we've learned it was Waldo Canyon fire. 

The weather in Colorado has been extremely hot since mid June - no rain and very low humidity. All these factors created perfect conditions for this fire to grow quickly. For us personally, it's a little better now than it was 2 days ago. The fire is moving north, and we live in southern Colorado Springs. We have not been told to evacuate, but we have our things ready. It is smoky and we feel a bit panicky as we are only about 12-14 miles away from the fire now. Yesterday this fire moved on the grounds of the Air Force Academy, and NOW (after 4 days of burning) federal sources are finally getting involved. President Obama will arrive tomorrow, so we hope things will get better very soon.

Meanwhile, I've been taking tourists outside of the city, down south to the Royal Gorge and rafting on the Arkansas River. Garden of the Gods is closed (fire is just west of it) and very smoky, many other popular attractions are closed too. 

From Colorado Springs to Yellowstone

Few days ago I took an experimental road trip from Colorado Springs to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. I wanted to do this trip for a long time, and finally my desire came to action! Now I feel ready to take clients there if they ask me to do it, though I'd say it is at least 4 days long trip, five would be even better. It take around 9-10 hours of driving to get to those parks from Colorado Springs, no traffic problems in Wyoming :)) So, you need two solid days just for the commute, and then few days to both parks. Yellowstone is exotic, very alive and beautiful, and Tetons are really grand! We were lucky to see lots of wildlife - Rocky Mountain elks and moose, lots of buffaloes with calves, pronghorns, foxes, rabbits, and  few more small creatures. Seing so many wild animals was a thrill for my foreign group of tourists, they aren't used to such abundance of wildlife in Europe.  Personally, I was hoping to spot a bear, but I guess it was too much to want :)) But main subject of Yellowstone were hot steam geysers and fountains. I felt like I was suddenly on a different planet! Especially when wind blew over our way tons of steam and vapor. I totally would recommend visiting Yellowstone if you haven't yet.

This is our group enjoying simple western breakfast in Cowboy Cafe in Dubois, WY.

More Europeans will visit Colorado. Guess why?

About a month ago I've learned about new Airline from Europe will start flying to Colorado this year. If you are in the airline industry, you probably know how hard it is for any U.S. airport to land a new international contract, especially if you are not a major airport on the U.S. East cost. So, guess what? DIA did it again! Denver is a new destination for Icelandic Airlines.
Their very first direct flight will take place on May 10, 2012 from Reykjavik, Iceland to Denver, Colorado, USA. We are thrilled about it! Iceland is the most western lying country in Europe, and Reykjavik International airport is s very busy place, meaning we will receive more tourists, and as Colorado tour guide I'll get more work! :)))
So, welcome newcomers from Europe and Asia to Colorado!!!
Honestly, I have my own (kinda professional) reason to cheer this fact, because I'll have a client flying on that very first flight - it's a small group of senior citizens form Iceland coming to visit our beautiful state for the first time. We will do bunch of different local tours with them originated in Colorado Springs, CO.