Yee-haw! It's time for the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, a long-standing Colorado Springs tradition. The western celebration kicks off with a downtown parade and rounds up with the nation's finest cowboys and cowgirls competing in non-stop rodeo action from bull riding to barrel racing.
A photographer's paradise is exposed at the Garden of the Gods public park in Colorado Springs. Soaring fins of clay-colored sandstone jet 300 feet in the air exploding all over the valley floor, spanning the backdrop of Pikes Peak. The park includes popular trails for hiking, walking, mountain biking and horseback riding.