Welcome to The Springs!

Welcome to Colorado Spring, Colorado!

Known just as "The Springs" to the Coloradans, it has a
population of approx. 436,354 making it the 2nd most populated
city in Colorado and the most populous in El Paso County.
The city covers 194.7 square miles. making it the state's largest city by
land coverage.It sits on the scenic Fountain Creek, which runs down
from Pike's Peak, and provides the city with much of it's water-related needs.


Weather
Colorado Springs has a semi-arid climate and its location
 just east of the Southern Rocky Mountains affords it the rapid warming
influence from Chinook winds during winter but also subjects it to drastic
day-to-day variability in weather conditions.
The city has abundant sunshine throughout the year, averaging over 300
days of sun per year, and receives approximately 16.5 inches
of annual precipitation.

Winters range from mild to moderately cold, with December, the coldest month,
averaging 29.8 °F. Historically, January has been the coldest month, but, in
recent years, December has had both lower daily maxima and minima.
Typically, there are 5.2 nights with sub-0  lows and 23.6 days where
 the high does not rise above freezing, and extended sub-zero cold is rare.
 Snowfall is usually moderate and remains on the ground briefly, with the city
receiving 38 inches  per season, although the mountains to the west often
receive in excess of triple that amount; March is the snowiest month in the
region, both by total accumulation and number of days with measurable snowfall.
In addition, 8 of the top 10 heaviest 24-hour snowfalls have occurred from
March to May.Summers are very warm, with July, the warmest month, averaging
70.9 °F and 18 days of 90 °F + highs annually. Due to the high elevation and
aridity, nights are usually relatively cool and rarely does the low remain above 70 °F
 Dry weather generally prevails, but brief afternoon thunderstorms are common,
especially in July and August when the city receives the majority of its annual rainfall,
due to the North American Monsoon.

Business

Business is alive and plentiful in The Springs, is the
proud home of The United States Airforce Academy, which
hosts on average 4,600 cadets, military and command staff
personnel, and employs nearly 1,000 more civilians from
the local area.

Fort Carson remains the cities largest official employer in the city,
while Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base and
the NORAD and Cheyenne Mountain Air Station also employee
a large, but classified, number of armed forces and citizens.

The Springs also has several major defense contractors with
offices located in the city. Nastrum Entrerprises has their Northwest
regional offices located here. Boeing, General Dynamics, and
Northrop-Grumman also maintain a significant presence in the
aerospace / military defense business.

Since 2000, a large number of high tech manufacturing
and production businesses have moved into Colorado Springs,
leaving the stifling lands of Silicon Valley. Spaceware Computers
employs over 500 citizens who work in their computer manufacturing
plant. The city is in negotiations to allow the world-wide known brand to
recieve special tax breaks in order to encourage expansion of their
business to also build additional electronic components. Several
smaller electronics related businesses also exist, including
Hewlett-Packard, Verizon Business, and Brown Beetle Productions.

Colorado Springs also hosts the American northwest distribution
center for Herrick's, the well known nationwide grocers, and employs
1,500 citizens in various production and administration positions.

Government
On November 2, 2010 Colorado Springs voters adopted a council-strong
 mayor form of government. The City of Colorado Springs transitioned to
the new system of government in 2011. Under the council-strong mayor
system of government, the mayor is the chief executive and the city council
is the legislative branch. The mayor is a full-time elected position and not a
member of the city council. The city council has nine members total, four of
which represent one of four equally populated districts each. Districts 5 and 6
 do not have a direct representative. The remaining five members are elected
"at-large".The mayor has veto authority, with the city council having the ability
 to override a mayoral veto by a two-thirds majority vote (6 out of 9).

Colorado Springs City Hall was built from 1902 to 1904 on land donated by
Finley Ruxton, grandson of early pioneer George Ruxton, who helped found
the Manitou Colony that would later be renamed Colorado Springs.

Scenic Beauty
There are 120 neighborhood, 7 community, and 6 regional parks and 5 sports
complexes totally 9,000 acres managed by the city's Parks, Recreation and
Cultural Services. They also manage 450 acres of trails, which are 160 miles
of park trails and 105 miles of urban trails. There are 4,750 acres of open
spaces in 32 open space areas.

One of the most popular areas in Colorado Springs is Garden of the Gods.
It is a National Natural Landmark with 300 foot sandstone rock formations
 against a backdrop of the snow-capped mountains of Pikes Peak
.
The park offers a variety of seasonal events. One of the most popular events is
the Summer Starlight Spectacular. It is a recreational bike ride held every
summer to benefit the Trails and Open Space Coalition of Colorado Springs.

The park also holds The Winter Garden Extravaganza, the Springtime Revival,
and the Fall Hootenanny, events that often draw visitors from as far as Denver.

Pike's Peak is a largely uncultivated, but still recognized national park. The
National Park Services has not built any designated hiker paths throughout
the dangerous mountains, and travel through the region is strongly discouraged.

Immerse yourself in The World of Darkness

The world is not what you think.

Beneath the skyscrapers,
leering gargoyles,
factories belching smoke,
and streets packed with the human throng,
lurk things we are
not meant to see.

Creatures dwell in the shadows
and hidden places.

They watch you,
stalk you
and prey upon you,
body and soul.

The life you lead is a lie.
Your darkest fears aren't make-believe.

They're real.

And now that you've glimpsed 
this world of darkness,
there is no place to hide.