Manitou Springs is holding it's much anticipated annual "Emma Crawford Coffin Races" this Saturday, October 24th. The Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce describes the celebration as, "each year more than 10,000 people come to Manitou Springs for the fun and festive Coffin Races, where teams of five, one Emma and four runners, push their coffins 195 feet to the finish line." (Photo Courtesy of ManitouSprings.org) The tradition stems from the 1912 history of a young woman, Emma Crawford who's coffin was washed down hill in Manitou Springs due to erosion, harsh weather, and a rain storm. This 2015 marks 21 years of "intentional" coffin racing for the charming town, and it is expected to be better than ever with more teams, more costumes, and more fun. Beginning at 12:00 pm, teams will par... 10/20/2015

    (Photo Courtesy of ManitouSpringsHeritageCenter.com) The Manitou Springs Heritage Center is hosting it's 21st annual "Ghost Stories of Old Manitou" walking tours October 24th. Kick off Halloween a week early with a haunted guided tour in historic Manitou Springs. Featuring spooky stories about real residents from long ago, the Heritage Center describes the evening as, "the ghosts come back to visit on this one night, and this year’s tour features a host of new ghosts."Tours depart from The Heritage Center every 15 minutes, starting at 5:30pm with the last at 9:00pm, and last about 45 minutes. Tickets can be purchased online here and are $12 per person, $10 for center members, and kids 8 and under are free. All proceeds go to benefit the Manitou Springs Heritage Center, and tours sel... 10/18/2015

Manitou Springs is a hugely popular community located West of Colorado Springs because of its location tucked against the mountains, offering an unbeatable outdoor lifestyle. Overflowing with small town charm with multiple local businesses and restaurants nearby. The market is incredibly active but price remains very sensitive. In September 2015 Manitou Springs had a total of 60 single family homes on the market. Of those:  38 are active on the market 7 are under contract 1 is under contract short sale 4 are pending 10 are sold  The active properties list prices range from $150,000 to $1,495,000. The average listing is $490,067 and 97 days on the market. The average sales price is $378,957 and 179 days on the market. Check out this Crystal Park Manitou Springs home under $200,000 10/10/2015

  Realtor Ben Townsend Click on your areas of interest for Home Searches below  Briargate Colorado Springs, CO   Flying Horse Colorado Springs, CO  Cordera Colorado Springs, CO  The Broadmoor Area Colorado Springs, CO  Northgate Colorado Springs, CO  North East Colorado Springs, CO  North West Colorado Springs, CO   West Side Colorado Springs, CO   Manitou Springs, CO  Downtown Colorado Springs, CO   Woodland Park, CO  New Homes Colorado Springs, CO 10/09/2015

Manitou Springs is a hugely popular neighborhood located on the West side of the Pikes Peak region of Colorado Springs.  Tucked at the base of Pikes Peak with Hwy 24 (the mountain pass headed West out of Colorado Springs) it offers an unbeatable outdoor lifestyle. Overflowing with small town charm with multiple local businesses and restaurants nearby. The market is incredibly active but price remains very sensitive. In August 2015 Manitou Springs had a total of  78 single family homes on the market.  Of those:  57 are active on the market 16 are under contract 1 is under contract short sale  4 are pending 10 are sold   The active properties list prices range from $154,900 to $1,495,000.  The average listing is $455,325 and 95 days on the market.  The average sales price is $268,750 and ... 09/05/2015

 Gold Camp from Cripple Creek to The Broadmoor     08/28/2015

Colorado Springs Manitou Springs is a hugely popular neighborhood because of its location by the mountains, offering an unbeatable outdoor lifestyle. Overflowing with small town charm with multiple local businesses and restaurants nearby. The market is incredibly active but price remains very sensitive. In July 2015 Manitou Springs had a total of  97 single family homes on the market.  Of those:  52 are active on the market 6 are under contract 1 is under contract short sale  4 are pending 34 are sold   The active properties list prices range from $129,000 to $2,500,000.  The average listing is $515,857 and 78 days on the market.  The average sales price is $349,067 and 137 days on the market.   Check out this Crystal Park Manitou Springs home under $200,000 08/14/2015

07/31/2015

Benhomes.com 07/30/2015

Manitou Springs, Colorado is by far one of the most unique towns in the country. The small charming community nestled between Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods is rich with history, artist, local businesses, and some of the best hiking in El Paso County. One of the most popular and difficult hikes is the Incline, located near Pikes Peak's Barr Trail head.The Incline was originally built as a cable tram to carry building materials up the mountain for a hydroelectric plant in 1907. After completion, the cable cars were then used as a tourist attraction, taking visitors for a ride up to the summit. Due to the maintenance cost caused by rock slides, the operation shut down entirely and the rails were removed. By the 1990's locals were hiking the abandoned tracks' railroad ties for enjoyment... 07/29/2015

COLORADO SPRINGS REAL ESTATE CAN'T SELL YOUR HOME? LET US MANAGE IT FOR YOU. DON'T MESS WITH GOING INTO SHORT SALE OR FORECLOSURE. ITS A GREAT RENTAL MARKET!FIND THE BEST DEALS ON HOMESColorado SpringsColorado is the Supreme investment opportunity today. So many destinations have so little and rely on hype and trend to stay profitable. We, here in Colorado truly enjoy a one of a kind, remarkable place to live. We have the most beautiful landscapes, the cleanest air and purest water that you can imagine. We love our schools because they are amazing. It’s no wonder people are leaving the dirty over-taxing hustle and bustle for a much fresher unpolluted Colorado. I wake up in the morning and can see the white tipped tops of the Spanish Peaks over 150 miles away. I drink cold water pure and... 07/23/2015

07/16/2015

http://www.outsideonline.com/1886796/americas-best-cities-colorado-springs-colorado 07/16/2015

07/16/2015

Top Home Loan Originator For Manitou Springs, Colorado 80829 Home Buyers Shares Money and Time Saving Secrets To Get Approved For a Fantastic Home Loan While Streamlining The Process.     01/26/2015

EMMA CRAWFORD COFFIN RACE MANITOU SPRINGS In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there were few households that were not affected by the dreaded disease of tuberculosis. Called Consumption for many centuries because of the way severe weight loss appeared to consume the patient, it was also referred to as The White Plague due to the extreme pallor of its victims. At the beginning of the twentieth century, one in seven deaths in Europe were attributed to tuberculosis. In 1889, Emma Crawford was a courageous but frightened seventeen year old, engaged to be married but suffering from an illness that showed no favoritism. As did many hundreds of others, Emma and her family moved to Manitou Springs in hopes that the healing waters of the Springs and the dry mountain air would cure her. Being Spir... 10/23/2014

Today was the first day of fall.  It is 10:30 and the wind is howling outside.  The temperature has dropped to 55 degrees.  As a look at a picture that I took of The Cliff House, an upscale hotel in Manitou Springs, I find myself amazed that summer is gone.  I also am amazed at how resilient Manitou Springs is.  I saw a picture in our local newspaper that showed flood waters gushing up out of a sewer drain next to the Cliff House.  The waters looked like a two story high muddy mushroom.  In the following video that I just now found on YouTube, the water is not spewing quite as high but you get the idea.    As I look at a picture that I took of the Cliff House two days later, I'm amazed at how  pretty and clean everything looks in Manitou Springs.  The stores have re-opened.   Aside from... 09/22/2013

What does it feel like to live in a place that has made news headlines repeatedly since June?  For me, I feel wearied.  I also feel proud of how resilient our community is.    It is also an unfortunate that it is easy to look around and find someone who is even worse off than we are.       I've taken pictures of the fires and fire damage.  I've taken pictures of the floods and flood damage.  Yet those are not the pictures that I want to share.               Today, as I ponder what the term "Rejuvenate" means, I have decided to share a few pictures from Manitou Springs, a small town on the west side of Colorado Springs.           This summer, Manitou Springs has had to repeatedly deal with the brunt of the flood waters coming down from the Waldo Canyon burn scar.  Manitou Springs is aliv... 09/17/2013

Resilience “Every great personal story you have to tell involves overcoming adversity. If you shy away from adversity, you take away your ability to tell new stories.” – Farrel Droke     We have known that Manitou Springs was at a higher than normal flooding risk as result of the Waldo Canyon burn scar.  Unfortunately, a flash flood struck Manitou Springs yesterday evening.   About 20 homes were reportedly damaged.     Westbound Highway 24, which leads to Woodland Park, was blocked for a couple of hours. Meanwhile, in Manitou Springs residents and businesses immediately started cleaning up.           Although the Adams Mountain Café had to remove significant amounts of mud from the patio area, the water did not make it inside due to their prior mitigation efforts.      The Cliff House  ... 07/02/2013

I would venture to guess that the No Tresspassing sign on the Incline, located in Manitou Springs, Colorado, was that most photographed sign in the Colorado Springs for years.  It was probably the most ignored sign also.    The Incline is .9 mile long stretch of an old cog railway that goes up the side of Mount Manitou.   The trail is   very steep and the terrain is so rough in a couple of places that you almost have to bear crawl to make it up those parts.     Hiking or running up the Incline is a workout that challenges even Olympic athletes.  and military members.  It is also very humbling because inevitably their will be some 60 or 70 year old guy that passes you up as if he was just taking a stroll in the park.    Until today everyone that was going up  the Incline was trespassing.... 02/01/2013