On May 23, waking up early in the morning in order to beat traffic and set up a Banner Brigade right on the road in Colorado Springs, CO was well worth it!  It was a slightly breezy, blue bird sky morning as a group of Greater Canyonlands supporters found parking in a crowded lot and assembled outside the entrance to the Air Force Academy.  There were military personnel already filing into the Academy by 7:00 a.m. and by 7:30 there were thousands of cars on the road making their way past the entrance checkpoint.  Almost everybody waved, threw up a thumbs-up, honked, and even cheered!

Around 9:00am a couple of cadets met with our brigade and reminded us of our limitations and the shoulds and should-nots.  While having a fun time as we were, the cadets commended us for being respectful and adhering to their parameters.  We had clearance to demonstrate from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. and by about 9:30 the road was empty of cars with a police car up the way, parked with his lights flashing.  We speculated amongst ourselves that the unit may be there preparing for President Obama’s motorcade to roll through and we started to get excited.  By about 9:45, when we were beginning to worry we would have to depart before the motorcade drove by, it arrived.  President Obama’s limousine was closed tight with the windows up, though a number of his staff waved to us and gave more thumbs-ups!  What a banner brigade success to display our cause and see so much support for protecting the wilderness and Utah’s Greater Canyonlands!

A special thanks to the Pikes Peak Group of the Sierra Club for helping to let people know about this opportunity to tell the President to protect our western wildlands.

– Reported by Eli Lane, Colorado Intern