Punching Holes. Making Memories.

When our family was living in Colorado Springs, we heard about (not sure how) Dragonman’s, a place just east of town.  It was a gun store, a shooting range, a military museum, and generally a place with a LOT of masculinity and gunpowder.  We went out to shoot and had a great time.  In fact, I think it is the first my wife and I went shooting together (when she saw me surfing around Dragonman's site this afternoon she said, "Hey, look!  We were there!").   

It was a surreal place.  When you turn off the highway and onto the property, you are treated to some smile-inducing sights: there is a full-sized devil next to a “Warning!  This spot might be for you!” and there are cars riddled with bullet holes.  There is a wrecked car next a sign which reads: “Caught stealing from Dragonman.  Shot Feb 1 1992.  Didn’t get far. . .they’re still in the car!”  And yes, there are bloody mannequins in the car. . . .  It really is an experience—even an attraction.  In fact, it has a page dedicated to it in a Colorado Springs Tourist Guide.   

I don't know about you, but there's nothing like going shooting and having it turn into an experience.  I have a group of friends who like to shoot, and there is (usually) lunch or supper afterwards.  That leads to more conversation than you typically get at a shooting range (“What???” Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! “Whadja say?”), so it’s nice to sit around and see where the conversation goes.  It's easy to recommend a place like Dragonman’s for more than a trip to a range.  It makes for great memories, especially for kids.  I want my kids to remember times like that, places like that.  Those times, those places--they stick, and as life rolls on they will be awesome mile markers in our relationships.  I don't know about you, but I want to make memories like that.