The Springs are nice. I actually considered leaving within a couple months, but opted instead to take over the mortgage on the house I owned with Case, and it's got me really feeling good about hanging around for a while.
Mari can probably point you towards some really nice mountain drives (and yeah, that's an invitation to do just that, Mari

), but the one I really like is to leave Co Spgs by way of Hwy 24, drive back through Aspen and into Glenwood Springs.
I may be misremembering my fellow Colorado Cellarites, but weren't you living in Fort Collins at some point? I'm from there originally, and sometimes stop to wonder why I left. All in all, I definitely prefer FTC, but Colorado Springs is nice.