Is there any way to tell which little lakes in Fort Collins have public areas?

No one ever accused Colorado of being the Land of 1000 Lakes. Heck, most people look at our lakes and call them ponds. They look at our ponds and asked if it rained earlier today. Year after year, we put in a lot of effort to deal with the drought conditions of our region (not to mention the wild fires).

As such, a number of folks have taken it upon themselves to build their own bodies of water, whether it's a watering hole for cattle or beauty and recreation for landowners.

And generally, that means other folks can't use the man made lakes and ponds. Warren Lake and most other small lakes around the city are not open to public access. Generally, they are privately owned and often have different ownership for the surface rights and the land along the shoreline. If it’s not in a public park, such as Sheldon Lake in City Park, you should probably assume the lake is not open for public use.

That said, there are several natural areas around town that are open to the public. The city's website will show you which activities are allowed at which areas.

Are there any eating challenges in Fort Collins?

So you want to get your Adam Richman on in Fort Collins, huh? Good news: The Man vs. Food star has already been through town to scope it out for you.

At Pizza Casbah on 126 West Laurel Street, you can take the 30" pizza challenge: two people, five toppings, one hour and $50 to give it a go. If you manage to finish that monster pie, the folks at Pizza Casbah say they'll give your money back, a gift card plus "an extra ten bucks for some Tums." You'll also be immortalized on their wall of fame.

You'll need to make a reservation beforehand, so give them a call at 970.221.9144.

And if you're in it to win it, you may want to check out these tips from competitive eater Randy Santel.

Why there are so many helicopters and low flying planes passing over my home in Summitview?

You say it like it's a bad thing. Sounds like your place is a prime location for aerial hitchhiking. Or at least ask them to check your roof for hail damage.

But don't throw snowballs. I'm pretty sure that would get you a visit from Homeland Security.

In any case, there's no doubt they are buzzing around up there. There are a number of reasons you might see a mid-air vehicle of some sort above Fort Collins.

It's pretty likely that least some of those are crop-dusting planes and choppers. There are also several helicopter-repair facilities in the area, so it could be they've been in for a tune-up.

And just like those of us with wheels on the ground make road trips during the summer, private pilots often take more flights in these warmer months, visiting places like Steamboat Springs or Granby for lunch before flying home.

Last year, local law enforcement used military helicopters to search for marijuana grows. No word on whether that's going on again this year.

Are there any playground-style merry-go-rounds in Fort Collins?

Getting a bit more time on the playground before school starts back up? Good call. The problem is that merry-go-rounds seem to be going out of style like parachute pants. Once a playground staple, they've become pretty difficult to track down.

But two things are true of great trends.

1) They never completely go away.

2) Eventually, someone's going to miss it and bring it back.

Retro or reborn, there are still merry-go-rounds to be had in Fort Collins. Here's where to look.

The consensus around town is that the old style metal one at the Fossil Creek Meadows HOA Park on Fossil Creek Parkway is pretty cool. You may want to check to see if it's open to the public. I'll update this when I find out.

There's another one at the new city-owned Registry Park at Shields and Trilby as well as Lee Martinez Park just north of Old Town.

Sounds like a great time to be had, and like it should probably be followed by a stop for ice cream. Here are a few spots locals seem to enjoy.

Can you compare academic performance of Fossil Ridge High to PSD Global Academy's high school students?

Picking sides for the academic Royal Rumble, are we? Let's turn to the tale of the tape.

A good resource for questions like this is www.schoolview.org. It shows us that for last year, Global’s reading, writing and science scores on standardized testing came in below both the PSD and state averages. Meanwhile, Fossil Ridge students over the past three years have scored better than the state and district averages.

By the numbers, Fossil Ridge students achieve at a higher rate than those enrolled in Global. But unless you're recruiting for Teen Jeopardy, there may be other questions to consider when choosing the right school for a student.

Fossil Ridge will provide a “traditional” high school experience, complete with 2,000 peers, athletics, extracurricular activities and more. PSD Global Academy had enrollment of 154 last year and offers a more on-demand virtual classroom experience without the brick-and-mortar setting. This can be a big benefit for students with non-traditional schedules, behavioral problems, social anxiety or other issues that make a traditional classroom setting difficult for them.

That being said, students traditionally score lower on self-led and online classes than in traditional class settings for a variety of reasons ranging from motivation, structure, etc. An independent, motivated student can excel, but the right support structure for success is key.

The schools are very different and designed to meet the needs of. You can learn more about each at www.psdschools.org, and can talk to school administrators about the benefits of each.

What gas stations in Fort Collins offer the best prices?

Based on reputation, I wasn't sure if Fort Collins even had cars. But then I got stuck at the train tracks at Riverside and Lemay during lunch hour. Apparently it's the hip spot to be because everyone gathered to shut off their motors for a while and check Facebook.

Turns out, the majority of those cars run on gas. But the pain in the pump doesn't have to be quite as bad if you know where to look. According to fuel data from AAA, two stations consistently standout for gas savings.

The Corner Store at 4701 S. Lemay Ave. and Western Convenience Store at 816 E. Mulberry St. regularly top the list for the least expensive places to fill up. At the last report, Corner Store has unleaded for $3.329 and Western Convenience Store was listed at $3.389. Both prices were updated with AAA in the last 24 hours.

If you're rolling around the Choice City with a diesel engine, you may want to head over to Safeway at 1426 E Harmony Rd. or Western Convenience Store at 382 E Mountain Ave.

And if you're looking for an in-state road trip for that newly filled tank, you could do a lot worse than these scenic Colorado highways.

Why is the former County Cork building on SW corner of Drake and Redwing fenced off?

A great question. With all the restaurants going in and out over the years, you'd think pizzas or burgers were on the way.

As the County Cork for more than 20 years, it was well known for its St. Patrick's Day festivities. After that it became Tailgate Tommy's for a time and the The Passport.

But in this case, history is no indicator of what will happen next.

Back in April, Miramont Family Medicine, in partnership with Palmer Properties LLC, has purchased the long-vacant County Cork restaurant, 313 Drake Road, for its fifth location. They are currently working on their new facility.

There are plenty of new restaurants on the way. This location, however, is not one of them.