So this year we kept looking at the calendar and shrugging. What do you want to do? I dunno. Where do you want to go? I dunno.
And then finally we just said well, are we or aren’t we? And then we quickly made some reservations at an extended stay hotel in Colorado Springs one weekend and headed out the very next. I think that is a record even for us. And we planned our first Disney trip in something like three weeks. So yeah…
So Saturday the 27th of July, we headed out. Made the trip in a day. Not that bad. This year we are driving a new car (a CRV) and last year we had van troubles in Amarillo (window mechanism broke and window wouldn’t stay up, so we lost about an hour while hubs ran the van over to the dealer to get the window dealie fixed). Thankfully no such problems this year and we made it there uneventfully. Yay.
So Sunday we got up and ‘hit it’, but it was a little tricky..it was foggy and rainy. I was so happy for the Springs because I know they need rain so badly to keep the threat of fires down, but a bummer for us since we were only going to be there four days. So we made the best of things and changed what little plans we had and went to Cave of the Winds first thing. Y’all, it was so foggy, it was nuts. We weren’t sure where to walk after we parked the car because we couldn’t see that far ahead…and we’ve been there before.
This was our ‘view’ over a little overlook porch in the gift shop. Is this all a dream..did we accidentally go to the Smokies? Crazy, I tell ya.
Getting in the last text before going underground.
After the cave, we went into Manitou Springs and found some lunch. I had researched before we left, so I had an idea in mind. We ate at the Stagecoach Inn and it was a super cute place to have lunch.
And yummy. I had a bison burger. And it was good. : ) After lunch it was still raining, so we piddled around in the Penny Arcade for a little while before continuing on with our day. {the arcade was super fun for nerds, I on the other hand, went to a nearby shop}
The weather was still gloom and doom so we went to the Air Force Academy. And walked around outside. {I don’t think we thought that one through very well.} I have been going to the AFA since I was very young but never realized there was a Catholic, Jewish and one other (Hindu maybe?) chapel below the Protestant one up top. So we checked them all out. Interesting.
And on the way back to the car, a warning came over the loud speaker to seek cover because of the weather. Rain was a frequent theme all week. : /
Monday morning we rode the Cog Railway up Pikes Peak. The weather held out for us thankfully. It was still pretty chilly at the bottom so that meant it was downright COLD at the top. {it averages 30 degrees cooler at the top than the base} Before we knew it, it was time to go back down the mountain. Such pretty views from the cog and from the top. I was so thankful the weather held out for us so we could see.
Stinkin’ gorgeous!
By the time we came off the mountain, we were starving. So we got some lunch and went to Seven Falls. I’ve gone to there since I was three years old. It is chipmunk INSANITY! So many and so cute. And so bold.
After many snapshots of these cute little guys, we headed up the gazillion {224} stairs to the top of the waterfall.
And then it rained. And we huddled under an umbrella and waited for it to pass. Thankfully it did. And then we came down. Crazy.
And then we went to Helen Hunt Falls…another one I’ve been visiting since before I can remember. Smaller…and free.
They have hummingbirds. LOTS of them.
I spent a good amount of time trying to take pics of them. They are crazy zippy…zooming all over the place. So fun to watch.
And then we stopped by Garden of the Gods and walked around. Something else I’ve been doing since I was 3. : ) It was a nice walk.
And then Tuesday, we took a day trip to Denver. I will start this by saying NEVER AGAIN. Traffic is horrid there. I’m glad went. We had a nice day, but I don’t desire to go back. And I could smack myself for ever thinking I would like to take an entire vacation in that crazy city. Just too hectic. But we did enjoy our day. : ) Just not the traffic.
We stopped by the state capitol. This was a major disappointment to us and we didn’t waste any time moving on. First off, the dome is being remodeled, so it was covered. And very dark inside. And secondly, there just isn’t all that much history to tell about inside. I guess I’m spoiled by Texas’ rich and varied history and this just left us a little flat. We decided to take the guided tour, but it was just painful. The girl was so sweet but she had a very VERY heavy Spanish accent it was was almost impossible to make out what she was saying. And when we could…yawn. So we bugged out of there after about 5 minutes of the tour.
Stained glass is sort of a ‘thing’ in the capitol, but this picture was almost funny to us. It really reminded us of something that would be on the Haunted Mansion at Disney. Doesn’t it? {be honest} I’m not meaning to offend anyone, but our entire time there was less than stellar.
Stopped by a Catholic church. Very pretty architecture. Was so wishing we could have gone inside. But no.
Kinda neat, even though I’m not Catholic.
And they have a statue and everything…
Then we went to the Molly Brown House. It’s the home of the famous “Molly Brown”, a survivor of the Titanic. It was an interesting tour. We learned a lot about Mrs. Brown, including that she wasn’t named Molly, but Margaret. No one knows where the name Molly came from. But what a lady. And what a rich history the house has. Was a really neat tour. (no pics allowed inside though)
And THEN we went to Wings Over the Rockies, which is an air and space museum. And we all thought it was PRETTY COOL. And the biggest reason was because they have an X-Wing fighter on display (a scaled replica from Star Wars…and signed by all the stars…squeee!)
It was a huge hangar filled with so much history. So much to see! We were all geeking out.
And then Wednesday, we went to the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center in Divide. We visited this place after a tip from a friend and it did not disappoint. It was amazing! This is a sanctuary for wolves and foxes and also provides an educational opportunity there and out in the community. These were magnificent animals that are being cared for in such a great way. They have very LARGE enclosures, but our guide called them by name up to the fence to talk about them and feed them raw meat while she discussed them as we toured. Some of their stories aren’t for the faint of heart, but the staff there was very mindful of children without sugar coating their plight.
It was kind of funny..when the tour started, they all just started howling spontaneously which really surprised our guide. But we loved it! And then at the end, she led us in group howl to try to entice them to howl back. They finally did and it was incredible. My daughter loves wolves, and now I think I do too.
I noticed we were close to the Florissant Fossil Beds when we were at the wolf place, so we drove on further and spent a little bit of time there. I had packed a lunch for us that day since I knew we were going to be pressed for time and I didn’t want us wasting time figuring out meals, so we ate our lunch in the car, but it was comfortable and a yummy meal. After lunch, we hit the trails and saw the fossilized trees etc. A pretty walk but we didn’t stay long.
It was so pretty out there! : )
And then we went to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. This will be my family’s second visit, but I visited several times as a kid and have been enjoying this zoo since I was 3. Love love love!
They have quite an impressive herd of giraffes and I love visiting them. And they love to eat from your hands so they love you visiting them too. : ) She fed a giraffe, but it was so fast, I missed the shot. I was so bummed!
The views even from the zoo are lovely!
After visiting the zoo, we also did this.
There go my peeps…
Stairs, stairs, stairs…
The views from the top are amazing.
And that concludes our trip. We ate dinner(at Famous Daves…I loved it even though I couldn’t eat bbq. We actually ate there twice while we were there. YUM). We packed up our stuff and hit the bed, knowing we would drive the whole way home the next day. We were sitting on the couch in the hotel room (we stayed in a Residence Inn…love!) and all I could think about was not being ready to go home yet. We discussed staying another day and driving home on Friday. I almost jumped at it, but I knew the hubs wanted that extra day to rest from all the driving before he had to return to work. And I couldn’t really do that to him. So I agreed with our original plan and we headed home Thursday. It was a full, fast trip and we loved it. I so wish we could live there…I never tire of her beauty and long for it during the rest of the year until we can (hopefully) meet again.
It makes me incredibly sad that Manitou Springs has experienced a significant flood since we visited. I know I don’t live in Colorado but I’ve visited it more than most people and it makes me sad that my “state away from home” is experiencing so much right now.
