Colorado Springs for Memorial Day

Our trip to Colorado Springs was a diversion from our original plan to go to Estes Park. Because of all the serious weather that was expected all week over the Rocky Mountains, we decided to go south for a week in the Pikes Peak region and avoid snow and freezing weather at our RV park.  We did not avoid snow all-together as it nailed us on I-70 just after we crossed from Kansas into Colorado.  We had to pull over at a 50's style diner and truck stop to let the road conditions improve. The kids were dying to get out and play in the snow and Erica and I were ready to break from the stress of gripping the steering wheels so tightly.  We haven't driven in snow like that in quite a few years, maybe fifteen. The food and diner kept with our theme of driving west on the Lincoln Highway and Route 66.  We had no where to be and stopping for a couple hours was a lot of fun.

We made it to a little RV park in Manitou Springs that was on a small river and was only a few miles from all of the areas attractions.  We booked six nights and are glad we did because there was so much to explore and do in the area. We started out hiking some open spaces adjacent to our park. The hike wasn't intense but we felt the elevation effect on our bodies very rapidly.  We were at around 7500 feet and in the end it took nearly three days for all of us to feel normal.  Boyd vommitted one evening and despite his constant drinking of water just struggles to stay hydrated. Blythe has also struggled with nausea and has been limited in her ambition to hike. We loved this outdoor adventure as we watched a herd of deer playing in the fields fifty yards from us. 

We toured the Cliff Dwellings of Manitou Springs and had never experienced anything like it.  Erica and I have become big fans of Native American cultures and their history's so this was inspiring to us both.  The kids were only slightly interested as Boyd climbed into the structures with both Erica and I. Blythe stayed at the entrance and was most interested in grinding her corn kernels into the most finely ground flour like the natives would have done.   

After leaving, we headed to Pikes Peak to take the ninteen mile drive from the entrance to the very top. Pikes Peak is one of the highest peaks in the Southern Rockies and belongs to the Fourteener Club which is inclusive of all the peaks greater than fourteen thousand feet in the Colorado Rockies. It cost us $40 to enter but was worth every cent.  We all felt the elevation all day and despite that ill feeling the kids had never been that high before so it was a new adventure to remember.  We hiked the final paces to the highest point for a picture before hurrying back to our car and out of the serious wind and cold.  I made the mistake of not filling up with gas.  I just spaced on it until we read the sign at the entrance that said, "please have half of a tank or more".  We were just above "E"as we entered and sure enough on mile twelve our gas light went on.  We made it down safely because the ride down was pretty much a coast and brake situation, but it added an unnecessary stress to an already scaring ride on the side of a high mountain.  

We hiked a couple of trails through Garden of the Gods Park. The park is a national treasure and could very well be a National Park one day.  The rock formations are beautiful and unique. We captured some greats shots of our adventures on Siamese Twins Trail. Our other hike on the main garden trail was full of large sheets of rock jutting hundreds of feet straight into the sky. It made us very nervous to let the kids climb in this area of the park, despite their hiking and climbing experience, due to the large crevasses between the rocks.

Boyd finally got to experience riding his skateboard in a skate park down the road from our RV Park in Manitou Springs.  He fell a couple of times pretty hard but his pride popped him right back up.  Despite the pain I knew he was in, he continued to ride on.  He worked really hard to accomplish a downward ramp that transitioned to an upward ramp and after about fifty cracks at it he finally succeeded. It wore him out but the next day he begged to go back so Erica took him.  Blythe continues to roller skate everywhere we go and has become very confident on them.  

We have loved seeing all of the wildlife roaming free in Colorado. From our baby beaver friend that we rescued from the river on our first night in camp to all of the deer we watched roam and play on our first hike, it has been fun to discover what might pop up next.  We have enjoyed ducklings and gosslings in the lakes and rivers and bald eagles and falcons at the Old Colorado City Territory Days.  We look forward to seeing more of these types of surprises as we prepare to head North to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. For as much as we are ready to be at home very soon we are more excited then we have been in months to experience our time in the natural beauty of the West.

Peace and Love