Long Overdue: Colorado Vacation

Oh, boy. I know this post is long overdue, but life changes have had me a bit distracted lately. As usual, I took a ridiculous amount of pictures, but I have done my best to condense the amount of photos so you literally don't spend days and days reading this post. So, here it is, in all its overdue glory: a recap of our recent vacation (recent as in 'almost two months ago') to Colorado in celebration of our anniversary.

We left early Tuesday morning to make the long trek to Colorado. I actually used to live in Colorado when I was younger, but since Isaac had never been there, we decided to take the opportunity to go west before we moved east and he buckles down with his studies. It's a pretty hefty drive, especially since you are literally in Kansas forever. Since we are Mizzou alumni, now would be the appropriate time to insert some derogatory remark about Kansas, but I'm beginning to feel slightly convicted on my negativity towards the state. You see, my grandfather was born and raised there (and was even offered a basketball scholarship to Kansas State), and since I love my precious grandfather dearly, I'm abstaining from nasty remarks about the state in general. Yes, dear ones, that's how much I love my grandfather, who I'm sure you all are aware by now, is the absolute most precious grandfather alive.

All negativity directed at Kansas aside, we were still exultant to finally arrive at the Kansas/Colorado border. I finally convinced Isaac to attempt to stop at state lines and take pictures as a family for a fun scrapbook I've been wanting to do. It only took me a few years to get him to oblige...


We got to the hotel in Colorado Springs and relaxed, just soaking up every glimpse of the mountains we could get. Of all of the landscapes possible, I think mountains are the most beautiful. I loved living in Colorado, waking up each morning and looking out my window to see the magnificance of Cheyenne Mountain. Don't get my wrong, living near the beach (as I have been blessed to have done for the majority of my life) is also amazing, but mountains hold a special place in my heart. Needless to say, I was thrilled to be back.

Wednesday morning, we made our way to Garden of the Gods, probably one of my most favorite places in all of Colorado. It's free, and it's beautiful. Beyond beautiful. A few of my favorite shots:





After enjoying a lovely lunch at the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, we decided to fork over an unreasonable amount of money for a tour of the Cave of the Winds. I think I went on a tour of this same cave in elementary school at some point, but hey, it's fun to do things as an adult, you know? Anyway, we had a ridiculously goofy and over enthusiastic guide, but I guess that's how they're all supposed to be.


And while piddling around in the shop searching for my obligatory souvenir magnet, I found this stunning hat:

This would make a charming addition to my wardrobe, no? After our tour, we were able to see a thunderstorm roll in over the mountains, which produces some beautiful images:



I wanted to show Isaac my old house and school and see the old haunts myself for nostalia's sake. We found my old neighborhood, and I proceded to point out houses to Isaac: "This is where my brother's friend Kyle lived, and Vanessa lived up that freakingly large hill. Seriously, it was madness to walk to her house. Oh, and you see that hill? Yeah, that't the hill I walked up to get to my school. In the snow. Yeah, I can say I had to walk to school uphill in the snow. Because I did. Except one time, I was halfway up the hill, and I slipped on the ice. And slid right back down to the bottom." We also found my old house, and I'm pretty sure the neighbors thought we were casing it for a break-in later that night. The next picture demonstrates what my basic view out of my bedroom window was while we lived in the Springs (it's a little blurry, but you get the idea):


Ah, the lovely Cheyenne Mountain. Crazy to think NORAD is inside of that thing...

Our final stop of the day was Quail Lake Park, the place where all the neighborhood kids ran to after the first good snow. There was a monster hill there, and it is the absolute best sledding hill of all time. Seriously, when I pointed the hill out to Isaac, he didn't believe we used it for sledding because it's so steep. But it.was.awesome. Quail Lake also holds a special place in our hearts; this is where we would walk Sandy (our puppy we adopted while living in Colorado). In fact, a man who was fishing there once looked up, saw my mom walking Sandy, and then promptly fell in the lake. After getting out, he exclaimed, "I thought she was a coyote!" For the record, my dog was not a coyote.


Thursday came our next adventure: riding the cog up Pike's Peak! I love riding the cog train because you get relax and look at the gorgeous landscape and wildlife, and you get to hear the corniest jokes from the conductors. Oddly enough, we sat across from a couple from Kansas City, so we had some enjoyable chit chat in between the jokes about the ram who ran right off the summit of Pike's Peak because he didn't see the ute turn. I know, I know, super cheesy, but aren't those jokes the best? Here is a small glimpse of what we saw on the way up to the summit:

Once we made it to the summit, we took as many pictures as possible. Did you know that on a clear day, you can see seven states from the summit of Pike's Peak? And did you know that 'America, the Beautiful' was penned by a woman inspired by the beauty of Pike's Peak? Pretty stinkin' awesome, if you ask me. We also went inside the summit house and bought hot chocolate because 1) it's awesome to drink hot chocolate in July, 2) they have seriously amazing hot chocolate there, and I was looking forward to it since we started our journey, and 3) it is freakin' cold on the top of that mountain- 35 degrees (Fahrenheit, of course)- even in the middle of the summer. A little hot chocolate was definitely in order.








And on our way back down, we got to see ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIGHORN SHEEP! You don't always get to see this stunning creatures, my friends, and I was freaking out, quite literally. These massive guys are commonly called rams, and though we they were pretty far away from us, it reminded me of our honeymoon in the Colorado Rockies when they would literally be standing not even fifty feet away from you while you were eating the most delicious hamburger you've ever had in your life in Golden, BC. But I digress. Here are our Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep buddies:


Something about seeing the magnificence of wildlife makes you feel rather small...

Our next adventure of the day was to visit the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings. Honestly, this was probably the least awesome part of our trip (well, excepting the ridiculously long drive, the vast majority of the time spent in Kansas), but when you don't have time to make it down to Mesa Verde, it will do in a pinch.





And we got to see some beautiful flowers:




That evening, we went to Seven Falls, named so because the waterfall actually cascades into seven falls. Creative, yeah? It's located in this gorgeaous canyon, and it's definitely best to go in the evening; you'll see the falls in their natural state during the day, but will also get to see the falls lit up once it becomes dark. To get to the top of the falls, there are a lot of steps. Steep, narrow steps, that is. I think I lost five pounds just climbing up said steps, not to mention to adventure down. I was able, however, to get some pretty shots of the falls at night.






We decided on Friday we would drive an hour southwest to Canon City to visit Royal Gorge, which was much cooler (not as in temperature) than I remember as a child. We rode the tram across the gorge, which was only slightly freaky at first when you realize the only thing holding you back from free falling to a stunning and dramatic death 1500 feet below at the bottom of the gorge is a small and simple cable. Really, not a big deal at all. We also rode the incline down to the bottom to see the Arkansas River and to wave and cheer on the white water rafters braving the rapids.









We spent a good portion of the day there, and when we arrived back in the Springs, we decided to go out to a nice restaurant to celebrate our anniversary (a few days early). We chose The Melting Pot, a place we'd heard a lot about from lots of friends, but not never experienced first hand. Oh my heavens, it was amazing. We had all of the courses, but all I can remember is the chocolate fondue because it was quite possibly one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth. And the best part is the realization that there is a Melting Pot in Louisville. Yes.




Saturday was the Fourth of July, and since Colorado Springs cancelled their fireworks celebration because of budget cuts, we decided to visit the Air Force Academy and enjoy their show. We relaxed for the majority of the day because we were simply exhausted from all of our fun and we were still digesting all the Melting Pot food we stuffed into ourselves the night before. We did go back out to Garden of the Gods for a little bit and actually met a family from Cape Girardeau. So just like we did with the couple from Kansas City, we chit chatted with this family for a little bit before rain chased us away.




We braved the weather as best as possible, driving out to the Academy for their celebration. As we were walking down to the field where the event was to be held, the rain kept coming. And coming. And coming. And whoa, there is a lot of rain all of a sudden. And, um, that was definitely lightening right over there. Like five times...and really close. And what are they saying on the loud speaker? Run for your lives, you are all going to get struck by lightening and you are crazy for even attempting to come out here in this weather? Yeah, I think that's what he said...

So, needless to say, the show at the Academy was cancelled due to a 'severe lightening storm' warning, and fireworks in Colorado was an utter fail. But thanks to the modren marvel that is television, we got to watch the fireworks in DC. On PBS. Niiiiiiiice.

Sunday was the day we had to pack up and head home. I was really, really sad to leave the mountains and wish we could have stayed much longer. As one last hurah in Colorado, my wonderful husband braved the darkness which comes only right before dawn. We went to Garden of the Gods (yes, again- but I told you it was once of my favorite places in Colorado), and watched the sunrise over those glorious red rocks. Amazingly beautiful...






And then it was back to the good ole interstate (thanks, Eisenhower) for our trek back home, our car loaded up with souvenir magnets, two Colorado mugs (one with an awesomely cute bear on it), our new friends Cheyenne and Zeb, and quite possibly the coolest coffee table book ever. It was most definitely the vacation we needed...