Colorado Springs

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods is actually a city park located in Colorado Springs and is free to the public. It was formed through some of the same processes that were at play at Arches... it's wild to see it isolated here in Colorado. It's so different than the surrounding scenery...

This area was also once an inland sea and around it, the ancestral Rockies formed and then were worn down several times... here you see what's left... there is red rock & white rock (depending on when & how it was formed)

The "Kissing Camels"

There were quite a few people climbing the day we were there. This is the first place that Ross learned to climb. They require permits to climb now and have restricted how and where quite a bit... I guess it's good for the environment & cuts down on the number of people killing themselves, but since it is "all about us", we were saddened to see that they had many of Ross' favorite spots blocked off!

But he is nothing if not determined!

While walking around the park, I spied with my little eye a sight that I have not ever yet experienced! I asked if I could take a picture... let me tell you, you have not lived until a woman who is walking her cat, looks at YOU like YOU'RE the freak!

Another spectacular place for the memory bank!

The Colorado College

Ross attended this school from 1991- 1995 earning his degree in Philosophy with a minor in East Asian Studies ( I don't think it's a prerequisite for the audio visual field, but it sure helped make him an excellent conversationalist ;-). It is a gorgeous campus, overlooking Pikes Peak, which you'll see later in this post.

Ross in front of his freshman dorm... I will respect Ross' privacy, but the good thing about meeting so many of Ross' college friends were all the crazy stories, some of which may or may not have involved rappelling out of windows and beer kegs... (that's actually a tame one!)

Shove Memorial Chapel... Hascy & Jenny were married here!

Right on!



That was then...this is now!


Places & things...

Pikes Peak as seen from the campus... speaking of which....

Pikes Peak

The next day we took a drive up to the top of Pikes Peak. It's one of the Rockies so-called "fourteeners" at 14, 110 ft.

The road...

More glaciers... with graffiti!

We were in the clouds!

You could take a train up the mountain from Manitou Springs... you could also hike up (only about 13 miles but an altitude gain of about 8,000 ft. is pretty hard core).

Been there, done that, got the picture!

Katherine Lee Bates became inspired to write the words to "America the Beautiful" while standing upon Pikes Peak... anyone like to venture what college she was attending at the time??? Anyone? Anyone? Oh, you're so smart!

That afternoon we headed to the ridiculously cute town of Manitou Springs... it reminded me a lot of the 'Ville... cute shops, local artists, only the hills were a lot taller...

Manitou is famous for their... you guessed it... Natural springs! Not to mention it's witch coven, shh, seriously, don't mention it!

We had lunch with a few more of Ross' college friends...

Tom, Ross, & Dan... Dan's wife Tess was there too, but she is conveniently hiding next to me, out of camera shot. We actually ran into Tess at the college bookstore while we were there (she's a grant writer for the college now). It was great to meet everyone & hear all the memories (I think Tom may know a little more about Rappelling with kegs than Ross does)! Tom & Eric Tate were roommates for a while in Manitou, so we heard some good Tate stories as well!

We headed back to Broomfield that night & had a BBQ with The Adams'. Another fantastic evening with friends! The next morning we drove up to Salt Lake City through Cheyenne, Wyoming...

The Great Salt Lake...
We were at the hotel trying to figure out why the whole city stunk so much... then, as we got closer to the lake we found out... it is not a pleasant aroma!

The Salt Flats... I-80

The road through Nevada seemed to go on forever... we were "over" being on the road by this point, we trudged ahead with the knowledge that with each turn of the wheels, we were getting closer & closer to a big glass of wine & our ever lovin' kitties & further & further away from the producers of the most annoying experiences of our trip... you guessed it... TEXANS! Ah, yes we could almost taste it... we made it just in time...

to enjoy the sunset from our hammock...

Truly a spectacular trip! Thank you for allowing us to share it with you! Another HUGE thanks to all our friends who helped make it so wonderful along the way! If you feel you may be having withdrawals from National Park scenery check out the Trailer Trek link to the left... my parents are at Lassen Park here in NorCal as we speak... volcanoes, people! C'mon!