Our Site Seeing

 After dropping JC off on Monday morning, I couldn't wait to get out and see the mountains!  By the time we all got ready, we drove around the area, picked up lunch and came to this beautiful park and play ground about a mile from JC's training.

 I was surprised by the warm temperatures but the park had lots of shade.  JC joined us for lunch.

After lunch we headed out to West Denver.  The explored Dinosaur Ridge where the kids panned for jewels and fossils at Dinosaur Ridge. 

 It was a gorgeous day! Only thing that was missing was daddy!

We also went to Lookout Mountain and the Boettcher mansion.

 Tuesday we all left together, dropped JC off at his class and drove down to Colorado Springs.  We tried to see the Eyrie Castle but it was closed.  We did a quick visit to the Garden of the Gods.

We hurried over to Manitou Springs for a quick snack lunch and waited for our Cog Train ride up Pikes Peak.  We were all very excited.

 Manitou Springs was a neat little town.  We hope to visit it again when we have more time.

 It was a clear day and we saw all sorts of amazing sites.  The views from the train were breath-taking.

 A brave yellow-bellied marmot came up to the train while we waited for another train to pass us.

 Up on top!  It was around 90 degrees when we came up the mountain and 43 degrees at the top!  And it was literally, and figuratively,  break-taking.

 We saw several marmots and some dear on our trip up Pikes Peak.

Tuesday wore us out so we took it easy on Wednesday.  We shopped IKEA!  

 After shopping and lunch at IKEA, we went for an afternoon walk in our hotel's neighborhood.  There was a golf course and flowers, lots of flowers.

Wednesday evening, we picked up JC and quickly ate dinner at the hotel.  Then hurried out to get a glimpse of Denver rush hour traffic.  Well, really, we wanted to show him Lookout Mountain in Golden but first we had to see LOTS of traffic.  Then it started to rain.  And we got a little turned around.  You know...it's "Always an Adventure"!

 Where exactly are we and how do we get where we want to be?  And will we get to see anything through this rain?

 The sun came out about the time we figured out where we wanted to be.  We were blessed with stunning shots of the cloudy sunset in the mountains.

 We made a quick stop at Buffalo Bill's grave site for a few pictures and potty break. It was very chilly out!

It was nice to share some site seeing experiences with JC.  And we spotted a fox and deer, too!  But we found out that Cam can't handle driving in circles, up a mountain, in the dark.

 Thursday we drove out to the Plains Conservation Center in Aurora.  The website said, "EXPLORE the 1,100-acre natural area and you may find pronghorn, prairie dogs, coyotes, mule deer, meadowlarks and red-tailed hawks. Look more closely and discover a buffalo grass jungle, tracks and traces from wildlife, or the bright colors of the prairie in bloom."

 But basically it was a large field between the AF Base and a neighborhood.  There was a very small nature center and a sand pit.

 But the kids enjoyed playing in the sand and pumping water.  We saw lots of prairie dogs and some rabbits.

Friday we loaded up and when JC got out of class, we left Denver for Colorado Springs and our adventure home.

 Back at the Garden of the Gods for further exploration. JC and Bren did some serious climbing before we headed up to the Nature Center.

Afterwards, we drove around a bit.  We stopped at Helen Hunt Falls and then drove out by the base before grabbing dinner and heading to Walsenburg for the night.

Walsenburg was just a little blip on the map but it gave us a head start on our drive home.  We stayed in a little Bed & Breakfast there.  The owner was kind and it was clean but quite old and in the center of "downtown".  Walsenburg used to be a mining town but isn't much these days.  We heard trains throughout the night and they did not have CH&A, just one window unit for our two bedroom "suite".  But it was just one night and we were on our way home after breakfast.

I don't think there is a single picture of our drive home.  We did see quite a few Prong Horn antelope and saw an inactive volcanic mountain. We got home close to 8 p.m. and we were pooped after driving ALL DAY LONG again.  We are thankful for the adventure and thankful to be home again!