Colorado 2014 - All Good Things...

Unfortunately, they do come to an end. We had such a wonderful time that it was hard to pack up and come home.

As we did on the ride out, we loaded the kids on the car at bedtime and headed out (on time this time!) at around 9:00. Rebecca picked her shift first and we pointed the car east. We headed out through Elizabeth and Kiowa in the pitch dark, riding along over the rolling hills. At the crest of one of the hills, however, Rebecca was completely freaked out to see this:

It wasn't just a steady red, but all blinking in unison across the entire horizon. we couldn't tell how far away they were or what they were... We rode on for about 30 miles, getting closer and closer before we finally figured out that they were windmills! It was so freaky to see, especially from 40+ miles away. 

Once we had that figured out, we rode on through eastern Colorado and Western Kansas quite uneventfully. Right around Burlington, CO, though, we started seeing lightning way off in the distance. No big deal, just a summer thunderstorm, maybe just heat lightning. By this time, it was 11:00 and I took over driving. I drove for more than 250 miles, all the time watching the lightning dead ahead, before we reached the storm. It's just stunning that we could see the storm that far away... Once we hit it, though, it was torrential. It was raining so hard, we couldn't see and the lightning was striking within 100 yards. We pulled off the highway, got gas and stopped for coffee and food, hoping the storm would move off, but it didn't, so we pushed on. Fortunately, it didn't take long to get out the other side of the storm and it was smooth sailing on through Kansas City, St. Louis and on until we got into Nashville around 5pm.

My sister and brother-in-law were gracious enough to let us crash at their place for the night, so we saved on a hotel for that night. We ate dinner at a decent Mexican restaurant and drove around downtown Nashville for a while. Who knew a town could be so busy on a Thursday night?

After a good (but short) night's sleep, we roused the herd at 5am and headed for home. We got home around 4pm and unpacked, cleaned up, put on our cow costumes and loaded everyone right back in the car for Chick-Fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day! Not bad, getting a free dinner after such a long drive. 

After almost two full weeks in Colorado, it was good to be home, though we wished we could have stayed longer. The kids have wonderful memories of fun with their friends and we couldn't ask for more than that.

Sadly (though not that sadly, since we do love Camp) next year, we are hoping to go to Camp for our summer vacation, so we probably won't get to see our Colorado friends, but we are surely planning on it for the following summer!

Colorado 2014 - Pikes Peak

As a treat this year, we took the kids on the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad from Manitou Springs up to the summit of Pikes Peak at 14,115 ft (4,302 m). Unfortunately, when we got there, it was about 63 degrees with heavy, overcast skies and raining off-and-on. Didn't exactly make for nice views... However, the rain didn't dampen the kids excitement of being on a train. 

 The train has gears on the bottom that fit in those teeth and pull it up the track. Those teeth allow the train to climb 25% (14 degrees or 1 foot up for every 4 feet forward) slopes. 

 The clouds plus the obvious Pine Bark Beetle damage made for a slightly eerie view.

 There used to be a caretaker for a small hydroelectric plant on the mountain, but now it's all automated, so nobody's home.

 Dang clouds...

 Lake Moraine, a high, natural lake that was expanded into a reservoir.

 The Yellow-Bellied Marmot, one of the few residents of the higher zone of the peak.

 Even with the clouds, the fields of flowers in the tundra were pretty.

 Fortunately, when we got to the top and had a few minutes to rest (i got winded just walking off the train...) the clouds cleared off the peak and gave us a cool view from above the clouds. Ezra asked if we could walk on them. :)

 While it was in the 60s down at the bottom, it was in the high 30s at the summit with a heck of a wind blowing constantly. (The sign says 14,110 ft, but I guess more recent surveys have put it at 14,115.)

 It was like you could just step off the edge of the world.

 The original summit house.

 We caught a glimpse of a herd of Bighorn Mountain Sheep.

 Snow!

 The clouds parted for some of the ride down and gave us a nicer view of Lake Moraine

 and the wall of cloud we'd be going into.

  We stopped on the way down at this way-station to pick up hikers. This is apparently a regular occurrence to drop them off to hike up from here and then pick them up on the way down. 

 The littles were tuckered out on the ride down.

When we got back to the station, the engineer showed the kids how he ran the train. They thought all the knobs and lights were confusing. :)

While the weather may not have cooperated, the trip was fun and the kids had a really good time. Just a note: if you are considering taking a ride on the train, make reservations several days in advance. they fill up quickly. Also, this is not a cheap ride up. We didn't have to pay for the two youngest ones and it was still 

$140. However, we felt that it was a better idea (and potentially cheaper) than driving our van up the Pikes Peak Highway and potentially causing problems being at such a high altitude.

Colorado 2014 - Castlewood Canyon

Of course, we had to go back to do the other side of Castlewood Canyon this year. It's such a great hike. Such beautiful views and a great way to tire the kids out! 

 Once more, we brought the Deering/Ginsberg clan with us and they loved it.

 The walk in is so pretty with great views of Pikes Peak...

 ...and Devil's Head (which we didn't do this year.)

Not surprisingly, the kids went all over the rocks. 

 While the adults moseyed (I had to look up that spelling) on down the trail.

 The rock formations in the canyon are just spectacular.

 Have I mentioned enough how beautiful the wildflowers were this year? I think so...

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day!

That afternoon, we took the kids out to the pool at Lifetime Fitness.

If you're going to be in Denver for a week or two, I would highly recommend getting a temporary pass to Lifetime. They charge $40 for the whole family for a week and, if you push them a little, they'll extend it to two weeks. Due to some really heavy activity on the day we went to get our pass, the sales guy gave it to us for free!