July 9-11

We left Goodland (note the corrected name - Rick has been proofreading!), KS to head to Colorado Springs. We stopped for breakfast at McDonald's. which I only mention because there at the edge of the parking lot was one lonely sunflower plant - the ONLY sunflowers we saw in the Sunflower State!

We continued on I-70 to Limon, CO, where we picked up Rt. 24 to Colorado Springs. At this point, we FINALLY saw the mountains in the distance. It is always a thrill to get the first glimpse of the snowcaps. This time, it was obvious that they were the mountians. In the past, we've driven for miles, wondering if what we saw in the distance were clouds on the horizon, or the snowcaps (usually clouds to start, and then finally the mountains).

24 was a 2 lane highway, going through a few small towns. At one point, we saw something scurry across the road - I thought it was a chipmunk, but Rick realized it was a lizard. We hoped we didn't hit it. Soon, though, there were lizards scurrying all over the road! They were like the Kamakazi birds at home, that play chicken with cars, hoping not to get hit.

We arrived in Colorado Springs at the Colorado Springs KOA in Fountain, just south of C.S. shortly after noon. We have a running family joke that as we travel camp, we always end up next to a highway, airport or train tracks. Unbelievably, we had planes, trains and automobiles all at the same time at this KOA! Altitude in CS is about 6000' above sea level, and we were feeling the altitude - shortness of breath, fatigue. Rick more than me at that point because he had the set up to contend with. We laid out our plan of action for the next few days, and rested.

For dinner, we decided to try out the Flying W Chuckwagon dinner, near Garden of the Gods. There gates opened at 5:00, with dinner at 6:45 and the cowboy song show at 8:00. We decided to get there about 6:00, giving us time to tour the 'ranch', with all the gift shops. There was an Indian Kiva, a 'His' store (which turned out to be a Christian themed shop), as well as many other gift shops. There was also a horse-shoeing demo.

Dinner procedures were explained:

Get your plate. This is a metal plate.
Get your silverware pack. To carry this, put it in your back pocket. If you don't have a back pocket, put it in the back pocket of the person in front of you.
Go to the bean station, where you will be served beans.
Go to the meat station, where you have your choice of chicken or beef. Tell the server which you prefer.
Go to the potato station, where you will be served a baked potato.
Next is the applesauce station. You may not want applesauce, but take it anyway. Your plate is metal, and by now, it is getting hot. After you are served your applesauce, rotate your plate so you are holding the cool part.
Next is the biscuit and spice cake station.
And last is the drink station. Choose either lemonade, iced tea or coffee. If you like coffee, it is served hot. It has been cooking all day. Once you get your coffee, you have exactly 16 seconds to get back to your table before your hand is burned by the metal cup the coffee is in!

This was very similar to the Circle B chuckwagon dinner we went to in the Black Hills of South Dakota, our first chuckwagon dinner. Chris learned to 'mosey' at that one, and became a deputy sheriff.

Tables were assigned - picnic tables. At our table, we met a couple about our age with a teenage son - very nice family from Idaho. We hit it off immediately, as they are both teachers! We compared school setups, which I always find very interesting.

The weather was on and off showers. When we arrived, there was a brief shower and they decided to move the dinner inside. As we wandered, we started to get the word that dinner would be outside. After dinner, the weather was threatening, and we took a vote whether to stay out or go in. We voted to stay out, even through a brief shower. About half way through, again, we took a vote, as they opened the doors and got ready to move us in. Since there were only 4 songs left, we voted to stay out. The show was a Western cowboy show, the Flying Wranglers, the second oldest cowboy group after the Sons of the Pioneers, and had been in existance for 57 years.

During the show, we noticed a couple of people pointing over to the right side of the area, toward the back. As I looked, there was a beautiful rainbow. As we continued to check it out, a second rainbow appeared. Soon, there were 5 rainbows! The bottom, original rainbow had broken into 3 more rainbows, with the 5th separately above. So beautiful!

The show ended at 9:00 and we made our way back to camp, watching dramatic lightening to our north.

On Friday, we headed out for touring. We had been told to acclimate to the altitude before attempting Pike's Peak, so we planned to save that for Saturday. First stop Friday - Camping World, right down the street, to look for stuff we didn't know we needed :) I splurged and got a new chair. Rick splurged on a Campfire In A Can (which looks like a mini campfire and runs on propane, for those campgrounds which do not allow ground fires, for times when it is too hot to make a wood fire, and for times when we want simple, easy atmosphere without the hassle of a wood fire). He also found a gadget which allows 2 small propane tanks to be used at once. A Mountain Guide book to forewarn us of mountain passes, and a Woodall's Campground directory since I forgot ours from home, and a few necessary trailer needs rounded out our shopping.

We then headed to the Focus on the Family headquarters, arriving just in time for a tour. Eve was our tour guide, a student of the FotF Institute. We heard the history of FotF, saw the TV recording studio where a recording session was taking place, saw the radio station where FotF is recorded, and the Chapeltorium - blend of a chapel and auditorium, as well as a cafeteria. We then went across to the visitors center and shopped in the bookstore, then explored the Adventures in Odyssey, Whit's End area downstairs. Wow - we wished we were kids! We pretended, though, as we walked through, exploring the re-creation of Whit's End. This was our favorite part of the FotF experience. We ate lunch in the cafe before heading to the Olympic Training Center downtown.

Here is a picture of part of Whit's End - a huge play area for kids, complete with a plane, a 3 story high sliding board, secret passages, a starlit room to watch Veggie-Tale or Adventures In Odyssey videos, and party rooms for birthday parties.

We arrived at the training center just in time for a 12 minute video and tour. Our tour guide was Corissa, a weightlifter who competed in the 2008 summer olympics in Beijing in the 128-138 class. We also met Cheryl Hayworth, who competed in the 168+ weight class, receiving a bronze medal. We saw the boxing and gymnastics training centers, the pool, the shooting and the fitness centers. There are also dorms for resident athletes. The rooms consist of 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a shared common space. There is a cafeteria with nutritionists on staff to develop menus for various types of athletes. We had to believe the food was excellent, as the public was not allowed in! Athletes pay $40/day to train - this includes room, food and training facitilies, and they are considered short-term, or campers. The resident athletes usually stay for free, as they are established world-class athletes.

Our tour guide, Corissa, on the left, and Cheryl Hayworth on the right.

The Olympic Countdown clock.

We then headed to Seven Falls. This area reminded us of Zion National Park in Utah - we were in the bottom of a box canyon, and at the end were the 7 falls. We could climb the 224 steps to the top of the falls (NOT), or the 185 steps to the viewing area to see the entire falls (still NOT), or take the elevator in the mountian to the viewing area. It was back through a drippy tunnel, but that was the best way for us to get there. There were numerous rock formations along the 1 mile road back to the falls - Washington's profile, etc., but they were very hard to see without a sunroof, since the road was narrow and the rocks were high. There were many chipmunks at the falls, running around begging for food and running through the gift shops. I wondered if they went through and shuffled all the clothing racks before closing, to make sure all the critters were out of the building!

We headed back to camp, rested, and decided to go to the Airplane Restaurant for dinner. The airplane restaurant was at the edge of the airport, and we had a choice of eating in the main building, under the wing of the plane, or in the plane itself! Of course we chose the plane (the only planes I get in are ones that are firmly on the ground, with no chance of flight. Since the one wing had a building built around it, this one qualified.) We had a storm while eating, and after dinner, as we checked out the cockpit before leaving, we found lots of drips. Good thing this plane wasn't flying!

Destination - Pike's Peak - 14,110' above sea level, and approximately 8000' above us!

On Saturday, we headed to Pike's Peak. We opted to drive up the mountain - 19 miles from the entrance to the top, from about 6000' elevation to 14, 11o' - over 8000 feet up in 19 miles! We bought a CD which explained what we were seeing, as well as the history of Pike's Peak, which helped keep us (me) entertained for the hour drive up. I will admit, MOST of the road was good - wide, with no drop offs. However - and this is a big HOWEVER - there were some parts where I was on the floor. No guide rails, sheer drop offs, tight turns, dirt road - and cars coming toward us. Oh, my. The scenery, when I could look at it, was breathtaking! And when I couldn't, I snapped a few pictures out the window without looking, then looked at the camera to see what the view looked like :)

This is a picture of a time when the road just seemed to go off into the sky!

And this is a picture I took while my head was buried between the seats of the truck - I just could not look at the steep drop-off on my side of the truck!

3 miles in, there was a gift shop at a lake/dam area. I could live there. Water, mountains - my kind of area. The air was still and clean, and the altitude wasn't too bad. At the second stop, 13 miles up, we were breathing heavily, but still OK. We had a passport to have stamped at each stop, with a prize at the end for getting all 3 stamped. I love a challenge, so of course I made sure to get my passport stamped.

First stop - I could live here!

After leaving the second gift shop, we headed for the steepest part. There were times when we were pointing straight up, looking at nothing but sky. We finally arrived at the peak - and totally felt the altitude. We were both dizzy, and could only walk for short distances at a time. Although temps were in the 40s, I quickly got rid of my sweatshirt. It felt much warmer. We could see into New Mexico to the south, and Denver to the north. The cog railcars arrived as were were there - a single and a double train. The movement of all the people made me a little disoriented - a side effect of the altitude. I had to have a donut - world famous because it is so good made at such a high altitude. Who discovered that making donuts 14,000 feet up tasted so good? Who would think to make donuts up there to begin with!?

Katherine Bates, after traveling across country to Colorado by train, and then acending Pike's Peak, was inspired to write "America the Beautiful", donating the poem to our country and not taking royalties from it, as her gift to her country. We have seen the spacious skies, the amber waves of grain, the purple mountains, and the fruited plain, and she has truly captured the essence of our country in her poem.

Although I had heard about the Pike's Peak road race, I never knew what it was about. Oh, my! Cars race against the clock up the mountain! 12.42 miles with 156 turns. On those narrow roads! With no guard rails! They are NUTS!! Cars make the trip in about 10 minutes now - the trip that took us 50 minutes. We saw workers setting up for the race, which will be next weekend. We will definitely watch it if we can, now that we know how crazy it is.

Here are some of the tight, tight curves that we navigated up and down. Imagine a race car driver doing these curves fast!

We made our way back down the mountain - truck did great, but I was still on the floor at some points. Total trip, including stops, was about 4 hours. We were going to try to go to the Fossil Beds, west of Pike's Peak, but decided to skip them this trip. We made our way to Garden of the Gods, a city park with amazing red rock formations throughout. There is a 7 mile drive through the park, and of course many of the rocks are names according to what they look like - Kissing Camels, Pulpit, White Rock (duh - it was a white rock in the middle of all the red rocks!). We headed for the Visitor's Center just as rain started, and wandered the gift shop for a while. The rain had let up by the time we drove through the park. It was very crowded, and we were tired, so we drove, but did not get out to look at anything closely.

Kissing Camels in Garden of the Gods...

What an amazing way to spend the 25th anniversary of our daughter's birth! Happy #25 Abbie!!

After a stop at Wal-mart, we headed to camp to begin packing up to leave Sunday. Again, we had storms and showers. They say if you don't like the weather in Colorado, wait 5 minutes and it will change. We've heard that in other places, but here it is true. Sun, cool, clouds, storm, hot, breezy, storm, warm, sun...!