Garden of the Gods
Kyle and I took an impromptu trip to Colorado in June. I won an award at work and they were having the ceremony in Colorado Springs. While there, we figured we would take advantage and spend the weekend. We got to fly the corporate plane from MBS hangar to COS hangar. I had reserved a car in advance so that once we arrived we could head out as we had that afternoon open for us. The car literally met us on the tarmac. The flight attendant made an announcement over the plane for me to let her know when I got up there so she could direct me to the car. It was white glove treatment and slightly embarrassing having all this attention on us. Everybody was calling my name and looking for our bags. The only thing that was missing was flashing lights! Once we got in the car, we headed out to a red rock park where we were ill prepared. It was 90F, blaring sun and we had no water. Kyle was still in pants from the plane, too. So we only did a quick hike there. Next we headed to Garden of the Gods. This was actually our second time being there and this time Kyle wasn’t being effected by the altitude so we actually got to get out and enjoy it. It is pretty cool seeing how big all of these rock sculptures are.
Olympic Training Center
The next day was devoted to the award ceremony. The company took us to the Olympic Training Center where we got to learn about different sports and meet many different athletes. We even got to practice shooting rifles and pistols which is much harder than it looks.
Royal Gorge Train
After the award festivities were over we were free to be on our own. We booked the Royal Gorge Train which took us through a scenic gorge following a river. It was nice to sit back and take the train. There were lots of big horn sheep in the gorge. Next, we headed south and took a helicopter ride. We wanted to take it over Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods but there was a fire and the helicopter was not able to fly in that area. We ended up taking it over some canyon and it was cool but nothing super exciting. We then continued south.
Great Sand Dunes
Zapata Falls
Our destination was to the Great Sand Dunes. We got up early and headed there. It was supposed to be hot and the dunes get even hotter so we wanted to see them early while it was bearable. The dunes are unique because they aren’t next to any water where you normally find sand dunes. They are HUGE. We tried to climb one and it was exhausting and we definitely didn’t have enough water. We did climb on the dunes but didn’t actually make it to one that had a name. We were okay with it. After that, we had some lunch and then stopped at Zapata Falls. These falls were interesting because they hide in the back of a slot canyon. Even though its 90F out, you have to walk through this freezing cold river. Your feet actually start to burn it’s so cold and everyone’s turned red but once you make it it’s worth it. We actually had the falls to ourselves for a little while which was super nice. Later that evening we ate at this really cool restaurant where they only had one thing on the menu. Depending when you went, it was either steak or prime rib. We came on prime rib night. The waiter comes, takes your drink order, then asks you what size of meat you want and then brings you your salad, then your meal. Simple as that but it was pretty cool. Finishing our trip, we went back into the park for a dark sky presentation where we basically just learned about light pollution and space. It was free and cool to learn about it though.
Our quick trip to Colorado was a lot of work and driving across the state but we got to do some pretty neat things. The sand dunes were pretty cool to see and it was nice to go back and finish up some things that we didn’t get to do last year when we went.
