Pikes Peak or Bust!

For Father's Day I had planned a wonderful trip for our little fam. Ditch church, drive to Colorado Springs...well, why don't we just start at the beginning!!

Colorado Springs is one of the funnest little old/new towns in Colorado. There is so much to do. It might be in part that I live near Denver, and most of the things there are 'old news'. It might be that I love the beautiful rocks around COS (Short for Colorado Springs) - which can easily be explained by my love of rocks.
While living in Manitou Springs, just a few miles west of COS on your way to Woodland Park, or The North Pole, or Pikes Peak, it was explained to me that COS was built as a small community, and 'we like it that way.' Oh. I see. Regardless of said persons snippiness, I fell in love with The Springs. Fresh mountain air. Big red rocks. The sky seemed bluer. The trees greener.
Since my oldest son was little, I've been looking for an excuse to take the family to The Springs for a little visit. We have several friends who live there, but we always seem to be visiting them, rather than visiting the sites...Father's Day was a perfect day to change all that.

Brian had to go along with the idea. Well really, he had no other choice. We are both control freaks, this time I was in the driver's seat (literally, until he decided that he wanted to drive. Alright buddy.)

We started out 'early' Sunday, June 20th. We had good intentions of starting earlier, however, after diaper changes, packing the car, numerous questions by all troops on said adventure, we were off. I must note that this point that Ethan was not feeling the greatest. Turns out he had picked up Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease from a friend. This is part of the adventure (not only in trips, but with children!) so bear with me.
We headed south on I-25. Which foiled Brian's thoughts of going to Rocky Mountain National Park. Remember the barrage of questions? We continued south...Brian figured it out (He is a smart man!), but didn't know where we were going exactly.

Stop 1. King Soopers. If you're not a local, you should know that King Soopers is our local grocery store chain. Like Piggly Wiggly. IGA. Safeway. etc. We should have realized that Ethan needed Tylenol, but neglected to realize this until later; until we returned home in fact. We stopped for a chicken meal, which was a wonderful idea on Brian's part. I, on the other hand, was going to get up early to make sandwiches. King's makes yummy non-MSG rotisserie chicken with cole slaw, and rolls (the kids and I are wheat free, so we opted for Rudy's Spelt Free Bread). Then headed south on Garden of the God's Road, to the Garden of the Gods.

"Stop" 2. We were looking for a picnic table, which was supposed to be just off the road, but we never found it...we did take these wonderful pictures however:

Please note, even if you are from these neck of the woods:
- Take plenty of water, if you are thirsty, you are probably well on your way to being dehydrated.
- Summer in Colorado can be brutal. On this particular day it was in the upper 90's. Dress appropriately.
- Stay away from the wildlife. They are wild. We like them that way.
- And at no point, do deer turn in to elk, or visa versa. It's like asking when a chicken becomes a cow. :)


I digress...we went back to the Welcome Center to eat our lunch (also Brian's suggestion!) They have a wonderful seating area (probably for paying patrons of the restaurant inside, but it was hot and we were hungry) where you can look at the breathtaking view of The Kissing Camels, and Pike's Peak in the background. The rock formations in this area are stunning. We couldn't have asked for a nicer lunch.
Except for the fact that Ethan was not feeling well, didn't eat, didn't drink much. So at this point we bailed on the rest of the trip...we fully intend to finish the trip, either where we left off, or all over again. We had Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on the list, where you can feed giraffes crackers!!! Be sure to bring your camera for this one! It is an expensive zoo, but if you stay in COS, there are coupons, and really the price of admission is well worth it if you plan the day well enough.
Back to Garden of the Gods though. We saw a group getting ready for a guided tour on segways! This would be a MUST if you have older children (think teens).
- GoG has posted a calendar of events, do be sure to check if before you go.
- Ranger talks are a great way to learn about the area, its inhabitants (ie: bats), etc
- They have a Junior Ranger program for Junior to have an activity to do while Mom and Dad do a little hiking (be sure to pack your sunscreen!!). There is a small fee of $2 for the program, but the rest of the park is FREE.

As this is a National Park, please remember to 'pack in, pack out', please don't litter...it makes it nicer when we don't have to pick up other people's trash. :)

Moral of the story? Be flexible. If your child is not having a good day. Call it quits. Have fun another day. :) BTW: Ethan is better. The sickness lasted about a week, and he was his normal self with Tylenol...