Mile High Fun!

Its been anything but a normal summer for us.  We've been able to do more "vacationing" than I think we've ever done in a single summer. That's the happy part. The not so happy part will be the subject of another post some time in the near future. We recently had the opportunity to go visit Moosebeere in his new home in Colorado.  He and his family recently moved there. So we made a decision to make a go of it and visit them.  This hadn't been a long term plan, more of a late decision.  We had hoped they would make it to the reunion at Mt Rushmore last June but then his company plunked the transfer date, which they knew was coming, right on the week of the reunion and they were unable to make it. Originally, since we knew the transfer was coming, we had planned on going to the reunion and then Brombeere would go home with Moosebeere and his family and help them pack and get ready for the move.  Ah, well. So much for well laid plans. But after that fell through Moosebeere's sweet little girl began praying every day that we'd be able to go.  And miraculously the way opened up that we could so we decided to go!

It came together pretty fast so it was only a couple of weeks after we decided we could go that we left - we piled our stuff in the car and drove straight through.  It was a long day but in helped make the trip less expensive and gave us more time to visit. And it gave us an extra day when Moosebeere was off work so we could actually see him while we were there. We arrived late Friday, after the kids were in bed so it was all the more fun for them to get up Saturday morning and there we were!  So we headed for the mountains.

We decided to go to Mueller State Park, up in the mountains west of Colorado Springs.  The park is at about 9,600 feet above sea level, some 8,500 feet higher than we're used to.  First thing we did when we got there was hose everyone down with sun screen - its easier to burn at higher elevation. I noticed, also, that each time we went up in the mountains during our visit that Moosebeere kept checking us to see if we were showing any signs of altitude sickness. They had moved there from Nevada and for them Colorado Springs was only several hundred feet higher than where they had lived so they were much more used to it than we were.

In addition to the normal stuff at the Visitors Center, they were having some displays out in the parking lot, including some hands-on things for the kids.  Like a bear skull, animal pelts, and demonstrations.

They also had some crafts you could make. Gramdma (Brombeere) helped the kids make some stuff - it was fun.

After we finished at the Visitors Center we drove a little further into the park and found a place for a picnic.  It was nice.  When we first moved east of the Rockies years and years ago I thought I was really going to miss the mountains but I soon came to realize it was the trees that had a lot to do with it.  Still, when we go back out west and get up in the mountains I realize that the trees aren't everything.  The kinds of trees at the higher elevation are different than the trees at the lower elevation where we live now, and have a different smell.  That plus the up and down of being up in the mountains that adds so much to the beauty of the mountains.  So it was real nice to be back.

The kids were having a great time playing on the rocks. While we were picnicking a couple rode by on horses and invited the kids to come pet them.  They loved it.  What kid doesn't love horses!

After we were done with the picnic and just playing around in general we drove back toward town.  Lots of high mountain meadows around the park.

It was a partly cloudy day, which helped keep it pleasant.  It was actually a bit cool that far up into the mountains.

It was a real nice day.

After we left the park we drove around, taking in the sights for a while. Then we headed back closer to town to see Cave of the Winds.

Cave of the Winds is up a narrow little canyon.  The road up to the entrance was full of switch-backs, sharp and narrow.  An interesting drive.

From the canyon at the Visitors Center you could look out over the ridge and see the town away off to the southwest.  Quite a view.

The entrance to the cave is a lot easier to get to now.  As we went in they pointed out the original entrance, the way it had looked back in 1869 when it was first discovered by white men.  The Jicarilla Apache Indians had been in the area and found the cave centuries before.  Their legend was that the Great Spirit of the Wind lived there. Back when it was first discovered the opening was just a thin little cleft in the side of the canyon.  For many years that was the only entrance and anyone wanting to go exploring had to climb up to it and make their way in.  I was pretty glad that they've made getting in the cave a bit easier to get into more recently.

We took the easiest tour.  You know, little kids, right?  Anyway, it was guided and interesting to hear about the various features of the cave.  It was also interesting to hear tell of how touring the cave had changed over the years.  There was a time when visitors were encouraged to break off a stalactite and take it home as a souvenir. Yes, very different from now. As we entered the cave we were encouraged to not touch the walls at all if we could avoid it.

Some of the walk ways and passages were so narrow and the ceiling so low you couldn't help but touch the walls but we did the best we could.

Steep stairs in some places.  The tour was about 45 minutes and wound down into the mountain through places with names like Fat Man's Misery, Giant's Bleeding Heart, the Bridal Chamber, the Majestic Hall, or the Temple of Silence.

And what cave tour would be complete if they didn't stop you somewhere deep inside the mountain and turn off all the lights. That is what absolute darkness is like.  They left the lights off long enough for you to realize that your eyes were not going to adjust to the darkness - there was absolutely no light what so ever.  It was another time I could say I've been invisible.  The last time was the last time I toured a cave and they did the same thing. Then they warned you and turned the lights back on, dim at first and then a little brighter. Whew.

There were some real pretty formations in there. I liked how they had the lights of slightly different colors throughout the cave.  Made it interesting.

We were a little smarter this time and took jackets with us. It was an interesting mix of being cool, if not occasionally cold, to sometimes being pretty warm because of the exertion of hiking up and down stairs, up and around, down and through the rocks.  It was  a good time.

Some places well lit, wide and spacious, other places dim and much more narrow.  There were a couple of places where the ceiling was low enough that many of us had to bend down to get through without hitting our heads. In fact, the hat I was wearing provided enough padding to soften a couple of times when I bumped into a rock poking out into my head space.

The next few days were spent taking it easy and helping Moosebeere and his family unpack and settle into their new home.  Even though they had been there about a month it had been a very busy month for them and there was still lots to do, lots to unpack and organize. So we helped where we could and just enjoyed each others company.

While we were there we decided to out to a German restaurant in the area.  A place called the Edelweiss.  None of us had ever been there but it turned out to be really, really good.  I haven't had genuine German food like that since I was on my mission.  I had sauerbraten with a side of rotkohl because that was one of my favorites when I was there.  I was sorely tempted to get a reuben sandwich just because I really like them but in the end I went with the sauerbraten. And it was every bit as good as I remembered.  And our waitress even had a German accent!  How cool!  Ganz toll, sagt man da zu!  I would definitely go back!

The next day we decided to go spend some time at a place called Focus on the Family because Moosebeere had heard they have a real fun play area and no admission.  It turns out if is basically a church and the play area is their out-reach program.  Made for a very fun place for the kids to hang out.

They had all kinds of stuff the kids could play with and on.

Up and up, just like the fast-food places with the play areas, only bigger.

In one part of the facility they had a three story slide for the kids. They had a lot of fun on that one.

They had an area where you could put on a puppet show. We spent a while in that area.

The kids had a blast and the grown up had lots of fun watching, or sometimes playing with them.

They let their imaginations run wild!

They also had a reading area.  Comfortable seating and lots of books for younger kids.  Broombeere was in her element - reading to grandkids!

They also had a room for real little kids.  In fact, you were supposed to be under five to play in there.  Moosebeere's oldest stretched that rule just a little bit and they all had fun climbing, jumping and crawling all over the place.  They certainly wore themselves out and slept well that night.

The week was wearing on and we decided to make a run to Garden of the Gods.  Years ago we had made a day trip and visited there before.  I don't remember stopping at a visitors center that time.  What I remember about that day was stopping at a fast-food place for dinner after a day playing in the park and having a family of skunks wander into the parking lot while we were inside.  We ended up staying a little longer than we had planned because we didn't want to disturb them.

No skunks this trip.  We toured the visitors center.  Maybe its a sign of age because when I was a kid I didn't find visitors centers near as interesting as I do now.  Anyway, they had a nice one, lots of well kept and cared for exhibits.

Even kept the kids interested.

I liked the murals they had. One for each time period, each "age" over which the rock formations were made.

They had a hall way explaining the different geologic periods during which the rock formations were made over the eons of time that it took.

They also had an area with quite a few mounted animals.  They were well done and looked well cared for.  I was impressed.  They were very nice.

Lots of hand-on, informative activities for the kids.  They had a good time.

I was actually surprised at how long the visitors center held the kids' attention.  They were quite thrilled to see all the stuff.

Then we went out to a balcony where you could look out across the way and see some of the rock formations.

After walking all through the visitors center it was nice to sit for a while and take in the view from the balcony.  It was impressive.

 I am constantly amazed, over and over again, at the variety found all over the earth.  These rocks made me think of a formation a little farther west called "Devil's Slide", in Weber Canyon.  These looked like they may have been formed by the same process over the years.

After we left the visitors center we decided to drive through part of the park.  We didn't go through everything in the park, we probably saw only about half of it, but what we saw was incredible.

Garden of the Gods actually isn't a national or even a state park. For many years it was privately owned by a guy that made his money on the railroad. It remained privately owned until the original owner passed away and left the acreage to the City of Colorado Springs with the provision that it remain open and available to the public.

While some of the activities at the visitors center have a cost, there is no admission fee to enter the grounds and tour around the park.  There are trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.  You could even rent a segway and tour the park that way if you were so inclined.

From the visitors center we drove around the formations you could see from the balcony and then to the east and out the "back way" from the park, rather than following the loop back to the visitors center.

We wanted to see "Balancing Rock". Very interesting.  Actually kind of amazing that a piece of rock could form that way and be there for hundreds of thousands of years, if not millions of years.

We had to stop and get out, and check it out from every angle.

Broombeere went up to it, it was one of the formations you were allowed to climb on.  It was a pretty easy climb up to the rock, really.

It made for a fun picture - brave soul, standing there under the edge like that.  There were plenty of people posing as though they were holding the rock up.

We had a good time, it was a good visit.

All through this whole trip, actually all summer, Broombeere had been photographing flowers wherever she has found them.  There were lots that we ran into in Colorado. Some amazing little flowers scattered all around.

As luck would have it, the newly completed Fort Collins Colorado Temple was having its open house while we were in the area so we drove up to see it.

I hadn't realized it at the time but its about 135 miles from Colorado Springs up to Ft Collins.  Nevertheless, I considered it well worth it.  They are such beautiful places and the opportunity to tour one, even with as many as have been built in recent years, is still fairly infrequent so I love going whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Beautiful inside and out.  It was done so nice.  And the tour was pretty well organized, although it did involve a bit more walking than was comfortable.  We parked on the south side of the temple, walked around the building and across the street to the church that so often is found near temples these days.  Then we watched a short film and then back across the street into the temple. Then the tour was through the temple and back out the south side, not too far from where we had parked.  The flow of the tour was actually pretty good - I just have a hard time walking that far.

But it was worth it.  I was glad we went.

After the tour we went to a sports park there in Ft Collins and let the kids run off some steam.

The park was fun.  They had the usual play ground equipment but they also had some waterworks.  Moosebeere's oldest especially had a blast getting thoroughly soaked.

I don't think she could have gotten any wetter if she'd gone swimming.

After we left the park we went to visit my sister and her husband who live in nearby Brighton. We had dinner and just visited for a while and then headed back to Moosebeere's place.

The next day was Sunday so we spent a quiet day at church and at the house.  Then Monday came and all too soon it was time to come back home. Another long day on the road. But it was a good, relaxing visit, a very nice escape from the drama that has been going on all summer at our house (more about that coming in another post).  I could really get used to not using an alarm clock to get up in the morning.

Oh, and, yes.  We did pick up a few more magnets for the fridge!  Yay!