Pikes Peak or Bust

On Wednesday, the whole family traveled 14,110 feet up Pikes Peak in the Cog railway train named the Aspen.  The train ride had 25 degree inclines at some points, but the ride was breathtaking.  The route we traveled up had tons of history and we got to see all sorts of cool natural sections of the mountains others don't get to see. 

Here's us on the train.

This is what our rail car looked like as it was going up the mountain.

There is a little town, population 2, that is a hydroelectric station.  They have to drive 60 miles to the closest grocery store on dirt roads that probably get snowed over during winter.

We saw an old community with the remains of a couple old cabins still there. 

We also passed the tree line (pictured here)  and saw two trees that were over 1000 and 2000 years old.

And saw amazing scenary

We also observed huge amounts of tundra, with grass so delicate that we could still see the wagon wheel marks from centuries ago.

We saw snow still on the mountains in pockets, which is not rare at this time of year.

We spent about 40 minutes at the peak.  The peak store is world famous for their donuts so we got some donuts and coffee to warm us up.  It was only 43 degrees at the top but it was very comfortable.

We were told not to spend more than 40 minutes there because of altitude sickness risks.  It was HARD to breathe up there!  Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures from the peak We were completely enveloped in a cloud while we were there.  Even with that it was worth the trip.  The trip was amazing!

Focus and the Cheyenne Canyon Park

On Tuesday morning we headed to take the girls to Focus on the Family.  We got a tour from Amanda, saw where she works, and then spent 3 hours at Adventures in Odyssey and the Focus on the Family bookstores.  It was great, but I don't have any pics b/c I forgot my picture card for my camera.  The girls had a great time.

After Focus the girls went on another trip into the mountains to discover more cool things.  We drove past the Broadmoor  and then continued on to discover the North Cheyenne Canyon Park.  It was so beautiful!

We took tons of pictures, discovered Helen Hunt Falls,

and then decided to go down another Gold Hill Road that lead into old Colorado City.  This was the area near Colorado Springs where Gold was discovered, fortunes were made, and the area that was the main reason Colorado Springs eventually came to be.  There was an awesome view of Colorado Springs from the top.

We also had to pass through Tunnel #2

and tunnel #1

Trip to Boulder

On Monday, July 5th, we set out to go climb Pike's Peak on the Cog Railway.  However, we got to Manitou Springs and found out that all the seats were sold out.  So, we went with Plan B instead.  The girls went to Boulder to tour the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory, and the guys went to Golden to tour the Coors Brewery. 

 So the girls set out for Boulder and the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. On the way to Boulder we encountered a scenic overlook and got out to see the whole valley, Boulder, and the beautiful Rocky Mountains.  There's still snow on the mountains.

 The tour was great, and it smelled wonderful.  Unfortunately Shelby wasn't old enough to go on the factory tour, so she and Amanda stayed back and had a tea party.

Then after the Tea Factory we decided to drive around Boulder until it was time to meet the guys for supper.  So we drove into the mountains to see what kinds of cool things we could discover.  We found a random road that said "Gold Hill" and decided to follow it.  We had no idea where we were going, but kept going on and on a narrow dirt road climbing higher and higher.  We saw awesome scenery the whole way.

At the top of the moutain we discovered this old town, which unbeknownst to us, was the very first discovery of gold in Colorado, which began the "Pikes Peast or Bust" gold rush in 1859.  We were so in awe of the old town that popped up at the top of the mountain that we couldn't believe it.  Unfortunately, most of the things up there were closed and we needed to meet the guys for supper.

On the way back down we were not as scared of the mountain road and decided to take in the scenery.  We found 2 old gold mines.

The Black Swan gold mine is right behind the green roof.

We also found an old schoolhouse and we wondered if it was still in operation.  It looked like it.

Apparently, there are bears in this area.  We were searching and searching for wildlife on our drive, but never found any.

We also found a cool old church on the mountain road.

And we found an old miner's rest.

Finally, it was time for supper at the Dushanbe Tea House.  What a cool experience!  We sat at the Tap Shan tables, which is where you sit on the floor on beautiful pillows.  It was a tiny bit uncomfortable for the guys, but they were good sports.  The tea was delicious and the food was beautiful and delicious.

The beautiful tiled ceiling.

The interior was so beautifully decorated.

The amazing carved panels behind us.

Shelby reclining on the pillows.

The guys were in a huge hurry to get out of there, so the girls stayed around and explored a little bit.  The outside of the restaurant was just as beautiful as the inside.

Shelby is so in love with Amanda. 

We were surrounded by hippies on every side.  Apparently, Boulder is a very free-love, tree hugging kind of city.  Here's a picture I snapped of a bunch of hippies just hanging out on the corner.  It was weird!

We finished out our time in Boulder by walking through the park.  There is so much recreation available in every spot I've seen in Colorado so far.  There are tons of walking trails, bikes, and hikers.  It's great.

Garden of the Gods

Today we spent the day at the Garden of the Gods.  Instead of flooding this with pictures, because they were all so cool, I'll pick out just a few faves.

Family and Food

After 19 hours in the car together, bonding through a cross country road trip, we finally arrived at our destination..... Colorado Springs and Justin and Amanda's house. 

We had a wonderful day just hanging out together, eating lunch at their fave Thai restaurant, taking a giant nap together to sleep off some of our crabbiness from not getting sleep the night before, and then finally planning our week and buying groceries at the Whole Food Store.  That store rocks!  I wonder if there is one in Indianapolis.

We got back to the house and prepared this gourmet feast for our families!

We shopped for the olive tray at Whole Food Store.  We got three different kinds...garlic stuffed, mixed with feta, and a mixed olive variety.  They were sooooooooo good!

Feta Olives

Garlic Stuffed

Mixed

We also had the guys pick out several varieties of cheeses for us to try.  Here's the finished product.

A special tray we put together with brie and strawberry jam.

We also had some sourdough bread and 12 grain sprouted bread for us to dip in olive oil.

Finally, we decided that we needed to have some roughage to ensure that all of the cheese did not decide to take root in our systems.

And then finally, here is us..... enjoying it all.

And Shelby striking a pose because she was so happy with all of the food in her belly.