Colorado Vacation

Good morning! I'm back for another long-awaited post. On the 10th of June, we took a family vacation out to Colorado. We only stayed until the 14th, but I sure wish we could have stayed longer. Oh well, we still had a fantastic time and saw many neat things. Of course, we spent a great deal of time outdoors. You know me! If there's anything I love, it's spending time appreciating the beauty of nature. Surrounded by lush, verdant forests, and majestic mountains, Denver is a veritable feast for the outdoorsman. Let's get started.




We live in eastern Nebraska, and have never spent any significant time in western Nebraska. My husband has always wanted to see Chimney Rock, and I did too. We were looking forward to getting up close and walking around this impressive rock formation, so we took a long detour out of our way to get there. Imagine our disappointment then, when we couldn't get anywhere near the formation and was only afforded a glimpse from far away. I had to really zoom in with my camera to get a good view. Disappointing as well was the 'visitor center'. It costs $3 to get in, and there wasn't much to really see. If you've ever thought about visiting here...don't. 




Our first day in Denver was a hot one! (Thank goodness for air conditioned cars.) We spent a peacefully cool afternoon indoors at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. It was an impressive place that had plenty to see and do. We really enjoyed it. On the third floor, we stopped at a wall of windows to take this picture. It was a perfect view of the city skyline, framed with trees, and the Rocky Mountains standing guard in the background.




That evening, we drove up into the mountains to visit a dear friend of mine from my high school days. It was noticeably cooler there, and the views from every part of the house were stunning. In this picture, you can just barely make out a larger view of the mountains. We spent the evening drinking beers, laughing over good memories, and grilling out. It was amazing to sit on the deck where it was cool and enjoy the scenery.




On Sunday we went to Colorado Springs where we went to The Garden of the Gods. Essentially, it's a 'garden' of impressive rock formations at the base of the Rockies. It was another hot day, but the views, again, were incredible.



Another view from atop some of the rock formations at The Garden of the Gods.




After our time at TGOTG, we made the climb (via car) up to Pike's Peak. Did I mention I'm afraid of heights? I still braved it, but when we got to the summit, we went no further. The air is so dense that my husband and I had trouble breathing, but the views were the most impressive I've ever seen.




Right there in the background is Pike's Peak. We stood and surveyed everything around us and were duly impressed. The only other thing in nature that impressed me as much was when I stood at The Cliffs of Moher. 

Comments

Popular Posts