Colorado Vacay: Tour Day 1 Edition

After our crazy (let's face it the Big Texan qualifies) adventures getting to Colorado it was nice to drive up and see this.....

Charlie booked four nights at the Cheyenne mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. It a very nice and extremely family friendly resort.

One of the things the kids loved the most was the family game room area. It included pool tables which our kids LOVED!!! We played several games of pool with them each day and some of us were getting really good. Brooke kept saying we should take her to Vegas after this....poor girl has no clue what goes on in Vegas evidently!

We sat outside and roasted S'mores....or as Charlie calls them, when he ordered them, "Sh'mores", which sent us all into total fits and giggles, and much mimicking for forever more whenever marshmallows and graham crackers are in our presence.

Our first morning we headed out to explore as much as we could, and I challenge any family to accomplish more than we did in an 8 hour period. Our first stop was to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings - people lived in these cliff side houses more than 700 years ago. We were able to walk through them and learn about the culture of people who once lived here.

Small people lived and worked in these narrow passages and rooms.

amazing that it is still in tact...

Can you imagine living in the side of a cliff? No thanks!

After the cliff dwelling experience we were ready to switch gears and head to another mountain side destination. Our intent was to head to the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun but we found out we had to purchase tickets to go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo because the monument is located within the zoo which is also built into the side of a mountain.

We heard the zoo was great so we headed over....and it did not disappoint! It was lunch time so we did something we wouldn't normally do. We stopped in here and ....

ate ZOO FOOD...really expensive zoo food! But it did the trick!!

We got to feed the giraffes....

And pet an albino wallaby...

ahhh....

too cute... yes Miles has this effect on people and animals too.

Meet people who take theme dressing to a whole new level.....

fed the giraffes again......

and then FINALLY headed up to the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun....another really scary ascent up the side of a mountain where I was sitting on the passenger side looking down the sheer cliffs. A wealthy married couple built this monument, where they are buried, and well, yes it's a bit whackadoodle, but to each his own.

Because there was a shred of daylight left and no one had physically fallen out, and everyone was too weak to protest we decided to squeeze one more thing into the day.

Our final stop of the day was The Air Force Academy. It's setting is so picturesque. And yes I took this picture myself...the sky really was that beautiful. We headed for the Air Force Academy Chapel....

Which is incredibly unique on the outside and just amazingly beautiful on the inside

There are actually several worship areas inside...a Protestant, a Catholic, a Jewish, and a Buddhist meditation area. All are equally beautiful and serene.

Our final stop on the base was to check out the AFA football field.

I was able to catch a photo of the kids as the sun was starting to set over the stadium. It was a full day but we had a wonderful day adventuring around Colorado Springs.

***Next installment of this vacay recap includes some four legged friends of the livestock variety!

Colorado Vacay: Getting There Edition

First a bit of history about this vacation. We began talking about taking a vacation when school was about to end in June. We knew Charlie would take classes all summer long so we would only have the last week of summer, before school started again. When the planning started, initiated completely by Charlie, he brought me two brochures...one was a Disney family vacation and the second, a family cruise to Grand Cayman Island. I voted for the cruise to Grand Cayman....and I voted for all of us...twice!!!

For some crazy reason, Charlie started thinking a road trip would be more fun and that the kids might enjoy an outdoors type of vacation. To that I said "you are friggin' insane, a road trip does not offer a 24 hour buffet...we are going to Grand Cayman!"

....and then we ended up going to Colorado.

Charlie made all the plans on his own and kept a lot of it as a surprise for us. To say it turned out well is an understatement!! We had a blast! (Please make note this is the first time in recorded history I have been wrong!)

I now present the first, in a 3 part series, of "this-is-not-a-cruise-to-Grand-Cayman-but-Colorado-is-just-as awesome-vacation!"

The first leg of our trip was to drive about halfway and stay in Amarillo for the night. We stopped at Palo Duro Canyon just outside of Amarillo and it was beautiful!

It was like a mini version of the Grand Canyon

Now hang on to your cowboy hats folks cause this is where the trip gets a bit dicey! Charlie and the kids had, in their vacay research, found The Big Texan in Amarillo where people can attempt to eat a 72oz steak dinner in an hour, ensuring themselves a completely free meal. So, to that gimmick we said "lets go." Umm.... I said OK to eating at the place and seeing if anyone was attempting to eat the free meal but, I did not say yes to staying at the adjacent hotel!! But stay we did....

I know you are thinking exactly what I was thinking when we pulled in...what luxurious accommodations....well don't think I would leave you hanging peeps...here are the two luxurious rooms we had for the night....

YEE HAW!!!

Oh Zach....you are funny....

Yeah like each of us didn't take a turn doing that!! Now you can't stay in a place like this without taking a dip in the Texas shaped pool..well, you can, cause I didn't, but the rest of my crazy family hopped right in! (YES, the sign by the pool does say Horse Hotel, don't ask.)

The only saving grace of the hotel was that it was miraculously clean. Now, one of the reasons we stayed in Amarillo (and there aren't a lot of good ones, in my opinion) is to go to the Cadillac Ranch. Upon driving there this was the scene from the sky.....

Beautiful, but also seemed to be saying pack your crap and get out of town...

But before we headed out we went to the Cadillac Ranch...and proceeded to spray paint, as an example to our children about not defacing property, the Cadillacs which have been planted in this field. It is a mecca of sorts.

On our way out of Amarillo in the morning we punished nourished ourselves with breakfast at the Big Texan.
See every thing's bigger in Texas!! Leaving Texas that morning we headed into New Mexico which is absolutely beautiful. Hours of driving through huge expanses of nothingness and then we saw this...

We were on my iPhone trying to research what it could be when Charlie said "it looks like there's a road up the side of it and we're going!!" We finally figured out it was the...

Upon arriving at the base of it, Brooke announced she would not be driving up the side of the volcano. To which I said, with full confidence, "c'mon it'll be fun...it's a volcano" and then we paid ($5), and started our drive up the volcano....and then I proceeded to have a panic attack of sorts...while my family laughed at me. I was on the passenger side which meant I was the one looking down the sheer cliffs of the volcano as we drove up. Did I mention I am deathly afraid of heights. Oh my...scary for sure! Brooke however, was fine, totally distracted by her own insane laughter at me leaning to the center of the car.... as if that would help!

The good news is that we got to the top, hiked down to the bottom of the volcano..can you see the kids way down there at the bottom?(click on the photo to enlarge for a better view)...then hiked back up and made some sandwiches for lunch while we enjoyed the view.

Pretty amazing....and honestly, the best $5 I may have EVER spent for a family adventure.

Stay tuned, cause Part 2 has us arriving at our actual vacay destination and really ramping up the amount of activities you thought you could accomplish in a day!