One of our vacations this year we decided to do a road trip to Colorado. This was literally less than 24 hours after we had arrived home from camping at Bennett Springs. I had just enough time to get all the laundry done and repacked Sunday afternoon before we left for CO on Monday morning. We drove straight through (which only took us 8 hours) and stayed at this quaint little place called The Rainbow Lodge and Inn in Manitou Springs. We had stayed there before and really liked it. Its not the Marriott or DoubleTree by any means; but a fun little touristy inn to stay at. Girls went swimming in the pool and we had a yummy dinner at The Mason Jar.
Tuesday we drove 2 hours through the mountains to Mt Princeton Hot Springs Resort. We did horseback riding, swam in their pools (one was 105* - absolutely divine) and ate at the lodge. Our room was one of the poolside rooms which overlooked the Upper Pool which had a 300 ft slide. The girls totally dug that.
Next day was the main reason we went. Whitewater rafting! We chose River Runners as our guides. The water was freezing cold as it was still spring runoff. We suited up in wet suits, booties, jackets, and helmets. Mike and I have done river rafting out of Jackson Hole WY before, but this was Savannah and Haylie's first time. Other than being a little cold I think they liked it. At least we have the pictures to prove they have smiles on their faces! It was a 9 mile trip down the Arkansas River. We had so much fun we may come back in the winter and take them snowmobiling!
After two days at the resort we drove back to Manitou Springs and did the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. We could have just driven on the road to the top ourselves but this was a lot more fun. We grabbed lunch at the cafe to take on the train to eat on the way up. Pikes Peak is 14,110 feet high. And after being acclimated to an elevation of only 1019 feet for the last 8 years; my legs were a tad wobbly.
Drove through Garden of the Gods which looks A LOT like St George UT. Mike went back the next morning to run through it.
Our final day in CO we spent the day/night in Denver. Went to the Heritage Square Family Entertainment Village. I couldn't tell if they were in the process of expanding or if it had been around for a long time and they were refurbishing. There were maybe only 5 shops that were up and running, one place to eat, a little amusement park most likely geared for kids under 7 and then their Alpine Slide. THAT was awesome! We each got three rides down and was the highlight of Denver. Lunch was at a little place called Casa Bonita. It was a fun place. My lunch was fine (I had heard the food wasn't something to write home about). The cliff divers were pretty cool and the girls liked watching the entertainment. Our final meal however was at good ol' The Old Spaghetti Factory. This was a staple when we were living in UT but the closest one now is in St Louis. There used to be one in downtown KC but they closed up shop in 1998. We email them on a regular basis to come back.
June was so busy with drill team camp, church girls camp, camping, and Colorado trip that it is SO nice to be home and relax for awhile. We've got grandparents coming out for a visit and Haylie's swimming lessons but that is it. Time to catch our breath.
