Making our way to Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods and the US Air Force Academy

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Day 92

We eventually made our way out of Kansas City and continued west. Larry had recommended we camp at Wilson Lake, apparently a lovely spot in Kansas. When we got near the exit, we realized we needed to try to get a little bit further west, to make tomorrow a little easier day. We drove through rain and were hesitant to camp but finally decided on Cedar Bluffs Reservoir which is about 13 miles off the freeway, west of Hays, Kansas. We found a quiet spot in the grass and had a restful night. Before camping we had stopped and got a couple slider hamburgers at The Cozy Inn, a little place that had been open since 1922. We sat at the very small 6 seated counter and chatted a bit with the locals who kept coming through for their burgers and added our pin to the map!

Thursday, July 9

Day 93

We got up fairly early and got the tent packed up before the rains started and took our oatmeal on the road. We had a minor tragedy of no caffeinated coffee but made it! After a stop in Colby for coffee and finishing our breakfast we continued on toward Colorado Springs. We started looking for a place to stay and found many places booked. We finally found a place that had availability, but after checking it out, we decided to keep looking and found the last room at a comfortable bed and breakfast, the Spur and Lace. It was near Old Colorado City and was a very walkable neighborhood with nice restaurants and shops. There was blues music in the park that night. We had dinner at Front Range Barbeque which was a fun little place on Colorado Avenue. We really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. It was pouring down rain when we left the restaurant, so we ran back to our B&B, stopping under awnings along the way. We were drenched when we returned. Jack enjoyed a hot shower and Jodi a soak in the big tub.

Our room at Spurs and Lace

Friday, July 10, 2015

Day 94

We had a communal breakfast with the other guests and hosts around a large dining table and enjoyed conversation. Our hosts Leo and Joy were very gracious and hardworking. Leo had his 82^nd birthday the day we had arrived. He had been a school teacher and retired at 65 and then bought this house, fixed it up and started his B&B. He said he had gone from working 5 days a week to 7 days a week. Joy had been a guest in his B&B and now they ran it together. Apparently they have sold it, but are running it until February and then moving to California. We had a lovely breakfast of fresh fruit, coffee, egg souffle, and breakfast cake. There were 3 other couples, from Maryland, Lansing, Michigan and Minnesota. We all shared our stories, it was very nice. After our departure, we drove the short distance to Garden of the Gods which is a beautiful park right at the edge of the city. It had been given to the city of Colorado Springs as a gift as long as it remained free to the public. It is a fabulous and very popular tourist destination. I remember being here with my Dad on our family trip to Colorado. It would have been an amazing place to wander during the magic light of dawn or near dusk to photograph.

Pike's Peak through the window of the Siamese Twins rock formation

Siamese Twins

 We then drove up to United States Air Force Academy and visited the visitor center and watched the 21 minute film on a year in the life of a freshman cadet. It was so impressive. It made me wonder whether I would have been tough enough material to survive that first year. It certainly appears to be a fine place to be educated and would produce an amazing sense of accomplishment to complete and graduate. It is set in a beautiful location just north of Colorado Springs. We also visited the architecturally beautiful chapel which houses a Protestant, Catholic and Jewish chapel as well as other places of worship for Buddhists, Muslims and welcomes people of all faith or non-faith traditions.

Dormitory at US Air Force Academy

Chapel at US Air Force Academy

Inside Protestant Chapel

Inside Catholic Chapel which is underneath the Protestant chapel

Sports complexes with chapel in the background

After our visit we headed to our friends Paul and Kris who we met in January on our trip to Panama and Costa Rica. They live in a beautiful home in the mountains of Colorado Springs. We had a delightful evening of conversation, wine and a delicious dinner of salmon, pasta and salad. Tomorrow we are headed to Denver with them to visit our 29^th ballpark, Coor's Field.