Colorado Tour - Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak

It seems there are endless "oohs and aahhh's" around every bend in Colorado.  We stayed two nights in Manitou Springs at the Comfort Inn.  It was a great location for exploring the area. Manitou Springs is cute town full of shops, restaurants, and springs!  (Though I wouldn't recommend drinking them!)

Our plan was to drive up Pike's Peak on the morning of May 24, but we were told that we couldn't make it to the top because of the weather conditions.  We really wanted to drive all the way up this fourteener.  Why? The views would be an obvious answer, but we also knew there were donuts and a gift shop at the top! 

We decided we would go to Garden of the Gods in the morning, and try Pike's Peak again that afternoon.  Garden of the Gods is located just outside of Manitou Springs, and it's a free park that would have some short hikes and photo ops!

View from the visitor center deck.

Painting in the park

Lots of Red Rock

I'm pretty sure there were signs that said no climbing!

Ooohh, Aaahhh!!

Family photo #1

After GOG, we grabbed a quick lunch at Subway and then went to Glen Eyrie.  Aaron had visited Glen Eyrie while at GCSU, and assured us it was worth the visit. It's a conference/retreat center owned and maintained by the Naviagators.  The goal is to minister to current and future leaders in the ministry.  It is private property, but you can visit by making the appropriate arrangements. You can stay at Glen Eyrie even if you aren't with a conference, but they don't always have availability.  If you want to visit like we did, there is some extensive paperwork to complete, but it's all free! This property backs up to Garden of the Gods, so the views can be similar.  We hiked a short way into Queen's Canyon, which was a different feel than GOG.

The castle at Glen Eyrie

Berry green grass with big red rocks

After a short visit at Glen Eyrie, we returned to Pikes Peak. It was open to the top when we called, but by the time we got to the entry, they had closed the road past 11,000 feet.  They had whiteout conditions, and it was super icy. They even had people stranded at the top! We had already paid the entry fee, so we went as far as the road would allow.

View at 11,000.  Blowing, cold wind and pelting rocks!

No longer an inn, just a gift shop and snacks.

Family photo #2, Pikes Peak in the background

We explored many shops in this town after our excursion to Pikes Peak

Dinner at Pizzeria Rustica in Old Colorado City. The calzones were huge!