Friday, December 30, 2022

Snow and Manitou Springs

Thursday we woke up to SNOW!  So the day started out much slower as we waited to the Colorado sun to do it's work......
Alec was able to get his first run in 2 months.....he is finally cleared to run and he came back with the biggest smile on his face!
Pennsylvania  or Colorado?  Darrell  still shovels in either state.
We went with the Aichele family to explore Manitou Springs....we enjoyed stopping into cute shops, having an afternoon coffee, and playing Skeeball at the Penny Arcade.



 Darrell and I met some friends we know here for dinner, so the Aichele's did fun cousin activities with our kids.  The normalcy of the cousins hanging out and the time with my sister and brother-in-law will make it very hard to leave.....but I know our college adults and high school kid are eager to get back.  One more full day in Colorado!

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Day

Our family visited the zoo in the fall of 2016, so of course, we needed to recreate the cousin picture!
We love this zoo and the animals showed off for us.  Upon entering, we were given coins to support the conservation of different animals.....of course, Evan put all of his in the Panama frog one.

The giraffe exhibit is always fun, as you get really close to the giraffes and can feed them.

The penguins and the hippos really showed off for us....we had excellent timing of several feedings.  We saw a sloth and a snake being fed.
I didn't take many pictures because it was just fun to see the cousins interacting with each other.  It was a really fun day!
After the zoo, our family headed into downtown Colorado Springs for coffee.....found a cute little coffee shop and the grand opening of a special alleyway.
We went to the Aichele's for dinner, and the snow started.  It was dicey getting back to the house we are staying at because Colorado doesn't salt their roads and plowing is sparse because snow doesn't stay long.  We woke up to a good amount of snow on the ground this morning, so we are waiting to see what our day looks like.

 

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Catching up after Christmas

This Christmas was so special to me as I have not been able to spend Christmas in person with my sister, Sheila, and her family as an adult.  There has not been an opportunity for either of us to spend time together at Christmas because of the  distance between Colorado Springs and Pittsburgh and the busyness of raising families.  What a gift to be able to have these cousins have one Christmas together, getting to know one another better and enjoying extended family time!  We spent Christmas morning worshipping at the Aichele's church, which was a wonderful service.  Then we went back to their house to spend time with them.....it was very thoughtful for their kids to buy our kids Christmas presents.


On Monday, we took a day trip to see the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park.  We enjoyed our day, although it was pretty cold with the wind.  We walked the bridge and rode the gondola.  Evan and Alec wanted to go on the zipline, but it was closed due to high winds.....however, they rode the skycoaster and that was enough of an adreline rush that they weren't too upset about the zipline.  We watched the informational movie at the theater and learned a lot about the area we were exploring.  Another highlight was seeing the herd of mountain goats.  Then coffee in Canon City and back to the Aichele's house for leftover Christmas dinner!




Yesterday (Tuesday), the Aichele family took us skiing at the ski resort they have memberships to....Monarch Mountain.  Darrell and Alec decided not to ski (due to Darrell's knee and Alec coming off a stress fracture) so they spent the day snow tubing and exploring the town of Salida.  Evan hadn't skied in two years, but found his skiing legs pretty quickly and enjoyed the day.  Paula hadn't skied in about 23 years and was very nervous, but also found her muscle memory and remembered that she really enjoyed skiing.  Ann-Marie wanted to snowboard, so Uncle Kurt taught her how and she caught on very quickly.  It helps a lot that Uncle Kurt used to be a gymnastics coach, so he knew exactly how Ann-Marie learned.  The cousins were very patient with us and it was a fun day!



Before Saturday, we are hoping to get to the zoo and a hot springs and maybe catch up with a friend or two that we know out here.  We are also hoping that we can get back home on Saturday, but we are flying SouthWest (which is having problems recovering from the Christmas snowstorm) so we shall see!

 

Saturday, December 24, 2022

From Utah to Colorado

Today was a travel day, so the exciting moments were finding a Culver's to eat at in Colorado (Evan's choice), tackling snow driving over the Rockies, and reaching family in Colorado Springs! We will be here for a week enjoying family and doing day trips. 

Merry Christmas Eve!

Friday, December 23, 2022

Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in one day

We did not originally set out to see Utah's Mighty 5 - but after we decided to pop into Capital Reef and I figured out how close Arches and Canyonlands were - we made the decision to try.....and we DID!  Canyonlands was not on our itinerary, but I am so glad we went.
We started our day at Arches National Park.....Balanced Rock was our first stop.
We then chose to do the Delicate Arch Hike - which ended up being our favorite experience of the day.  The hike itself was wonderful, but the Delicate Arch is definitely worth seeing from the top.






After the hike, we drove and stopped at the highlights of Arches, as fitting two national parks (and one state park) into one day is a lot and we knew we couldn't see everything.  
We saw Skyline Arch and Sand Dune Arch....

We experienced the Double Arch as well as viewing from the drive the North and South Windows.
We ate our picnic lunch at the Arches Visitor Center parking lot, popped back into Moab for a coffee, then headed to Canyonlands.....
Once at Canyonlands, we stopped into the visitor's center for a map and our first view....
then explored the Shafer Canyon Viewpoint (heights and the drop off were a bit unnerving for me!)

We hiked to the Mesa Arch.....

Stopped at the Green River Overlook and the Grand View Point....
We then exited Canyonlands and drove to Dead Horse State Park as we had heard that the sunset from Dead Horse Point was spectacular.....and it did not disappoint.


Lessons Learned Today:
1.  There are ravens EVERYWHERE.....they seem to follow you....
2.  Arches and Canyonlands are doable in one day if you plan it right
3.  Screenshot on-line itinerary because you will have little to no service in the parks
4.  Visiting these national parks in December can be very enjoyable....we have had great weather and NO CROWDS - which is probably why we were able to get as much in as we did.
5.  Teens and young adults may get "rock-weary", but it's not a permanent condition
6.  The conversations that occur with young adults on long hikes are priceless.

We have very much enjoyed our time in Utah and are very happy with the experiences we have had......tomorrow we will head to Colorado.