I’d never been to an aquarium with REAL LIVE MERMAIDS before; those little girls were mesmerized!
During the kids’ winter break we took a day trip up to Denver for a little sightseeing. First, we stopped at the Downtown Aquarium.
I will say up front that if you find it a little strange that there’s an aquarium over 1000 miles from the nearest major body of water, you aren’t alone. My friend and I were certainly curious about what kind of aquatic life we might find. More »
Denver & Rio Grande Western No. 318, which has run for railroads all over Colorado in its 100+ year lifetime. Read more about it here: http://coloradorailroadmuseum.org/museum-home/locomotives/
Last weekend while Dave’s parents were visiting we took a road trip up to Golden to visit the Colorado Railroad Museum. I had written about our August 2010 trip before, and there wasn’t much different on this trip (at least from my point of view).
Galloping Goose #7, the same one we rode in 2010. Rides on whatever train is running that day is included with museum admission.
The boys rode on the Galloping Goose, and we enjoyed seeing the G-scale model railroad and numerous Colorado railroad locomotives and rolling stock. This time around, Dave and my father-in-law talked to someone working in the restoration shops, and the two of them were able to get into the shops themselves and see a locomotive under repair up close and personal. They could tell you much more about this work than I ever could.
The Denver & Rio Grande Western No. 491 is currently in the restoration shops.
The Denver & Rio Grande Western No. 491 is currently in the restoration shops.
The Colorado Railroad Museum is located in Golden, Colorado and can be covered in about 1/2 day. It’s a great thing to incorporate with other activities in Golden, such as the Coors Brewery, Lookout Mountain, and the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum. Admission varies depending on what trains are running, from $5 for kids, $10 for adults up to $5 for kids and $15 for adults. Active duty military receives complimentary admission for the ID card holder PLUS four other guests. If you have kids who are Thomas the Tank Engine fans, kids can enjoy the Day Out With Thomas experience every September at the museum.
If you are local to the museum, consider becoming a member; memberships are 100% tax deductible and helps directly support preserving Colorado railroad history.
I have so many beautiful flower pictures to include, I had to make up collages!
During my inlaws’ visit to Colorado, we took a day and went up to Golden and Denver. While Dave, his Dad and Jacob visited Caboose Hobbies in Denver, Dave’s Mom, Timmy and I headed over to the Denver Botanic Gardens which was only a couple miles away.
Being that it’s wintertime, only a fraction of the garden is really worth seeing this time of year. But the areas that are open are very beautiful. The Tropical Conservatory, Orangery, Cactus house, and greenhouses were open. We were able to see everything in about two hours, which was just enough time for the men at Caboose Hobbies. More »
That’s the road we had just come up. Read on to learn more about the Pikes Peak Highway.
Greetings! I hope everyone had a nice holiday season these past couple months. I’ve plenty of catching up to do! Last week my in-laws were in town to celebrate Christmas with us. We were grateful for their company and for their taking a chance with the weather to fly out to Colorado from the east coast. The weather cooperated beautifully for their visit, in fact! We did quite a bit of sightseeing, including the traditional Colorado Springs sights: Garden of the Gods and the Air Force Academy. In fact, we all went to the Christmas Eve service at the Chapel, which was quite beautiful.
On the 24th we attempted to drive up the Pikes Peak Highway, but found out at the toll booth that the road wasn’t open all the way to the top due to icy conditions at the top that day. But that’s okay, we tried again on the 26th and the road was indeed open to the top. More »
The Denver Christkindl Market is an annual tradition.
I feel sort of guilty posting about this event when today is the last day for the season. However, hopefully folks will Google this event in future years and can read about our family’s experience.
The Denver Christkindl Market is an annual holiday tradition in downtown Denver, put on by the German American Chamber of Commerce of Colorado. It’s conveniently located on the 16th Street Mall at Skyline Park, not far from the 16th & Stout Streets commuter rail station. There are many other things to do in the vicinity, such as visiting the Tattered Cover bookstore or going ice skating at the Southwest Rink at Skyline Park. More »
Just after Thanksgiving our family took a trip to Monarch Ski Mountain in the middle of the state. It was our family’s first trip skiing in Colorado, and our first skiing in nearly 4 years. I wrote about our last ski trip — in IOWA — in 2009.
Colorado has dozens of ski resorts, so as you could imagine, it was tough deciding which one to try first. We had a lot of suggestions to get season passes, but we figured that for 2013-2014 we’d check out several resorts and make a decision for the following season.
Over the summer and fall, I had talked to several Colorado Springs “natives”: our basement contractor, my violin repairman, even Timmy’s 3rd grade teacher. They had all said the same thing: “Monarch Mountain is where the locals go.”
Jacob’s smile in this picture make this slippery hike worth it!
On the second day of our trip to Estes Park, we took a hike around Bear Lake. We weren’t sure what we would encounter, since there was quite a bit of snow. It turned out the trail was very snowy, but was packed down enough that we could walk on it okay. We just had to be very very careful!
These signs all over the entrance were rather daunting….
You want to see happy kids, take ’em sledding! Better yet, chain the kids together and send ’em down the hill!
The weekend before Thanksgiving, my friend Paige and I took our sons up to Estes Park, Colorado for a long weekend in a cabin.
We stayed at the same YMCA of the Rockies resort we had visited in August 2010. It was just much colder this time.
The cabin was very nice, with a wood fireplace and a bookcase full of boardgames and puzzles!
The highlight of our weekend had to be the sledding trip! We spent two hours at the Hidden Valley at Rocky Mountain National Park. The hill is a former ski hill and the most gentle part of the hill is a well-used sledding hill now.
I’ll just leave this here. The yellow line on the sign is NOT a trail, it’s the area deemed “off limits” by the AF Academy superintendent. The north-facing rock walls at the top of the peak.
Even though it’s mid-November, we have had a nice spell of pleasant weather here, and I’ve been enjoying some hikes in the area. Over Veteran’s Day weekend I did two nice hikes along with another trip up the Manitou Incline.
One of the hikes was the most challenging I’ve experienced in over 15 years, back when Dave and I would tackle seemingly random mountains throughout the northern part of South Korea. I wish I could find more of the pictures of us on those mountains years ago…but I guess that’s for another project.
My friend Paige and I would chat on Facebook and come up with activities to do, both with and without our sons. She and I try to get together at least once a week…sometimes for lunch, but more often it’s for something more active. Last week we traded some trail websites around and I decreed that we should try Eagle Peak.
As the photo above indicates, it’s nearly 2000′ to the top…one blog suggests that if the Manitou Incline is possible for you, so is Eagle Peak.
There’s our goal. You won’t notice it unless you’re closer, but there’s a giant “04” emblazoned on the rock face. An overzealous senior rappelled down the rock face to put it there in 2004. Much of the paint has been covered up, but if you know the “04” is there, you can see it faintly.
To get to the trailhead, it’s quite easy, and even the general public can take part. Simply head to the Air Force Academy and follow the signs to the Visitors Center. It’s open from about 8am-5pm daily (the hours may differ slightly on weekends). Park at the western side of the Visitor’s Center parking lot (there’s always space, except during Inprocessing week in June, when there are several hundred families dropping off their cadets).
From the western edge of the Visitor’s Center parking lot, head west across Academy Drive. There is a dirt road that continues westward from Academy Drive. Take that road until you see the large sign pictured at the top of this post. The trail begins behind that sign.
I recommend only advanced hikers take this trail. I am NOT an advanced hiker, and it was really difficult for me. Paige and her husband joined me, and between the three of us, we were all commenting, “What were we thinking?” as we slipped and slid all over the trail.
While one of the blogs about this trail said, “If you can do the Manitou Incline, you can do this,” I’m not sure you can make the comparison. The elevation changes are the same, but at least on the Incline you have a straightforward set of stairs. This is way more challenging.
I don’t trust that my sons would do so well; I don’t think they could do this till they’re teenagers.
Several points of note about this trail:
1.) It’s not well marked. For the most part you’re simply following the most-traveled ground. We could make out footprints and simply followed that route. When you get closer to the top, keep your eyes out for spray painted dots and arrows on the trees and rocks. They aren’t easy to see. There were a few pink ribbons tied to trees as well. We missed a turn somewhere and summited in the wrong spot. We had to navigate up a little bit to get to the “real” peak.
2.) You’re on the NORTH FACE of a mountain. So even if you aren’t seeing snow down at the more-populated parts of the Academy, you will likely see snow/ice during the colder months. Even though it was in the 60s where we parked our cars, we encountered snow and ice on the trail, including about 100′ of “black ice” where the ground looked just wet, but it was actually frozen. Dress accordingly and be prepared to walk carefully on ice.
3.) You follow Goat Camp Creek for about 2/3 of the trail. We saw some beautiful ice formations in the creek, and you will have to cross the creek at some point. We saw several crossing points and they didn’t seem too bad.
4.) Going up may seem tough, but coming down was much much worse to me. We all took numerous spills down the soft talus.
Enjoy some more pictures from the hike.
Along Goat Camp Creek, you can see many ice formations like this. It was in the 60s down at the parking area!
A cool tree!
There’s a pretty aspen grove about halfway up. It’s a nice break from the crazy terrain.
The view from the top makes the hard work worth it.
This hike is a popular “rite of passage” for AF Academy cadets. They all should see this view of their cadet area.
This tree was nice. Considering we did the hike over Veterans Day.
The All Colorado Beer Festival is a great fund raiser hidden in the guise of a fun party.
This past Saturday night Dave and I joined some friends for a fun evening in Colorado Springs celebrating Colorado craft beers at the All Colorado Beer Festival.
I didn’t take any good pictures during the evening, unfortunately, but I did want to show off our take of stickers that we collected. Dave and I want to come up with a classy way to display the sticker in our new basement bar. We’ll take any and all ideas.
Back to the beer fest: for $30 per person, visitors were able to enjoy from over 60 Colorado* beer vendors. If you’re unfamiliar with beer festivals, you receive a 4 oz. mini-beer glass (made of Lexan-type plastic). And armed with it you could taste to your heart’s content. The variety of beers were widespread. You name it, there was a sample to be had: dunkelweizens, IPAs, reds, Belgian whites (of which there were many). I even tasted a “pineapple cyder [sic]” that was pretty potent. I think the most unusual beer I tried was Blue Moon’s (cough, cough Coors‘, cough, cough) Harvest Moon pumpkin ale, which was presented to me with a sprinkle of brown sugar/pumpkin pie spice blend on the crook of my hand. I was to lick the spice, then drink the ale…tequila-shot-style.
*I was surprised to see Anheuser Busch at the event, but they have a Fort Collins brewery. They claimed to be serving only the beers that were brewed in Fort Collins: Bud Light and Shock Top Pumpkin Ale. OOOOOOkay.
Here is a sampling of some of the companies that offered my favorite brews:
The All Colorado Beer Festival organization is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. This should mean that most of the money raised from the event supports charities. In this case, the organization is supporting three charities in the local area: THEATREWORKS, The Empty Stocking Fund, and The Homefront Cares. The latter is near and dear to my heart because it’s helping local military families.
The organization has donated over $120,000 to the charities since it started in 2008. However, some are critical of a beer festival having tax exempt status.
What do you think?
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