Colorado Day 7

Thursday, July 30, 2009: Today was another full one! We got up at 7:30am, got ready, and then went to the lobby for breakfast. They had some hot food and some cold. It was a good variety. We had reservations to ride up Pikes Peak on the 10:40 cog and we got there about 10:10. The weather was kind of cold and a little rainy and we all wore sweatshirts or jackets. We boarded our cog and headed up the mountain right on time. Our tour guide was good and very informative. I have been up Pikes Peak in the past but I think I enjoyed it more this time than any. I really listened to what she had to say and took note of the things to see on the way up. Once we were at the top, we went inside the gift shop and bought a few of the world famous Pikes Peak doughnuts. They were cake doughnuts with icing on top. B1 also had a bowl of chicken noodle soup (just like she did at Pikes Peak as a toddler at 18 months old!) and I had a bowl of chili. When we headed out of the gift shop to go back to the cog, it was actually snowing out there! Really, it was like a sleety kind of snow, but it was really coming down! So weird to be experiencing that on July 30, especially when you live in the Midwest where it is usually 100 degrees that time of the year! We rode back down, bought a couple things in the gift shop at the bottom, and then headed to the US Olympic Training Complex. Bruce wanted to go here and check it out. And let me tell ya, it’s a good thing we did because we ALL managed to find a shirt to buy in the gift shop (Bruce found 2!). We took the tour, which was free, and lasted about an hour. At the end of the tour, as we were walking back towards the main building, B2 claimed that she saw a fox run behind a building. We wondered if she knew what she was talking about. About that time, here comes the fox, running across the campus! Seriously, it scared me a little as I didn't know where he would go, but he just pretty much ran right through a group of people and into some bushes. So crazy! Athletes train here for several years in hopes of making the Olympic teams. After leaving there, we tried to eat dinner at a steakhouse (I am hungry for steak) but the first one we tried was closed down and the second one was too expensive. So we ended up at an Olive Garden. Usually when we are on vacation, we try to eat at places we wouldn’t be able to eat at when we are home. But even when we are at home, we don’t go to the Olive Garden much at all, so it was nice. Our last stop for the evening was at Seven Falls. This is a waterfall which basically has 7 different parts. At night, they light it up and it is pretty. Bruce and B2 climbed up all 224 stairs to the top. B1 and I opted for watching them! Now we are back at the hotel, packing up to leave tomorrow.

The famous Pikes Peak doughnut. This was even featured on the Food Network!


It was 32 degrees and sleeting on us!

Look at the cog tracks! That is totally fresh stuff!

Cool picture, huh? All we needed was Shinza inside the black ring!

This picture is kind of blurry, but this is Seven Falls.