Sunday, July 18, 2010

My Vacation in Colorado



White water rafters in Royal Gorge and picture of Royal Gorge from the bridge


My brother at Garden of the Gods
Hello Everyone,

We arrived back home from Colorado this past week. To say it was a wonderful vacation is an understatement. Nothing is better than spending time with family, eating, laughing and playing.

Normally, I fly to Colorado but this year I droveout so my brother would go with me. It's a
long tedious drive, especially in western Kansas where the landscape is mostly flat. Our destination was Colorado Springs. Once a small town this metropolis has grown and is affectionately nicknamed, The Springs.

The first time I visited Colorado Springs was in 1969 when my brother-in-law's National Guard unit was activated during the Vietnam war. The Springs was a military town then and now. My brother-in-law was stationed at Ft. Carson, and who would believe that 30 plus years later they would return to Colorado.

In the Springs the humidity is low and the winters are mostly mild. My brother-in-law says he can golf there year round. For those of you who think of Colorado as having horrible winters think again. The snows that Colorado gets in the mountains and on the western side of Denver most often fly across The Springs and settle on the eastern plains of Kansas.

By this time you are wondering when I'm going to tell you about my trip. We didn't do a lot of sightseeing, but we did see The Garden of the Gods and The Royal Gorge, both very beautiful spots. You can see the pictures above but they don't do either area justice.

I played bunko with my sister's Bunko group, watched my youngest niece's (5 years old soon to be 6) soccer tournament (four of them in one day), went to cookout for nephew-in-law's birthday celebration and visited oldest niece and family near Denver. We played games like Mexican Train Dominoes with kids and grownups. Every day we looked out across the patio and park at the mountains. It was a great way to start the day.

There is much more I could tell you about the sights in Colorado, but I'm keeping this short today.

Have a great week everyone, and I'll see you next Sunday.

Sandy

23 comments:

Sandy said...

I want to apologize for my blog being such a mess this week but with the pictures I couldn't get everything in the order it needed to be in. I tried.

Sandy

J Hali Steele said...

Sandy, the pictures are beautiful! I was one of those people who thought all Colorado was cold--now I know better! Thanks for sharing your vacation.

Sandy said...

Thank you, J. Hali.

I love all of Colorado but The Springs is close to my heart even though I don't like all the changes there.

Although, I have been to the Air Force Academy and it is beautiful I didn't see it this time. It is well worth visiting. They have a beautiful chapel there.

KT BISHOP said...

glad you had a good time. I always make an effort to come home twice a year!

robynl said...

what awesome memories to store in your mind once again Sandy; welcome back and hope it's not to hard to get back into the groove.

Sandy said...

K.T.

I love to visit my family but actually our home will always be Kansas even though I live in Missouri. Go Jayhawks! lol

Sandy said...

Thanks RobynL.

It has been hard to get in the groove. I've been doing laundry and all the stuff that needs to be done after traveling.

Also, I had 300 emails and I went Special Notices on all my Yahoo Groups so I didn't get mail from them. Smile.

Rebecca Royce said...

Sandy,
Sounds like so much fun. It's been so long since I've been to Colorado. We have family there and I really need to go back. Great blog!

Rebecca

Stacey Joy Netzel said...

Sandy, it sounds like pure heaven. Colorado is my favorite state after having spent 2 summers working in Estes Park after high school. I'd move there if I could. :) Glad you had such a wonderful vacation and that you're home safely!

April Ash said...

Been to Colorado Springs and loved it there! How wonderful that you got to vacation with family.
Sounds like you had a great time, Sandy!

Sandy said...

Thank you, Rebecca.

You have an excuse to go, Becca. Any time you can stay with family it's a reason to go. Smile.

We had a great time.

Sandy said...

Thank you, Stacey.

Some day you're going to have to take your family to Estes Park. I think I lost all my pictures of the elk in Estes Park when my computer crashed last year. That means I have to go back to Estes Park one day. I'll have to check my blogs to see if any of those pictures are on here. Smile.

Sandy said...

Thanks April.

I definitely had a great time there.

EmilyBryan said...

Sounds like a wonderful trip! I so miss the western US and the mountains.

Don't miss bunko, though. I got stuck playing it with some of my mother's friends once in AZ and decided there must be rooms in Hell where people are forced to play bunko all day. I couldn't believe it. These women never said a word to each other. They just kept throwing the dice. Yikes.

Maybe your bunko-mates were less intense than mine.

Sandy said...

LOL Emily, my bunko-mates were intense but we never stopped talking and laughing.

Thanks for coming by Emily.

Historical Writer/Editor said...

Hey, I know that river, Sandi! As a kid, i fell into those rapids, luckily not from that very tall bridge! Now that was a day I'll not forget. I've hiked in the Garden of the Gods as well; very lovely places you visited. Oh, there's a spooky story, a legend, i was told as a kid about the Garden of the Gods, but I'll save that for another time. -A Colorado resident :) -Laura

Historical Writer/Editor said...

Oh, about Estes Park, lol, my half-Scottish husband and I love to go to the Scottish festival there in early fall. Early fall is gorgeous in Colorado. And all those yummy men in kilts...September, ladies, Estes Park. :)

Heather Snow said...

Sounds like a lovely trip. Glad you made it home safely :)

Linda LaRoque said...

Great pictures, Sandy. Did you go white water rafting? I hear you on driving through Kansas. I bet you saw a lot of silos.

Sandy said...

Hey, Laura, I want to hear that spooky story about the Garden of the Gods.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sandy said...

Laura,

Thanks for the advice about going in September to Estes Park for the Scottish men in kilts. We usually go for the sales in October. lol

Hugs,
Sandy

Sandy said...

Thank you, Heather, and good luck in the Golden Heart. Wish I were going to be there to applaud.

Hugs,
Sandy

Sandy said...

Thanks, Linda.

Not as many silos as windmills. lol