Manitou Springs - The End

It's time to wrap up the blog posts about Manitou Springs.

On the last morning there, we had breakfast at this little European cafe, and it was fantastic. I don't have any pictures of the food, but it was served with fresh fruit and delicious bacon. I got the best French toast I've probably ever had in my life. Miles had an omelette that was perfect, too. I have no pictures, but had to detail our picks. I'm sure you appreciate that.

As I mentioned in my first post, our pictures from the second Garden of Gods visit were much better because of the time of day. This was our last stop before heading to the airport, and it truly is a heavenly experience.

Kissing Camels (can you see them?)


Can you spot the rock climbers here?


This plaque describes how it was the wish of Charles Perkins for this park to always remain free to the public.


A bit of perspective - this is me beside one of the smallest formations. I'm 5'4" and not skinny. These were massive rocks.


They have beautiful trails throughout the park.


I don't have anything appropriate to say...


Majestic!


The popular Balanced Rock.


A pretty view of Pikes Peak.


And, that was the end of our vacation. See you next time, Colorado!

Manitou Springs 2

Well, it's been a long couple of days underneath this rock.



I'm still feeling good, though, so here is what else we got into on our mini vacation...

Manitou Springs is the kind of small town where you might just stumble upon a parade in the afternoon. That's what happened to us on Friday afternoon - what a fun surprise! Who doesn't love a parade!?









After the parade we headed to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. Multiple families lived here in the 1100s.





I wonder how much this view has changed. I bet it was beautiful, even if crowded!


The next morning was all about getting some fishing in! We drove up to 11 Mile Canyon, and it was a gorgeous drive because the aspens were changing. Remember my post about a lack of Autumn here in Texas?

We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the trees change color. It was a cool experience, that Autumn experience. I didn't get the best pictures of it occurring, however.








I won't mention the hour detour we took because of one 100-yard mistake, either, because the drive was so pretty. :)

11 Mile Canyon proved to be scenic (good for me) and the fish were biting (good for Miles)!













We were chased out of the canyon by the storm rolling over the mountains.



We drove through the mountain.


We watched the Rangers roll over the Devil Rays, and that was great, too. Just look at that smile...

Manitou Springs 1

Over this past weekend Miles and I went to Manitou Springs, Co. It was an unexpected trip, originally scheduled to attend Jordan and Kellie's wedding. They had to postpone for medical reasons, and we went ahead with our trip because of time off of work and just wanting to get away.

We ended up having an amazing time, though, with just the two of us! Manitou Springs has an amazing amount of things to do in close proximity to the quaint and cool downtown area. It was perfect for our short trip.

To prevent information overload, I'll break our trip into parts throughout the week!

We arrived Thursday, late afternoon, and went over to Garden of the Gods. Immediately, we were blown away by the amazing rock structures and beautiful views. I'll post more pictures from our second trip to this public park later because the light was WAY better. These are from the first evening we were there.









Friday morning we went to Seven Falls. We hiked up the 224 staircase that goes right up the side of the falls. It was steep and the altitude made me feel even more out of shape than I am! Not cool, altitude. Once at the top, though, we did the easy hike up to another waterfall, Midnight Falls. Seven Falls was one of the highlights of our trip - we loved this!





This pic, with all seven falls, is actually from the observation deck, which was up a different 184 step staircase. We took the elevator (it was after our other hike). The elevator was cool, too - carved into the mountain.


Halfway up the 224 steps beside the falls, there was a platform...and a bench. :)





We encountered a 450 year old pine tree on the hike. Yes, I counted the rings. Really.


Okay, there were informational signs.

Midnight Falls was not very picturesque...and we set it on a crooked post to self-timer capture ourselves!


I held up the mountain, a classic Brier pose.


I'll just be here until the next post...

"Honor the Texas flag..."

I am a proud Texan.

I even say the pledge of allegiance to Texas every day at work. I even validate the reasoning for saying the Texas pledge to students who whine, "Because we just do, okay!?"

I took Texas history in 7th grade and twice in college (don't ask).

Texas IS bigger and better. The people ARE friendlier. The girls ARE definitely prettier.

That being said, I have one complaint, Texas. We don't have seasons; we especially always skip Fall. And, I hear it's wonderful.

I hear that in some states girls get to wear their amazing new boots before January. I hear that the leaves change colors and September means a shift in the air.

I wish we had Fall. I wish that I could wear my fun, new boots tomorrow and not feel like I was out of place. I mean, it is going to be late September by tomorrow.

My boots are actually being shipped to me, and I don't even have them, yet. So, I wish I did have them already AND that they were "in season" by something other than the date on the calendar.

What do you think, fellow Texas ladies? Should I go by the date on the calendar or the weather in the air? When can we wear our new boots!?

The new boots:

Clinton, OK

Over Labor Day weekend we went to visit Miles' family in Oklahoma. Clinton is in western Oklahoma, and both of his parents grew up there. His grandmother, aunt and uncle, and cousins are always excited and welcoming, when we get to go visit!

Here is the family tree, so to speak, so you can keep up with this post:

Grandmommy, Phil and Karen's mother
Uncle Harold and Aunt Karen, who have three grown sons with families of their own:
Jeff and Kim, parents of Lynlea and Mitchell
Chris and Amanda, parents of Reagan, Maelea, and Kit
Aaron and Amy, parents of Patrick, Blair, and Craig

Sorry in advance, Patrick and Mitchell, but you ran off after calves and girls, so I didn't get your picture.

When we arrived, we went to eat at the White Dog. It is a really amazing restaurant, dug out of natural rock, and it was gggooooooooddd.



Grandmommy and Aunt Karen at White Dog


The lovely ladies with Uncle Harold


Miles and Lynlea

On a wonderfully cool morning, we went to the Littke farm. This is Miles' mom's family's land. Miles' grandad grew up on this land! He and Matt have a lot of fond memories from visiting here as they grew up.















Sunday night we went to dinner at Chris and Amanda's house. We thought it was funny that Aaron and Miles wore matching shirts.



Matt, Miles, Aaron, and Chris

Then we were off to the rodeo in Elk City!


Amanda, Maelea, and Reagan
Craig, Kit, and Aaron


Kit, Craig, Amy, and Aaron


Kim and Jeff


Sarina and Maelea



Blair and Reagan


Amanda and me

My favorite part of the rodeo was the calf scramble. There were seriously about two hundred kids who chose to participate.


The calves had no chance!


Late entries were allowed, and I believe this young boy has the makings of a real cowboy.


We finished off the trip with breakfast at the Branding Iron with Grandmommy and a visit to Aunt Karen and Uncle Harold's house. It was a great trip, and we look forward to seeing everyone again soon!!


O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklahoma, OK!!