On The Meandering Road: May 25, 2014 (34th Day)

Beautiful morning at 6 am. The sun was shining upon the mountains. Could see snow capped peaks.

View of Pike's Peak from Anna's office. Such a pretty sight to look at

Anna gets daily visits from these critters who eats out of her garden

The buck and doe were around munching in what ever they could find. The buck had just one antler, so apparently the other antler broke off during flight, fight or accident?

Looking for munchies. Oh! Hi there Edith! I've heard a lot about you!

Brian fixed french toast for breakfast and then we topped them with homemade pineapple preserve and sliced bananas. Very yummy! Also, fresh apricots were served. Then the dessert that Brian made the night before.

Brian and Anna took us out for a ride. First stop was to see Starr Kempf's stainless steel sculptures. They are on a private property, but can be seen from the street. They were truly awesome and they move into the wind. At one time the owners thought about charging admission fee, but the neighbors would not have it because it would congest traffic and increase more gawkers.

Then we all went to Cheyenne Canyon Park to go on a 1 mile hike with an altitiude rise of 415 feet. We huffed and puffed most of the way, remember, we are from Florida which is at sea level and here in Colorado Springs it is not quite 5,000 ft. It was an enjoyable hike, some so steep, but the reward was the view at the top. We wanted to stay up there forever to savor the beauty of the mountains, but it was time to hike back down to the base.

What a beautiful blue sky!

Getting ready for a hike!

Anna and Brian cozying up during a break from hiking

Looks like we mistimed the jump or Edith too quick on the trigger?

Follow the leader!

After the hike Brian and Anna took us for a ride on Gold Camp Road. It follows the former railroad from Colorado Springs to Cripple Creek that was known as the "Short Line". Lots of switchbacks and a couple of tunnels that are so narrow that we did not think our camper van can make it through. Luckily for us, Brian and Anna's car is compact, so they had no problem driving it. There was a long long U-turn while gaining elevation. The ride downhill was very enjoyable. There were lots of hikers and cyclists. Pat on them for their endurance on this tough trail!

We went back to the house for lunch break. Anna wanted to take us to two places, so we went to Garden of the Gods first. Alway always a lovely sight to see. The colors, the beauty, the awesome rock formations.

It was a bumper to bumper traffic, so finding a parking spot was virtually impossible. Well, very impossible if we had driven our camper van, but thank goodness for Anna's compact car. We found one that was not far from the Balanced Rock spot. We walked up to it, savored the sight before taking pictures.

The dark stormy clouds in the background with the sun still shining made for an awesome photograph!

Garden of the Gods, easy to see why!

Anna and Erwin at Gardens of God
This is the Balanced Rock in the background

Erwin and Edith at the Balanced Rock

As you can see this is a very popular attraction!

Next stop was Red Rock Canyon. Not as beautiful as Garden of the Gods, but the formations were very interesting. There were several trails to choose from.

Erwin and Anna trying to decide which trail to take

Isn't the colors awesome?

Anna and Edith taking a break to admire the beauty

Rains washed away dirt from the base of this tree but its hanging on for dear life!

Huh, Hey Anna, are you sure this is the right way?

Well, we made the 3 miles or so trek!

Back to the house. Brian promised to show Edith how to make homemade pizza dough (we made them the night before). He let her chose what toppings she wanted to her pizza, so she chose artichoke hearts and ham.