More Pics

More Horseback Riding

Garden of the Gods on Horseback

More Incline Pics

Chris & DiMarco's Hike Up Pike's Peak Incline Trail

Fun in the sun

More Pikes Peak Pics

Pikes Peak Pics

More from The Royal Gorge

Royal Gorge

View From Our Balcony

Post Amarillo

Capulin Volcano was an exciting first for all of us. We've never seen a volcano (dormant or otherwise).

I was amazed by all the wind turbines outside of Amarillo. (I won't bore you with those pictures.)I'm curious who gets the benefit of all the energy produced there. It's almost surreal how huge they are.

We laughed hysterically at one point out in West Texas that we were the only ones out there and all we could find was old fashioned country music on the radio. Not current country either, we're talking "My dog died and all I have is my truck" country.

The greatest moment was when we saw the landscape begin to change and mountains appear on the horizon. We drove through two areas with signs saying "Warning: Do not pick up hitchhikers. State prison area." Kids thought that was exciting. We drove through quite a few areas that said "Speed monitored by aircraft." I think this was only in Colorado. That's something I've never seen before.

The most beautiful thing up until this point was Rotan pass...absolutely gorgeous! The only mountains my kids have ever seen is the hills in Minnesota. It was incredible and hearing their excitement was worth every penny this trip cost.

Driving into Colorado Springs, I felt like a kid at Christmas. I just couldn't wait to get to the resort. I was excited about the fun we had planned, but scared the resort wouldn't be what I thought it would be. After all, I found it online and you just never know about making reservations based on what you read online. This time, I got lucky! Using the GPS we borrowed from a dear friend, we turned the corner to the most beautiful resort! We pulled into Cheyenne Mountain Resort and were greeted by two smiling attendants and the greenest, lushest landscape you can even imagine! The lobby was like an upscale ski chalet (even though I don't have a clue what that looks like!)

The front desk was professional, friendly and the place was spotless. I felt like the staff was actually there for US, not just doing a job. Our room was in the Buffalo Creek Lodge, great parking spot, great location. Our room was perfect and we were amazed at the view from our balcony.

The toilet had issues and I called the front desk. Literally, five minutes after I placed the call, a repairman was at my door. Ten minutes later, it worked perfectly. Impeccable service here.

I'm posting pictures from now on with just a bit of text. I'll write more details later.

Amarillo by mornin'

Our journey began on Sunday morning at 7 a.m. Not a bad start...left on time, only had to run back for forgotten items once, and the kids were fighting...good start!

We had only been on the road for twenty minutes when Luka broke into the "snack bag". She just couldn't wait to dig through all the snacks I packed and see what "goodies" she could find.

We made it to Amarillo by about 6:30 and stayed in a Days Inn (that I "pricelined"). Not too bad for the price, but we were bumping into each other it was so small. We ate a late supper at Cracker Barrel (blech...lousy waitress, but we had fun!)

Later that night, Luka and DiMarco had a great time in the pool. I took pictures, but all I had was my phone and I can't post those here.

After a quick breakfast, we were on the road around 7:30 a.m. Off to Colorado!!

Colorado Family Vacation

Our family decided (okay, I decided) Colorado would be a fun place to take the kids for family vacation this year. What follows is a silly snapshot into our trip...