DAY 8 Colorado Springs

We are so glad we decided to visit Black Canyon yesterday as the road we needed to take to Colorado Springs shut down at 8:30 for construction. As it was, we got there at about 8:25 and were the last group to go through before they shut it down until mid-afternoon. If we had visited the Canyon today we would have missed the window.

The drive was pretty but uneventful. The biggest challenge was getting around the larger, slower vehicles on the mountain roads. Our highest elevation today was 11300 feet but then we descended again fairly quickly. As we sit in our apartment in Colorado Springs we’re at 6100 feet.

The first thing we did when we arrived at about 1:30pm was visit Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole. We visited there in 1965 and I wanted to go back to see if I remembered anything. The answer is….not much. I remember the pole where we took pictures but that was about it. When we were there in 65 the only ride was a pony ride and now they have quite a few rides. Only a couple were open but we didn’t plan to ride anyway so that was no big deal. Admission is free so we spent about an hour wandering the grounds.

The family in 1965 (L-R: Sue, Mom, Andy, Judy and me in the back). I looked for the elf hat but was told that they stopped selling them 4 years ago.

Here I am 56 years later. The elf is different on the top but the pole is still made of ice. I actually started to cry when I saw it.

Here’s a short video I took of some of the grounds.

After leaving the North Pole we drove just a few minutes to the Garden of the Gods. Just like Santa’s Workshop it was free to visit. We thoroughly enjoyed driving around this National Natural Landmark and stopping to take a few walks.

Balanced Rock. We wisely choose not to climb on it the way most of the visitors did.

Climbing is allowed as long as the person has the proper equipment and has a permit.

After leaving the park, we picked up some groceries and headed for our Airbnb flat. It’s a bit smaller than the one in Durango with only a kitchen, bath and bedroom, but there’s a nice porch in the back so I don’t think we’ll miss the living room. After a dinner of roasted chicken and au gratin potatoes, we’re settled in for the night. Tomorrow we’re playing golf at the Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy. It’s supposed to be a little cloudy but there’s only a slight chance of rain so we’re looking forward to a nice 18 holes. Hopefully we’ll play better than we did in Durango.

Thanks for taking the time to follow us on our adventure. We’ll post again soon.

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