The next morning, we woke glad to still be at the Lone Duck Campground as it was very windy while we slept and we talked about how we wanted to plan our time in the Colorado Springs area. We wanted to drive to Pikes Peak, check our the Air Force Academy, US Olympic Training Facility and Garden of the Gods. We decided that Garden of the Gods might be busy on Sunday with Monday being a holiday so we headed towards Pikes Peak to drive the 18 miles up 14000 ft above sea level. As we turned on to Pikes Peak Highway, Megan spotted a little cafe called Mildred's. She really wanted some eggs so we turned around and stopped in.
Mildred's was a cute little cafe with 5 booths, a few tables, and then some seats at the counter. Mildred and her husband still ran the place after something like 47 years. Mildred might have been one of their mothers but you get the idea. We scarfed down some eggs and hash browns as we read the local newspaper and noticed that there was a festival going on in Old Colorado City, next to Colorado Springs. We figured we should check that out after we return from our drive to the Peak.
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| Shivering at the Summit |
We flipped a coin and I won, so I got to drive up, or maybe I made sure I drove up because I was more comfortable loping up the mountain than I was careening down it. The temperature at our camp when we left was 58 degrees, at 14110 ft it was a windy 27 degrees. Wind chill of 8. This reminded me when I was younger and my family drove up to Pikes Peak. All 5 of us, my parents, two sisters and I, were all caught shivering a top Pikes Peak. There is a picture of us kids all wearing sweatshirts from the person 1 bigger than us with our knees up to our chests. This time Megan and I at least looked prepared for cold even though we were shivering and ran inside right after the picture was taken by one of the few other people outside walking around.
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| No Jokes |
The drive down was much more relaxing than I remember as a child. Maybe because Megan is less likely to joke with my life than my father was. As I famously told my dad on the descent, "No Jokes, Dad! No Jokes!"
I might have repeated that line a few times on our way down but Megan's fingers were too tightly gripped to the steering wheel to make a joke. At the brake check, our brakes just barely passed the test but we decided to take a break anyway. If not to give our brakes a rest to give our nerves a breather.
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| Playing at Manitou Cliff Dwellings |
We made it back to town; on our way to check out the festival we stopped
at the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. They were pretty cool and allowed you
to walk in and all around them plus there was free fudge samples in the
gift shop. We knew we were going to try to make it to Mesa Verde,
another set of cliff dwellings and these small ones got us excited to
check out the big ones in Southwestern Colorado.
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| Manitou Cliff Dwellings |
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| Panning for Gold |
We were looking for some more substance after the fudge and my parents had recommended a BBQ place in Old Colorado City, which was where the festival was going on so we could try to do both. When we arrived in Old Colorado City we realized that the festival was more than just a little thing, the streets were packed. So we decided to check out the food options available on the street. While we looked, Megan found a new hobby and possibly a new career, panning for gold. We found a gyros stand and chowed down on a gyros with a coke. After checking out a few local artisans' stands we felt the crowd was too much. On our way out we stopped off to get some groceries, refueled, and stocked up on packets of condiments from the gas station. We didn't need a jar of mayonnaise or a bottle of mustard; all we needed were a few packets so we figured that we could save a few pennies by using the packets instead of buying the full amount.
We also made a few phone calls to family while sitting in the parking lot because our campsite didn't have any service. I called my grandpa, as he had been to the area many times and my parents while Megan chatted away with her parents. After our calls back home, we went back to our temporary home. We made some bloody marys with the mini tomato juice that we had and also started snacking on some chips and salsa. I made some Billy Burgers, which have jalapenos, onions, garlic, and goat cheese mixed in with the meat. We also had some Caesar salad and baked beans cooked directly in the fire. We didn't stay out near the fire long as the temperature dropped quickly and we were resigned to reading our book club book in our tent before falling asleep.
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