Friday August 6, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground

Here are the boys, Cameron and Tyler, ready to explore the Cave of the Winds. They are standing at the main display as you enter the park. You will see where the water that flows behind them goes in a few pictures.

Looking down into the valley below the observation platform. I forgot to check the altitude of this location, but it's pretty high. The thing about Colorado is that there is so much beauty here, almost every step is a different view and for sure, every turn is another photo op.

A view down the valley with the mountains in the background.

Here is the whole crew panning for gemstones. There were several large "rocks" and stones found, and everyone had a good time panning.

Looking straight down from the observation platform to the valley below. As I said before, I don't know how far down it is, but looking straight down like this, it looks like a mile.

This is the road leading to the cliff dwellings that are located below the cave. We didn't tour this attraction and the boys didn't seem too interested in doing so at another time, so we'll hold this one for next time we come.

Cam made a new friend as we were leaving. Actually, we did see a live bear when we were going to Pikes Peak. It had apparently come down into the residential area from the mountain and couldn't find it's way out. It looked very frightened, but of course, by the time we went up and down the mountain it was gone.

The three boys made the tour of the cave while the adults hung out in the waiting area. Patrice found some very nice jackets in the gift shop and both she and Mike got one. Stella bought me a shirt but other than that, nothing else was bought.

While the boys were in the cave, our regular afternoon shower came in. It rained very hard and even small hail fell. The thunder in the mountains is awesome! It is much louder than what we experience along the coast. The lightning seems closer, but the thunder is unbelievable.

We came back home and fixed hamburgers on Mike's new grill. We had a nice meal and sat around outside until about 9:30 when the bugs started to bite and we all turned in. Our time with Mike and Patrice is nearing a close as they have to return to Texas on Sunday. Patrice has to go back to work....ugh! That nasty word.

So long.