Travel, fun, and adventure in Colorado Springs

We've been so busy traveling, I've not had time to blog. Since I last blogged, we've been TRAVELING and having fun and lots of adventure. Highlights:

July: Back to Estes Park, CO, in July where we went back to the YMCA retreat center, but spent most of the time at Rocky Mountain national park, hiking, exploring, seeing an Elk parade 6 feet from us.

August: A weekend in Glenwood Springs, CO, where we spent the day in the largest mineral pool in the country (it is about 3 blocks long). We went with our cousins who live here. Glenwood Springs is 5 hours from C/S and a trip I highly recommend.

September: Camping at Family Camping weekend at the Farish Campground on the backside of the US Air Force Academy Mountain. This was a great weekend where we discovered and fell in love with Geocaching. We all went horseback riding, paddleboating, hiking, hit the bounce house, and made smores, pudgy pies (two slices of white bread with pizza toppings and sauce or cherry or apple pie filling grilling between two cast iron rounds. We also enjoyed stories around the camp fire til we needed to evacuate at 9pm Saturday night because I got Acute Mountain sickness with a nasty headache.

October: Albuquerque, NM for the International Balloon Fiesta. Recommend staying at Kirtland Air Force Base (2BR apt $40/night / 3 nights). Visited the Children's museum and the Albuquerque Zoo where we all got ride camels. Next week: Pittsburgh, PA for Aunt Stephie and Kirk's wedding. Contracting swine flu on the way home wasn't in the plans so we were quarantined for the next 3 weeks. Ugh!

November:
Belated Anniversary trip where my husband surprised me with an overnight trip to a real castle. We were treated like kings and queens at the Glen Eyrie Castle in Colorado Springs, which is right next to Garden of the Gods. It is only 15 minutes from our home, but might as well have been a world away. Thanks to our cousins for taking the girls. Highly recommend this place, which can be a travel bargain, depending on what time of year you go. Not to miss: a hike up the Queen's canyon, a tour of the property, a trip to the bookstore onsite, high tea, and look for the big horned sheep grazing on the lawn.

Visited the Santa's Workshop at the North Pole in Cascade, CO. Highly recommend this gem of a place. It is an old fashioned park with little rides on steroids. The girls loved it!

December: SKIING! We stayed a week at Swan Mountain Resort in Dillon, CO in mid-December. We got a beautiful 2 BR condo for $350/week through Armed Forces Vacation Club. An amazing deal for a 4 star timeshare. The girls and I all got private ski lessons at Arapahoe Basin and are ready for the season. I can now ski blues! Thanks Trevor!

More Skiing! We went for another 5 days of skiing with Uncle Bro and the cousins right before Christmas. This time, we went to Keystone, CO where we have season passes through the military ($189 for the parents, kids under 5 free).

January: Visitors! We were blessed to have my mom, brother, and sister visit us this month. We got to show them the best that Colorado Springs has to offer. Must visits: Garden of the Gods for a hike, Focus on the Family Play area, US Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel, Manitou Springs. We took Uncle Chris to Royal Gorge and Bridge. If you are afraid of heights - stay home. Highlights: the incline, suspension bridge, and the tram across the gorge. The guys loved it.

More Skiing at SnoFest 2010. Aunt Julie, Aunt Stephie and Uncle Kirk joined us for SnoFest, the biggest military skiing weekend of the year in Keystone, CO. We arrived Friday and checked in to our condo at the base of the mountain right at Keystone. Highly recommend staying at Keystone. Location is everything when you have lots of skiing and partying to do. One of the greatest moments I will remember forever is going down the green mountain as a family. Both girls held their own going down the mountain and got to go down with their parents, aunts and uncle. JOY! This weekend is so much fun, I am glad we got to go twice while being here. If you go, make sure to go to the organized parties at night. Good times eating a good meal I didn't have to cook after a long day on the slopes and dancing. Aunt Julie won $100 from a drawing (covered 2 of her lift tix). Also enjoyed having the hospitality tent with food and drink between runs. Saturday afternoon featured a cardboard box derby where I saw some of the most detailed cardboard vehicles ever - many with sound. Sunday morning, my 5 year old and Aunt Julie and I got to go tubing - a must do. Two hints - don't let your butt touch the ground, you will so regret it. #2, if you want to be spun going down the mountain, say SLOW spin. Otherwise you will be so sorry. We drove to Breckenridge on the way home to get a soft pretzel from the Salt Mine and monster cookies from Mary's. We also saw snow sculptures in the town that weekend. Took the long way home via 24, which I highly recommend. Scenic, no traffic, which made it the short way home for us.

I am looking forward to staying home in February to recoup from all of our travels. March: Steamboat Springs, hopefully more skiing @ Keystone. May: a week in Yellowstone. June: my Birthday at the Broadmoor.