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Published: June 28th 2010
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Well how was that for a little excitement ??? I'm thinking it was just a little too exciting for me but thank goodness Mr. John was ready, willing and able to come out and rescue us so we didn't have to spend the entire night in the middle of a cow pasture out in the middle of nowhere. I was so delriously tired when we arrived at the Wal-Mart in Woodland Park, Co last night that I didn't even notice how nice it was. When I got up this morning and took a peak out the window I was really surprised. This Wal-Mart was fancy, it had stacked stone from the bottom to the top and then entrance looked like the inside of a log cabin. It kinda felt like we had slept at the Ritz last night, LOL ! Around 7:00 this morning my phone started ringing off the hook with return phone calls from all the tire repair, AAA, towing companies, etc. people offering to come help. Luckily, we didn't need them anymore but John did say that we needed to get the rest of the tires looked at sometime today. Once Tim woke up, he began looking for
a tire shop so we could head on over before we took off up another mountain. We were so lucky we didn't have the blow-out on the side of a mountain or something more dangerous like that. We had just came down from a 12,000 foot high trip and it really could have been disasterous. Thank goodness the good Lord was watching after us............he never lets me down !! Tim eventually found a place in Colorado Springs that could take a look at the rest of the tires for us so we got ready and headed on over there to get them checked out. Somewhere around 2:00 pm and $808.00 dollars later, we now had three new tires and were back on the road. I guess all that money I was bragging about saving the other day just got spent ! I was just telling Tim how much money we have saved by staying at the Wal-Marts instead of paying to stay in a campground everynight. Oh well, that's the way it usually goes. I'm just thankful we're alive and can continue our trip safely across America and back. Now that we were good to go, we made our way
over to the Garden of the Gods state park. It's a huge park full of incredible rock formations that are spread out throughout the grounds. We stopped by the museum and gift shop and then began driving Big Bertha through the winding roads. We ooooed and aaaahhhhed at the amazing mountains of rocks and we even saw a baby deer eating right beside us in the park. Tim and I both just love seeing all of Gods creations and enjoying all that this great country has to offer. We especially like it when we get to see wildlife "out in the wild". As a matter of fact, as of today, we have seen tons of animals in their natural habitats. We have seen elk, chipmunks, longhorns, mermots, horses, cows, turtles, porcupines, grouse, whitetail, black tail and mule deer, llamas, alpacas, a donkey and we've even seen a fox. However beautiful and wonderful all these animals are though, we are still on the search for a bear and a rattle snake ! Well, we were finished touring the Garden of the Gods and it was time to move on to our next adventure. We made our way over to Manitou Springs
where we made it just in time to board the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. Yep, I was getting on another train and this time we were going over 14,000 feet up the mountain and all the way to the top of Pikes Peak. I was a little hesitant but ultimately I hopped on the train, took my seat and off we went. On the ride up we encountered some of the most beautiful scenery you could imagine. It was cloudy and a little rainy but that didn't stop us from sitting back and enjoying every single minute of it. It's so hard to put into words how amazing the view from the train really was but all I can say it is was one of the most serene and peaceful experiences of my life. I just laid my head on Tim's shoulder and watched in awe of the beauty of the snow capped mountains and the sun's glare glistening on the lakes below. After an hour and a half of complete relaxation, we arrived at the top and the train slowly emptied as everyone on board made their way into the gift shop. Oh my goodness......I know they told us
it was cold up top but dang, they didn't tell us it was freezing, literally !! It was 32 degrees at the top but that didn't stop Tim from picking another snowball fight. He threw the first snowball but I threw the last......we played in the snow like little kids together for a few minutes and then headed inside for some coffee, hot chocolate and homemade donuts. Some genius lady figured out how to make fresh donuts at 14,000 feet and they were a big hit with us and everyone else on the train. Our heads were spinning a little due to the lack of oxygen but we didn't care.......we were on top of Pikes Peak and nothing was going to ruin that !! We took a few pictures in our shorts and flip flops and we soon heard the train whistle blowing. It was time to depart for our 1 1/2 hour ride back down the mountain side. The trip down was just as incredible and going up and we had the best seats in the house. We were in the very front two seats so we had full view of everything. Tim and I were designated as the
wildlife watchers by everyone so we kept a close eye out for anything we could see. We spotted a few chipmunks, a couple of grouse and a mermot and all the passengers were delighted. The train eventually got us back to the station and before we knew it our car was empty and we were back to reality. It was getting time for dinner so made we the treck back up the hill to Bertha where she was waiting with her pretty new tires. I was craving a big juicy steak and everyone on the train, including the conductor, suggested we go to a place in town called The Stagecoach. Tim punched it into Magellan and off we were for what turned out to be one of the best dinners on our trip yet. I endulged myself in a wonderful buffalo ribeye, crispy on the outside while juicy on the inside, and Tim feasted on fresh game quesadillas. They were made from a combination of deer, elk and beef and he said they were delicious and from the looks of his plate, I'd say so. I wasn't really feeling adventurous enough to try them but I have to admit they
looked and smelled really good. We skipped dessert, walked through town for a few minutes and then headed off to find the nearest Wal-Mart. Still tired from last nights adventure as well as the incredible day we had today, we were just ready to hit the sack and get some rest. We ended up at Wally World in downtown Colorado Springs and were quickly off to sleep. I didn't even ask Tim what was on the agenda for tomorrow so I guess I'll just wait and see. Nighty night ! :-)
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