Cheyenne, Wyoming to Colorado Springs

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We checked out of the adorable Hitching Post Inn around two in the afternoon. Beth and Kathryn (and the girls) were looking forward to a brief ride into Colorado. We hit Denver around 3:30 p.m. to serious heat - 102 degrees! Seriously - we were thinking, “Hey! It’s Denver; it’ll probably be a little cooler here…” Yeah, not so much.

We wanted to stop and let the girls run around and get some exercise. Denver is rumored to have this huge off-leash dog park. Problem: no directions, no off ramps, scary big city, etc… Suffice to say, the park was impossible to find. Being that it was as hot as it was, neither of us had the energy to go exploring the Mile High city at rush hour. So, we said “Hello, Denver! Goodbye, Denver!” and went along our merry way. We decided to stay in Colorado Springs for the evening. We arrived at a decent hour and checked in to the La Quinta. We were on the fourth floor - Kaida kept us entertained while she tried to figure out what that big dog-eating elevator monster was. We liked the hotel, but there were a few drawbacks: they were dog friendly. We discovered that we would much rather stay at a hotel that was only friendly to OUR dogs. Having a bunch of other dogs staying at the hotel made the little things like walking, extremely difficult. Kathryn had a bit of a run-in with World’s Biggest Rottweiler while trying to take the girls down for a walk. She couldn’t have run into a Chihuahua with a bad attitude, noooo… it had to be a rabid, slobbery, man-eating beast. To the girls’ credit, they only broke (or at least a very badly sprained) Kathryn’s finger - at least they didn’t rip it off completely. Beth suggested that Kathryn tape the bad finger as to immobilize it and prevent further damage (Beth’s grandmother always wanted her to be a doctor - she’d be so proud). Kathryn, being a compulsive hand-washer was hesitant to undergo such a radical medical procedure, until, that is, it started getting black and blue and really, really gross. The jury is still out on whether or not Kathryn’s going to tape her fingers together… More tomorrow, I’m sure.

We finished our evening with a FABULOUS dinner at Carrabba’s. This cute little Italian Grill had amazing pesto bruschetta, fabulous fettucini alfredo and scrumptious, succulent salads. Oh! And the beer was superb! Breckenridge Beer (some relation, I hope!) makes a bre named Avalanche Amber Ale. One of the best beers either of us has had on this trip so far. We both highly recommend this restaurant! The service was phenomenal, as well.

We returned to the hotel with the intention of getting a great night’s sleep… curses! Foiled Again! With all of the activity in a larger hotel, the girls were going bananas. They were pretty good at night, but in the morning, while all of the noisy people were checking out, the girls were really agitated.

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Photos

The biggest bison we ever saw!!
Not sure what this was for, just up on the hill!! (it's not real)

Kiyoshi REALLY likes deodorant
Kiyoshi gave both of us LOTS of kisses under our arms, ew!!

See??
It was cute at first, then it got really old!!

The girls at The La Quinta
They were so used to being on top of each other in the car, they stayed close even on the bed. Kiyoshi is actually halfway sitting on Kaida.

Comments

[Nancy]

Kathryn's finger
Kathryn, Tape your finger before you hurt it anymore!

[Jackie]

Beer
I was beginning to wonder if you two had found time to have beer. Of course! What was I thinking. Just be careful of drinking and driving! :) ....Crystal and Hunter miss their friends. :(