installment 7: Adventure Day

Friday, June 8th.

In the morning, Liz and I headed an hour south to Colorado Springs. First stop: Focus on the Family's welcome center (Liz and I both enjoyed "Adventures in Odyssey," so we had fun checking out Whit's End). The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs, and Pikes Peak. The evening ended with a relaxing visit to the hot tub in my apartment complex and then an AWESOME dinner at "Claim Jumper."


That's Pikes Peak in the background.

Yes, that's the Focus on the Family Bookstore, yes that is a cardboard cutout. And no, they didn't kick us out.

Liz and John Avery Whittaker.

At Garden of the Gods.






Refusing the refuse (leave it to English majors to get a kick out of that).


We had lunch in downtown Manitou Springs, at the base of Pikes Peak.


the sign at the entrace to Pikes Peak Highway. This would be quite the drive...the entire trip took about 3 hours, and we praised God for keeping us safe the whole way up and back. The drive's not for whimps, that's for sure.


beginning the drive to the summit. an hour and a half later, we'd be at the tippy top of that mountain.


a beautiful resevoir lake about 7 miles into the drive.


gorgeous views the whole way up. (liz had my camera...i can multi-task, but not during this drive.)





several times i had to coax my car to keep on climbing.


those are the guard-rails.


we got stuck behind this truck, which made the drive extra fun.



the last mile was the worst, with high winds, snow drifts, and muddy roads. i'm not gonna lie, i was nervous...and praying the whole time.

finally at the top! it was SO COLD and super WINDY. probably in the low 30's with a wind chill below zero.


breathtaking views (literally!)...there's half the amount of oxygen in the air up there than at sea-level.



Katherine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics to "America the Beautiful" from this summit.



where the railway ends.

my little "engine-that-could" among all the "big dogs."

the drive down the mountain was interesting too. several signs warned "HOT BRAKES FAIL. USE LOWER GEARS."

there was even a mandatory brake check halfway down.

We stopped at the lake to take in the gorgeous view.

"i can't believe we were at the top of that mountain," said liz. :)

the bumper sticker reads, "i survived the drive. pikes peak."

my car was so muddy after the Pikes Peak journey...

...but there's a car wash place across the street from my apartment!

"this is my specialty!" -said liz as she grabbed the vacuum.

our celebratory dinner at "Claim Jumpers," a restaurant recommended by Liz's husband. I'd never eaten at one before, but I can tell you right now...it'll be one of my favorite places to eat.



liz and i shared all that food, i swear. :) it was seriously one of the best meals i've ever eaten.