I spent a lot of time planning the trip by researching things to do in the area (my friend Emily Koppenhaver helped a lot with this), looking at the housing options, and trying hard to find gluten-free restaurants in the area. Instead of hotels, we decided to rent a couple houses through airbnb; we specifically wanted to use a kitchen to prepare food in a more controlled environment (using a few pans we brought along as well). A few days before we left, I started making trips to grocery stores to stock up on food. Salads, sandwiches, eggs, cereal, and fruit were our primary food sources when we didn't go out to eat.
We had a good travel day to Colorado on Friday, June 7th. The kids did awesome in the car, even though it is a 12 hour drive. I should probably mention that the driver did well also! As we were getting close to Colorado Springs, there was a storm, so we could not see the mountains on the way in, but there was a nice lightning show and the rain in the distance was pretty neat looking!
Colorado Springs
We arrived at the house around 6:30 or so (local time). The kids loved exploring when we first arrived. They were exhausted but they were out of the car, so that was the important part! Riley immediately tried to claim the biggest bed but settled for another one. This house was the perfect home away from home and was a pretty relaxing place to be after sightseeing. We often got back for naps for the kids, and downtime for the parents before going out again.
The first full day, Saturday, we had amazing weather! Our friends guided us around parts of the Garden of the Gods. The scenery is amazing there and I have never seen anything like it before. The kids had a great time exploring and acting like goats by climbing on the rock formations. There is a nice view of Pike's Peak from there.
America The Beautiful Park
After seeing The Garden of the Gods, we enjoyed a picnic lunch at this park, then the kids played in the fountain for a while. We finished up the day at the Koppenhavers' home for some delicious BBQ chicken.
The view from this park really is beautiful. It was nice to take in the mountain views while eating our lunch.
Scenic Drive to Cripple Creek
On Sunday, we drove to Cripple Creek because that route is supposed to have spectacular views of the different mountain ranges. Unfortunately, it was really foggy, so we actually didn't see anything. We headed home for the day and took naps, etc. and then went out for supper to our first 100% gluten-free restaurant, Coquette's. The food there was great, and it was so reassuring to know that everything was safe for Riley to eat.
Since we had bad weather on Sunday, we tried the Cripple Creek drive again on Monday morning, and it was great! These pictures don't do it justice, but they still showcase the beautiful scenery we saw on that drive.
Dinosaur Resource Center
After the Cripple Creek drive, we headed back and went to the Dinosaur Resource Center in Woodland Park (in between Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek). We had a great time here! I did not take any pictures of the inside, but there is plenty to see and learn. I like how they had it divided up into land dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, and ancient sea creatures. I will not be able to remember all of their names, but they had a nice variety of real fossils and casts of fossils. There were some really impressive skeletons to be seen, along with details of what injuries they had when they died and what time period they were from.
I liked reading about the local explorers and paleontologists in the Colorado area and where some of the first really impressive finds were. The kids had a great time looking around and asking questions. There was an area where the kids could pretend they were finding fossils.
The kids also used some of their own money in the gift shop. Riley bought a pink rock and August bought a stuffed animal turtle.
While in Woodland Park, we went to a restaurant called Carmen for lunch. It wasn't 100% gluten-free, but it had great gluten-free options and the staff were very knowledgeable and friendly. Seriously, this whole Celiac Disease thing really changes the way we approach a lot of things that we used to take for granted.
On Tuesday, we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It is situated right on the side of a mountain and is pretty unique. I thought the location was beautiful but we didn't see that many animals. August did get to see a moose, though; he's been using it as a size comparison for months (Dad, are you as big as a moose? etc etc). I probably wouldn't go next time (it's expensive) but it was a nice experience.
After naptime on Tuesday, we met the Koppenhavers at a pizzeria in downtown Colorado Springs called Bambino's. This place was fantastic; great wood-fired pizzas and an excellent understanding of the extra steps needed to ensure that Riley's pizza (loaded with black olives and pepperonis, of course) was safe for her to eat. Only $10 per pizza, too - not bad at all. Anyway, it was wonderful to have another opportunity to hang out with Andrew, Emily, and Ross before leaving town and not seeing them for awhile.
We went back to the house and got the kids in bed and ready to leave the next day for Lafayette.
... to be continued ...
No comments:
Post a Comment