Colorado: July 2016

Colorado, July 2016

Well, it’s been months since I’ve taken this trip, so we’ll see just how much I remember! Luckily I try to take good notes.

We had limited vacation time to play with this year, so we decided a nearby road trip would be the perfect summertime getaway. Colorado is beautiful and full of so many things to see, so it was an easy decision.

7-21-16

Being a Thursday, Nate had to work, so we didn’t hit the road until 3pm. We wanted to leave early enough to make it to Rino’s in Trinidad, one of my favorite restaurants. The drive up was uneventful, save for seeing random fires off in the distance, and we made it to town with time to spare. Located inside a former church built in 1887, the atmosphere is historic and airy. Though serving delicious Italian fare, the main draw of this restaurant is the singing staff. In my experience everyone, including the busboys and kitchen crew, sings here! It’s always a great experience, and I try to stop every time I’m in the area.

I was heartened to see the place hopping despite being a Thursday night. The food was nice, and the singing was, too, though a bit sparse. I think this was our daughter's first time here, and she got rather cranky mid-way through, so that was unfortunate. Nate took her out to the car and walked her around to see the sights of the restaurant, too. Before long it was time for us to hit the road again.

We made it to Pueblo that evening, not quite in time to enjoy the swimming pool. For the first time, our girl slept in an actual hotel bed and not her Pack N Play! She did really well (despite fighting sleep for a ridiculous amount of time)! Other than being situated along the train tracks, it was a nice spot and a good place to end our first day in Colorado.

7-22-16

Woke up relieved that our daughter didn’t fall off the tall bed during the night. She was excited to get a chance to swim in the pool before we headed out. So she and Nate did that while I packed and loaded the car. Then we drove up to Colorado Springs for our next big adventure: Santa’s Workshop!

Ever since Jeanine and I visited many years ago, I knew I had to take my kiddo to Santa’s Workshop. Geared toward young kids, most of the rides were just her speed, and I knew it would be a great introduction to amusement parks. I was so excited to finally take her here and see if she liked rides as much as I do. None of us were disappointed! She rode all but 3 or 4 rides (the only ones I remember she didn’t ride were the sky ride, zip line sleigh, and horse hopper). She loved them all! We rode motor cars, a giant spiral slide, a tilt-a-whirl, the world’s highest Ferris wheel, a Paratrooper, the Christmas ornament ride (they had one at Santa’s Village in IL when I was a kid), various kiddie rides she rode by herself with no problem, a swinging rocket ship, flyers (no cable snapping, sadly), you name it. She even rode her very first roller coaster: The Candy Cane Coaster! It was awfully rough, and she told us she was afraid she’d chip her teeth on it. Oh dear. She seemed to like it, though. I rode with her the first time, and Nate went the second time. I’m so glad she’s finally riding coasters with us! I’m sure this is the first of many!

We explored a mirror maze, visited some shops, ate at a cozy burger stand while it drizzled outside, touched the north pole (brrrrrr!), and saw some reindeer. At one point, lightning struck pretty close to the park and all the rides shut down. We took shelter in the Skee Ball pavilion and won some tickets, turning them in for a blue snowflake yoyo and two tiny rubber reptiles: a lizard and a snake. The magic show was about to start, so we hurried over to the theater to enjoy that while waiting for the weather to clear up. It was short but entertaining, and by the time it was over the rides were open again! I was able to take a ride on the zip line sleigh, and I have to say it was a little scary. I was mostly nervous about the stop – it seemed pretty abrupt, and there was no barrier between one’s legs to stop you from flying forward under the safety bar. I held on for dear life, and as you can see, I’m here today! Haha! I can see why they don’t let little ones ride it, though.

We stayed until the park closed. We never did get to visit Santa, though we did see him make a run for the exit once his day was over. I don’t think our kiddo wanted to see him anyway, so no problem there. I do have to say the staff was phenomenal – always so nice and accommodating. We had such a lovely time, and I’m sure we’ll go back again someday.

By now it was 5pm, and we were all a bit tired. Our daughter fell asleep in the car, but we still had things to see! We drove over to Garden of the Gods and took turns hiking while the other stayed in the car with her. The scenery out there is incredible!! I took some pictures that don’t do the place justice, observed the wildlife (mostly rabbits and birds), saw people on Segways, and watched a huge line of trail riders go by. How fun that would be! The weather here was perfect and seemed cooler than up at Santa’s Workshop. I would have loved to spend the rest of the day here!

Once we had seen enough, we headed to dinner at the Colorado Mountain Brewery. It felt so good to just sit and relax a while after all our running around. And this was a wonderful spot for that! Our food was sooo good! Nate had the nachos, but my duck poutine was out of this world! It was the ultimate comfort food – so tasty and satisfying. I also had the beer sampler and really enjoyed their creations. Our waitress was from Indiana, and we had a grand time reminiscing about Gino’s East pizza. How funny! A perfect end to a fabulous day!

From there we made our way to our hotel, a Hampton Inn located out east near the airport. While I love the hilly and topographical nature of the west side of town, this side was a bit less hectic and busy. It was refreshing to just slow down at last. We enjoyed the cookies they offered before walking to the nearby 7-11 for some milk. Then we grabbed an easy “lamp post skirt” geocache in the parking lot before heading in to hit the pool. All three of us swam in the frigid pool before hitting the hay. A great day was had by all.

7-23-16

Woke up to find the kiddo on the floor, fast asleep. Nate thinks she must have fallen out of bed and been so tired she didn’t wake up. It would be quite a fall from those tall beds, so hopefully she just crawled down, but Nate was probably right. Poor kiddo. Luckily she seemed none the worse for wear. We took it easy this morning, enjoying breakfast at the hotel before heading out around 10. Our first stop was The Space Foundation Discovery Center, which was free with our Explora pass. The museum was the perfect size, and it was full of fun activities for kids including exhibits on recycling, efficient houses, and healthy produce. Nate and I went nuts for the recycling video game, and I got the high score on both machines! Woo hoo! There was a working R2D2 that interacted with us, a neat show on the planets featuring a 3D orb that showed each celestial body from all angles, hands-on projects involving propulsion, and lots of outer space displays. I’m really glad we checked it out, and it would be worth seeing again.

From here, we grabbed lunch at the Trinity Brewery. Sitting outside, we were joined by an unusual beige ladybug that hung out at our table throughout the meal. We ordered another flight and were excited that it came with some cheeses. Most of the beers were great, though I wasn’t thrilled about the strawberry. I told Nate it tasted like “a computer lab.” It’s hard to explain why I felt this way – maybe it had an electrical flavor? But the amazing thing is that Nate saw where I was coming from and agreed. The food was good, though the portions were a bit small. I had the hummus, and I think Nate had a burger. In comparing this brew pub to Colorado Mountain, I’d say if you want great food, go to CO Mtn., and if you want great beers, go to Trinity. Overall, though, both are good establishments.

Bellies full, we decided it would be fun to drive to the top of Pikes Peak. We’d taken the cog railway up many years ago, but the drive sounded like a lot of fun, too. Plus, we’d be able to stop and site-see along the way. The drive on this 19-mile toll road takes you from montane forests up to high tundra at and below the 14,114-foot summit. We were told the weather was questionable and we may be instructed to turn back at some point, so we crossed our fingers and decided to go directly to the top in case they did decide to shut things down. We encountered drizzle, as well as slightly heavier rain upon our ascent, but nothing too major. On our way we saw a bighorn sheep and some incredible views of the surrounding countryside. Nate pointed out a mine in the distance, too.

The top of Pikes Peak is quite striking in that it’s essentially a giant parking lot. Kind of a letdown after driving up through some gorgeous scenery, but it is what it is. It was raining harder up here, and lightning was in the vicinity, so we camped out in the car for a while. Our daughter was asleep anyway, so there was no real reason to get out. Eventually, Nate left to use the bathroom, and then I went out to get us some of their “world famous” donuts. They weren’t bad, but certainly not out of this world or anything. While outside, I wandered over to a viewpoint and saw a rainbow reaching over the world below. It was just perfect! The rain was starting to subside, and the kiddo started to stir. It was time to head down and see what else the mountain had to offer.

Our first stop was just a little down the road, still in the tundra. We parked on the shoulder and struck out along a narrow trail. We were treated to more beautiful scenery and even saw a pair of yellow-bellied marmots! We were hoping to glimpse at least one of those critters. I was dealing with the effects of low oxygen and found myself almost gasping for air, though I have to wonder if it was more psychological than anything. You definitely do fatigue more quickly up there, though.

We descended further and were once again in the company of trees when we stopped at Glen Cove Inn for a quick snack and a bathroom break. Our girl enjoyed the gigantic bear stuffed animal by the snack shop. We wandered around in the woods for a while before descending further, stopping for a geocache along the side of the road. Then we stopped briefly at Crystal Creek Reservoir where we hiked the small trail around part of the lake and strolled out onto a couple of piers. Beautiful!

Unfortunately, at this point Nate was experiencing an awful migraine, so we got back to the car and headed out to find our hotel. I stopped briefly at Target to get him some Advil, but he was so sick at this point it didn’t do much good. We had reservations at the Doubletree, so we checked in and got settled in the room as quickly as we could. Then I took our daughter and we headed out to find some dinner.

I’d spied a Fazoli’s earlier, and, being one of the closest restaurants of its kind to Albuquerque, I knew I had to go. I have fond memories of eating there in college and, while their recipes aren’t as good as they used to be, it’s still a comfort for me. I really wanted to eat there because Nate needed some peace and quiet, so against my better judgment, I attempted my first solo dinner experience with my girl. I thought it would be so nice to spend some time with her, one-on-one, in a restaurant setting. Well, thanks to me not thinking about how she might need to use potty, this was a big fiasco. We had our number and our table, and that’s when she decided she needed to go. NOW. I tried to get her to wait, but she wasn’t having it. I wound up having to get our meal to go after all (which probably wasn’t as big of a deal as I thought it was at the time), but it was a stressful experience. I’m so bummed my first mommy/daughter dinner date was a bust.

We brought the food back to the room with us, including some Burger King for Nate, and I did all I could to avoid disturbing him, though I’m not sure it worked so well. After struggling to get our girl to eat and scarfing my own dinner, I ran out to the 7-11 across the street to get her some milk. Of course, while waiting to cross at the light, some guy comes up and says something like, “You’re going to 7-11, too?” Uh, none of your damn business! I mean, I’m all for being friendly, but you don’t talk to an unfamiliar lone woman outside at night. I was already on high alert, being in strange surroundings. Mega super alarm bells for me! I grumbled something at him and booked it once the light changed, leaving him in my dust. I wanted to get what I needed and get the heck out of there before he could follow me, but of course, there was some woman at the milk case hemming and hawing for what felt like an eternity. Eventually I excused myself, grabbed what I needed, checked out, and literally ran all the way back to the hotel. At least I got a good workout from it!

Once back, I made sure everyone had what they needed, and then I made at least 5 trips back and forth to the car, bringing in all of our stuff. While I typically like Doubletree (can we say, amazing cookies??), this one wasn’t really the best. I discovered that the bottom of our door (I assume there’s usually an attached strip of metal or something) was missing, leaving a good 3-inch gap. While sitting on the floor, you could comfortably look out into the hallway. Weirdness! We also only had one bed, so the kiddo had to sleep in her Pack N Play again. She wasn’t happy, and it was a struggle. On top of it, I was starting to feel a sore throat coming on. Ugh. Still, I was glad to finally be settled for the night.

7-24-16

I think we all felt better after a good night’s sleep. We made sure to get up in time to enjoy Doubletree’s splendid indoor pool. It was an unusual shape, and part of it spanned out under a glass ceiling. I’m sure it would be amazing in the snow or rain. Nate said the pool was warm and inviting, too. Of course the one day I swim is the one day the pool is ice cold! I packed up the car, explored the hotel some more (despite our room and its issues, the common areas of the hotel were splendid), and hung out with my swimming duo before we hit the road.

Today our destination was Cripple Creek, Colorado. We wanted to experience the narrow gauge railroad. We arrived at the station just as the train was boarding, so we decided to explore the town a bit and catch the next ride. We parked about 2 blocks from the main strip and wandered down, gawking at the many casinos and eating establishments. We decided to get a bite to eat at Maggie’s, which we found just off the strip in the basement of the Colorado Grande Casino. It sports a welcoming atmosphere consisting of several small rooms in a casually elegant setting. I had a French dip sandwich, but I forget what Nate had. Either way, there was a lot of food, and we really enjoyed ourselves. We had a long wait to get a table, so we didn’t quite make the next train out of the station. When we finished, a storm was rolling in anyway, so we drove over to the Cripple Creek Heritage Center, which was free and indoors, so that was a win! We wandered around the first and second floors, enjoying the informative exhibits and occasionally looking at the driving rain through the huge windows. The storm hadn’t quite subsided by the time our train was scheduled to board, but we went over to the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railway depot and got our tickets anyway. There was a bit of lightning around, but luckily it stayed out of our way during our journey.

The train consisted of the engine, our covered car, and an uncovered car. The front of the car had plastic windows, which was nice as it was pretty chilly once the storm passed. None of us were really dressed for the occasion, but we made do. We even ended up scooting toward the back of the car for a more unobstructed view. We enjoyed a 45-minute trip through historic gold mine sites and surrounded by beautiful scenery. We would stop several times so the conductor could impart facts about everything around us. The turnaround point was the abandoned mining camp of Anaconda, right next to the functioning Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine. This was most likely the mine we observed from atop Pikes Peak! We slowly snaked our way back to the town of Cripple Creek, our conductor occasionally indulging in an echoing toot or two from the engine.

Once back, we’d considered doing the gold mine tour, 1000 feet below ground, but our girl was getting pretty tired, and we weren’t sure they’d let someone so small on the tour anyway, so instead we took the long way back down to Pueblo, heading back through the peaceful town of Victor and enjoying the Colorado countryside.

We rolled into Pueblo around 7pm and headed straight for Pueblo City Park. It turns out they have a small amusement park complete with a kiddie roller coaster, and we just had to check it out! The amusement park is open in the evenings throughout the summer and has many lovely attractions including an historic C.W. Parker carousel. The tickets were $0.25 each, and the rides were either one or two tickets to ride, so it was extremely reasonable. We wandered around, and the kiddo rode nearly everything: the kiddie Ferris wheel, the kiddie circle rides, the kiddie whip, the carousel, the train (a pretty decent one we all rode, went around a big pond), and of course the kiddie coaster which, again, was rough. I was a bit worried she’d be put off about roller coasters, but she would be a trooper. She just didn’t want to re-ride this one. There were two bounce houses, and she begged to go in one. So we paid the ticket and in she went…for all of 5 seconds. Luckily the ride op gave us our ticket back. We enjoyed a relaxing evening at the park and played until dark. After a quick time at the adjacent playground we headed off to find our hotel.

For our last night, we had a reservation at Econo Lodge West in West Pueblo. After having a quick bite to eat from Sonic, we managed to find the energy to visit the pool before hitting the hay. Another good day was had by all!

7-25-16

Even though this was the last day of our trip, we had a lot planned! We took it easy in the morning before heading back to Pueblo City Park to check out their zoo. It was located right across the small parking lot from the amusement park. Though it was a small zoo, it was decent, and it easily filled up our morning. We wandered around, admiring the animals and artwork. Our daughter has been fascinated by the color indigo and its absence in most depictions of rainbows, so I was excited to point out an animal that’s about as close to indigo as you’re going to find: the hyacinth macaw! In the same building, a few windows down, however, she found her favorite animals yet: meerkats. They were so active, and they were really interested in her, too. It was adorable! We fed some birds at the farm, walked down every path, and checked out an interesting area of empty exhibits: remnants of antiquated animal enclosures that wouldn’t work in modern zoo practices. Very interesting. We ended the day with a trip to the gift shop where the kiddo picked out her very own stuffed meerkat.

From here, we started thinking about lunch. There was another brew pub, the Brues Alehouse, down near the Riverwalk (which we also wanted to see), so we headed downtown and found parking. We wandered the three-armed Riverwalk, admiring the artwork and enjoying the stroll. It looked a lot more established than the last time I was there (in 2006). More art, less construction, and bigger trees made quite a difference. As we rounded the corner on the last leg of the Riverwalk, we came upon the Brues Alehouse and went in. Being an off-time at this point, it wasn’t particularly busy, but it took quite some time for the hostess to discover us. When she finally did, she asked us if we were ok sitting at a table with super high stools. Since we had a little child with us, we said we’d rather not, but she said there were no regular tables available, despite there obviously being plenty of open low tables around, as well as a few that currently seated people, so apparently they must be usable. There was also a whole other room full of nothing BUT low tables, a few of which were occupied, but most of which were quite empty. Ummm, okay.

Once seated, it took forever for our waitress to arrive. When she finally got there, we ordered our beers. At least 15 minutes later, she returned with Nate’s beer and told me the one I ordered wasn’t available. Great. So I ordered another one and didn’t hold my breath. We ordered our food at this time. Another enormous wait ensued. During this time, our daughter had to go potty, so Nate took her back to the car, which was no small walk. From what I recall, the waitress came back to me while they were away and told me the meal I ordered was not available, so I needed to choose something else (mind you, this was another 20 minutes or so after I ordered). All told, we were probably at the restaurant 2 hours or more. By the time Nate got back, we still hadn’t received our food. Once it did come, it wasn’t that great. I know that our kid’s PB&J had a homemade jam that contained seeds that could just about break your teeth! Yikes! My turkey sandwich might have been ok, but it was served on white bread – about the worst bread you can get! Bleh! Overall, we were not impressed. And we would have liked to have gotten on the road a lot sooner than this place let us. Eventually, we managed to pay and break free of its grasp. We were on the road by about 4.

Luckily, the drive home was, again, uneventful. We had a great time just enjoying each other’s company and chit-chatting. We did stop at a nice Dairy Queen in Raton (it seems like the non-Albuquerque DQs make the best George Mud Fudge Blizzards), and then drove on through the intermittent rain. The rain stopped as soon as we passed Santa Fe, and we made it home by 9pm. Another successful road trip was complete!