The first day of the vacation was white water rafting down the Arkansas river, thru the Royal Gorge and then some hiking at the top of the gorge and over the bridge.
The Bridge from below
Bridge from Below
The cable car across the gorge
Colorado is really an amazing place. I dont think we saw less than 200 lightning strikes any any given day there.
Pikes Peak
Got up at 05:00 something in the morning to go biking with this tour. They drive you to the top of the peak and you ride down. We broke the ride into many sections for photo-ops etc. And if you ever thought you were in shape, try just one of the invariable uphill sections. 1 Single block in a mild uphill climb, at 10,000 feet, with no bloody air, and you learn to respect the people that live there
Hanging out at the top.
30 Degrees colder than at the base (so nice and in the 40's or so) with no air to breath.
My new favorite "Wish I was there" picture.
Pretty nice view tho
We kept pushing him off, be he always crawled back up
what I would have given to have my car here
Happy Kurt
People ski this when it is covered with snow... More skill than I will ever have
Anyone notice a theme here?
Trying to get the heartrate back below 220 after the first uphill section
And the second uphill section
Need we say more?
Garden Of The Gods:
Pretty amazing place. None of us had wide angle lenses to really show how massive the rock formations are.
Great Sand Dune National Park
We kinda stumbled upon this place while driving to the Gator Farm. The dunes are formed as the wind swirls into a curve of the mountain range behind it. The highest dunes were ~900 feet tall, and there are no trails, You just pick a path that isnt too steep or has too many hills and you climb.
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How true... He does eat anything you leave unchained.
Hrmm, Funny story here...
Right after this sign, you walk across a mile of open flat sand to get to the dune base... And it had been storming with lightning just 30 minutes before.
Is this a bad sign?
Guess that storm had left a little electricity in the air... Everyones hair started to stand up... A touch scary
Or This?
How far it was back to the Visitor Center
So we hiked on
Must.... Keep.... Going......
Perspective... see the people behind Felicia?
This guy showed up, and asked if we could take his picture having fun at the top.
And sticks the landing
Kinda
Kurt decided I needed a picture....Dont ask
2 hours of hiking in low Oxygen, with the sun at your back? Time for YMCA shadow puppets of course
Other Misc Pictures
The trend continues
This truck was large... It wanted to run over everything.. Just ask Jill about the best way to exit a parking lot
It rained every day from about 4:30 to 5:30. Lots and lots of lightning