Day 10

Day 10 – Wednesday – July 27, 2011

0610 It’s time to get up. I can’t sleep anymore. The sun is up and my body is still on Central time. I let Darby out to go potty and he comes back with another rawhide!

I drink coffee, check my email, etc. A nice lazy morning.

0710 Dad is up.

0730 The kids are up. They eat breakfast and then are back on the Wii again.

After lazing around for a while it’s time to go on our field trip for the day. I move all the stuff from the front passenger seat into the back where the luggage was so that Dad can ride with us in the same car.

0959 Leave for the chiropractor’s office and our hike.

1013 Oh look – a Schlotsky’s! Maybe we should have lunch before our hike.

1015 Arrive at the chiropractor’s office just on time for Dad’s appointment.

1020 We are all roaming up and down the sidewalk with Darby while we wait for Dad. I suddenly realize that Schlotsky’s might be closed. It is only 1020 – not exactly lunch time. 

1028 Dad is done.

1030 Schlotsky’s is open! They open at 1030 and we are the first customers! Two other guys come in a few minutes after us so clearly I’m not the only crazy person who eats lunch at 1030.

1105 Darby gets to try out the new collapsible water bowl that Dad bought for him. He likes it!

1139 Arrive at Seven Falls.

1242 We are done at the falls. Whew! 185 steps to the eagle’s nest viewing platform (we skipped those and rode the elevator up and back but Ryan ran back down when we were done). The website said that dogs are allowed but I was envisioning stairs not Cliffside ladders. There is no way Darby can go up with us. So I guess that means we won’t be hiking either since the trails start at the top of the 224 stairs that go up along the falls. Darby and Grandpa waited at the bottom. Bella did the first half of the stairs then went back down to wait. Apparently she doesn’t love the water enough to be willing to climb all the way to the top.
Our favorite parts:
Ryan – the stairs. All of them!
Bella- the water
Felisa – the view
Grandpa – the nice cool cave path to the elevator
Sheila – the scenery
Darby – the elevator

On our way back from the falls, we decide to take the scenic route through Garden of the Gods. First we drive through Old Colorado City. Then I make a wrong turn (was it my fault or was it Grandpa’s fault? We may never know!) so we end up going through Manitou Springs as well. The scenic scenic route! Garden of the Gods was pretty busy so no one wanted to stop. Bella had fallen asleep of course anyway. She missed the firemen that we saw arriving to rescue a stranded rock climber. Ryan and Felisa easily noticed the signs that said No Rock Climbing. Guess those climbers don’t know how to read, right? Rock Ledge Ranch was open though so I decided to stop there since we hadn’t done that part of the park before.

1:26 p.m. Rock Ledge Ranch. Part of the ranch has farm animals. Darby was very interested in the pigs and the chickens. A few baby chicks kept coming out from holes in the bottom of the fence but they all went back in rather than running away. The demonstration at the blacksmith shop was interesting too. The men working there had made some cool stuff.

2:37 p.m. Stop at Sonic for a snack.

When we get back there is some loud mountain thunder (it’s just louder out here!) and a little bit of rain. Any guesses what the kids were doing? Did you guess play Wii?

5:10 p.m. Dinner at 3 Margaritas with Shannon and Dana.

After dinner, Dana introduces us to one of her family traditions – ice block sledding. Sounds strange but turned out to be a lot of fun.

After sledding, back to Grandpa’s so the kids could shower off all the dirt and grass stains. I did laundry also – lots of grass to wash out!

10:00 p.m. Update Facebook and then bedtime!