Look Around At How Lucky We Are To Be Alive Right Now

 Day 2 of the Wild Wild West road trip! 

Today we explored Colorado Springs, Colorado. Our day started at 9 by filling up the gas tank, grabbing a quick breakfast at McDonalds and then headed to Garden of the Gods. If you are planning to go to Colorado Springs ever this is a must do. First of all... It's FREE! 

Your first stop should be the visitor center. They have an information desk where you can pick up a map, schedule a tour, buy souvenirs, pick up a snack or coffee, and use their clean restrooms. They also have a deck where you can look out at the beautiful rock formations. 

We headed over to Garden of the Gods park to start our day of exploration. It was our lucky day! A parking spot opened up right away so that we could walk the trails near all the major rock formations. Our map skills were put to the test as we searched for Kissing Camels. Of course we found many areas to take pictures, see wild life, and enjoy the beauty around us. We became mini-influencers... LOL! Celeste is AMAZING at finding the best places to take pictures. Usually, once our photos were done, there was a group behind us wanting the same picture. Here are a few of my favorites from the central gardens. 

Once we finally found Kissing Camels, on our way to the car because we had given up, we headed to our next destination. We wanted to find the Siamese twins formation and balanced rock. Well... we missed the turn in to the parking lot for the Siamese twins. No problem! Balanced Rock was coming up next then we could just circle around. Well... I turned to soon and we were on a red dirt road quickly climbing to higher elevations. When we were higher into the mountains we saw that someone dropped off a couch and rugs and a chair. WHERE WERE WE????? Well, once I saw the sign for "Narrow road 12 Miles" I knew we needed to head back down. Those 2 miles of driving on a scary twisting dirt road was enough! 

Not to bore you with more Garden of the Gods stories, we did end up seeing Balance Rock and we climb the trail to the Siamese twins lookout. I was very proud of myself. I don't do well with elevation climbs, stairs or loose rocks but I made it all the way up!! Celeste cheered me on the whole way and I would not have made it up there without her. 

After Garden of the Gods we headed to the U.S. Olympic Museum. When we go there we found out that parking was $15 dollars and entrance fees were $25 each. Umm... teacher salary here! So, we snapped a photo and found something else to do. 

I got on google and searched for top sights in Colorado that are inside. The Ghost Town Museum popped up and had a $1 off coupon! Fun for $6.50, yes please. Y'all!! It did not disappoint. It was small but they had so many great artifacts, facts, and stuff for the whole family. This is a must do if you have some extra time on your hands or if it is raining. You can even pan for gold. Here are a few pictures from the museum: 

After the museum we headed towards the Broodmore to try and visit the Golden Bee. It was closed... just like a lot of stuff we wanted to see today. Oh well! We decided to go to the Skirted Heifer in Downtown Colorado Springs. It was sooo good!! I had a cheeseburger, fries and a drink. Their specialty is that there is cheese that is fried around the burger patty. They also have craft sodas, homemade garlic focaccia buns, and they make their own custard and sauces. I loved the black cherry soda.

It was an amazing day of adventures! Follow along tomorrow night for day 3 of the Wild Wild West Road Trip! 

On the Road Again!

 Hello World! It's been awhile since I have traveled. Well, wait no further. Michelle and Celeste are back out on the road. 

Much has changed since the last blog in 2015. In 2017 I met the most amazing man and in 2019 we said "I Do!" Together we saw Sacramento, California; have been to Disney World twice, visited friends in Memphis, went to Miami for a wedding and we attend Fan Expo in Dallas each year. Unfortunately, I lost my father October 5, 2020. I am heartbroken and as I started this trip it was different from any other. I don't have my dad following along and checking in to see where I am. I can't text him with pictures as I fulfill my mom's goal of seeing the capitols and listening to him get choked up as I see each one. I also know that as I get closer to the last capitol he won't be there for the last one. It will be a great time and I am forever grateful that my parents gave me a sense of wonder and a love of travel. 

 Back to happy thoughts! Celeste and I have driven the Great Plains, the Midwest, driven the East Coast and went through the Deep South. Where to explore next? We are headed to the Wild Wild West! 

This trip is another journey for Capitols. I have 43 right now. By the end of this trip I will have 46. You will have to follow along to find out exactly where we go and what we see. It should be a fun adventure.

Day 1 Trip Report

Texas to Colorado 

We left our homes at 7:00 this morning. It was of course raining... and continued to rain the entire day of driving. We did try to find the positives with all the rain. The sky was beautiful and we saw so many different types of clouds. You can't beat the view when you drive 12 hours. 

We are taking many precautions during this trip with Covid. We are both vaccinated but you can never be too careful. We have our masks and we are doing our best to sanitize, wash hands frequently, and use lysol and wipes whenever possible. The worst thing would be to get sick on the trip when there is so much to experience.

Our first major stop was Amarillo, Texas. We needed to fuel up so we ate at Big Texan Steakhouse. Our lunches were so yummy and we snapped a few fun photos. 

Our plan after lunch was to go to Cadillac Ranch to make our mark once again on the Cadillacs. Well... it was raining. So... we decided that we were not going to walk through mud to do something we have done in the past and we drove on. We are playing the Postcard Challenge so we found a post office in Amarillo to mail our cards. As always, it's an adventure to find a post office. Flash flooding was beginning and our car got soaked. 

Our next plan was to stop at the New Mexico and Colorado welcome signs. You won't find any pictures here because it was way too dangerous to stop, plus it was raining. Do you notice a pattern? The rain sure did put a damper on things. 

We decided to keep driving and made it to our hotel before the goal of 8 PM! We made some sandwiches in our hotel room for dinner. Celeste used the gym in the hotel to get some steps in. Even with the rain we decided that it was a pretty fantastic day. Hopefully I will see you back here tomorrow! 

Another Trip Ended

Can you believe it has been 3 months since the trip ended?? I completely forgot to post the last 2 days of our trip. Now that life has calmed down a little bit I can finish the trip blog. 

Back to the trip. On August 6th we explored Mammoth Cave National Park. We got to see the pretty part of the park with all the drip formations.  

After the park we left for Nashville to eat some good BBQ! We went to Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint which was featured on Food Network. 

After leaving Nashville we made it to Memphis to see Matt!!! Krista had to work (she is super important) so we weren't able to see her. We went to dinner with Matt and had some yummy tacos. 

Lucy! 

On August 7 we got some donuts (bacon maple) before heading out to drive home :(

Kinda got to see Krista :) 

Thanks for letting us stay with you!! 

#realfriends

When I got home I cuddled with this cutie! I missed her soon much!!!

5,300 miles later and we made it home! 

This was an amazing adventure. I can't wait to see where next summer takes us!