William and I sat out today for a grand adventure.  We flew into Denver, CO and hit the road at about 3:00 this afternoon.  Our goal was to visit Royal Gorge Bridge before heading north to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Just a little more than an hours drive from the Denver Airport we stopped in Colorado Springs to visit Garden of the Gods.  

Charles Elliott Perkins purchased 480 acres of land that included the rock formations called Garden of the gods and upon Perkins’ death, his family gave the land to the City of Colorado Springs in 1909, with the provision that it would be a free public park.  There is a loop road that you can drive around the formations and hiking trails so you can get up close to the rocks.  After a long flight from Charlotte, NC this was the perfect first stop on our two week vacation.

Quite often when we are traveling we have this “ah ha” moment and today was one of them.  While we were visiting the Garden of the Gods we suddenly realized Colorado Springs is where my nephew is stationed.  So we gave him a call and arranged to meet him for dinner before heading on towards Royal Gorge.  The best part is  that we were able to see both Tim and Sam.

After dinner we drove to Canon City to spend the night so we would be close to the Royal Gorge Bridge to begin our adventure in the morning.  I couldn’t believe it when we checked into our room and saw this amazing picture of the bridge over a most welcoming bed.

Our adventures will continue tomorrow but for now we both are ready to call it a day.