May 27, 2016
Cherry Creek State Park
Aurora, CO

We left Chatfield State Park today around 11:30 a.m. and drove across town, covering about 32 miles. We are back in our old stomping grounds in Aurora. Cherry Creek State Park is another nice park with good facilities, big pull through sites, a nice lake and beach, and of course close proximity to shopping, restaurants, and family...

The park is almost a carbon copy of Chatfield State Park the only difference is the common (grassy) areas have not been mowed and it is about a foot high which is not very appealing. I also quickly learned the high grass is a great hiding spot for ticks......

While we were out they came around and mowed a path around the perimeter of the site (about 2 foot wide), we're hoping they come back tomorrow and do a lot more. You would think they would have done that before the start of the Memorial Day weekend..... We have found that in light of the new MJ law everyone here is a lot more laid back :>)

We will be here for 2 weeks and then we will begin the journey north into Wyoming. We are really looking forward to our side trip to Mt Rushmore and 3 weeks in Yellowstone.

May 18-20, 2016
The Broadmoor Hotel
Colorado Springs, CO

We took a short 3 day trip back down to Colorado Springs. Julie had a 3 day work conference and we decided to tag along to get a chance to stay at the renown, 5 star, Broadmoor Hotel. Julie upgraded her room to a two room suite and the plan was for us to watch Katy while Julie was in daily meetings.

The Broadmoor actually encompasses a complex of buildings surrounding a small lake. There are at least five or six different restaurants that you can walk to and they all have a "5 star" feel. The staff is very friendly and attentive and they won't let you do anything yourself. They are quick to greet you and always ask how your doing or offer suggestions for things to do or places to see. We had visited here about 30 years ago for Marilyn's cousin Gary's wedding....the place has grown quite a bit since then.

The setting at the base of the mountains next to Cheyenne Mountain is just beautiful. The first night Julie had a company dinner at the Golden Bee and she also made separate reservations for us there. The Golden Bee is an authentic English Pub.

 They have fantastic English food and serve beer in English Pub sizes...here is a pic of my 1/2 yard of ale....you should have seen the full yard (it sits on the floor).

On day two we took Katy to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The zoo is rated one of the top 5 zoos in the country and is located on the side of Cheyenne mountain.

As you can imagine the zoo has a lot of hills making the walk a little difficult but they have a chair lift (Sky Ride) that allows you to see most of the zoo from above and they also offer a golf cart shuttle service that takes you to any location within the zoo.

They had many interactive activities for kids including feeding the giraffes and elephants...

This zoo has 25 giraffes....

They have great lion habitats and even shows when they feed them. This was the closest I had ever been to one (sorry about the glare).

Of course Katy found a playground...

...and a Carousel

They even had a petting zoo.... Here is Katy petting a chicken. It was fun to watch her try to catch them.

And one of her favorites were the bunnies.

This is a very nice smaller zoo in a great setting and we had a great time here.

We had a nice dinner that night with Steven and Emily at the Colorado Mountain Brewery  and then spent Friday morning walking around the lake before heading back to Denver.

May 13, 2016
Chatfield State Park
Littleton, CO

Today we left Colorado Springs and drove 66 miles north on I-25 to Chatfield State Park. This is another Colorado State park and it is located within the Metro area southwest of Denver. There is a nice sized lake and the campground is very nice. Here are a few shots.

We are on a nice pull thru with lots of space and privacy. We will be in the Denver area over the next 4 weeks so we plan to spend a lot of time with Julie and the grandkids.

May 12, 2016
Eleven Mile Reservoir
Lake George, CO

Today Steven and I decided to go fly fishing. Colorado is known for some of the great fly fishing streams in the country. We drove west of Colorado Springs out highway 24 to Eleven Mile Reservoir. We chose a spot downstream from the dam between Eleven Mile and Lake George. The stream runs for several miles and we never saw a bad spot anywhere along the way. Here are the shots I took of Steven.

This is some beautiful country....and to be fishing only makes it better.

We spent the day here and had a great time. I was lucky enough to pull in a rainbow and a brown trout but we saw many fish all day, so clearly the problem was us.... Oh well, beautiful mountains, fantastic stream, and spending the day fishing with my grandson.... priceless.

May 7, 2016
Royal Gorge Railroad
Canyon City, CO

Our daughter Julie and her family came down from Denver to visit for the weekend.

Little Katy loved all the big rocks..... Devyn loved all the trails.

We decided to drive south to Canyon City and ride the Royal Gorge Railroad. The train runs along the Arkansas river and crosses under the Royal Gorge Bridge which is the worlds highest suspension bridge at a height of 956 feet. Years ago we had walked across the bridge but this was the first we had ever crossed under it. Julie had done this before and so she booked the tickets for the dining car. They serve you lunch while you ride. The train goes down the canyon about an hour, stops and then returns along the same track.

Here is the shot looking up at the  Royal Gorge Bridge.......

They also had open air cars.....

In addition to the river, rafters and kayakers you could see remnants of the old wooden water line, built by prisoners, which used to serve Canyon City.

In our car we had a fantastic server/tour guide that served drinks and lunch while telling us about the history of the railroad, river, town, prisons (Super Max and several others are right in this area), and everything else of interest. She was really great ....

This was a great experience and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting this area.