Dale and I decided to combine a visit with Ross at the USAFA in Colorado Springs and a Rocky Mountain vacation. Flying into Denver, we picked up our rental car and drove to our rental outside Colorado Springs. The next morning we were up early to attend the Parent's Day Parade and meet up with Ross. Usually it is warm and sunny.....but this morning was cold and brutal! The fly-overs, gliders, and jump team were all cancelled because the ceiling was to low! The parade was impressive, with over 4,000 cadets marching onto the field! Ross was not marching and joined us in the stands for a while.
After the parade we walked around the Academy for a while and then joined Ross and his squadron for lunch they prepared for all the families visiting. Later Ross took us around the Academy, pointing out points of interest, memorials to fallen cadets, airplanes, and told us stories of his first weeks there. We must have walked miles and miles....up and down......round and round! Finally we got in his truck and toured other places including the airport he flies out of. We were dragging, it had been a long day, with lots of walking and we finally said our goodbyes!
Ross was busy most of the next day and we didn't meet up with him until dinner in Colorado Springs at a pizza place he picked out. We spent most of Saturday touring Garden of the Gods! It was a beautiful day and I took lots of photos! Sunday morning we decided to hike at Red Rock Canyon before meeting up with Ross and his sponsor, Mr. Thornton for a late lunch. Mr. Thornton proved to be a great guy! The hike was nice, the weather cool, and the scenery beautiful!
Monday was Pike's Peak or Bust.....and Ross decided he didn't want to go as he had already done that...so we said our goodbyes and headed to Pikes Peak....only to find out the road was not open all the way to the top because of high winds. We waited and finally it did open, but boy it was still plenty windy and cold up on top. The drive was spectacular and we did see some snow up at the top.
The next day we were off to Buena Vista, Colorado and our stay at Mountain River B&B which was on the Arkansas River. Our B&B was very nice and the host....Erin and Mark were great folks. The breakfast they served every morning was wonderful. We spent our time in Buena Vista exploring......St Elmo an interesting old ghost town, Princeton Hot Springs, Cottonwood Pass and Taylor Reservoir, Monarch Pass, Leadville, and Independence Pass. Our last night we had dinner at a steak house in Leadville called Quincy's ......very good food! Our final day we drove back into Denver to catch our flight to Austin.....another great Colorado trip in the books!
