text: Hey y’all! It’s Jasha here again. I thought I would blog about our day trip to the Garden of the Gods this week. We’ve had quite the adventure! So, for those of you that don’t know, we left for an 8 day vacation on June 23rd and headed to South Dakota for the week. Our trip unexpectedly turned into a 12 day trip! On our way back to TX, our Yukon lost all engine power due to a problem with the computer system. We ended up stuck in Cody, WY for 3 days without a car. Finally, it was fixed… or so we thought. When we made it 8 hours down the road, on the outskirts of Colorado Springs, the computer system had another problem and we lost all engine power again. We were literally right at an exit and were able to coast over to a fabulous hotel, called My Place Hotel. The staff was amazing and got us a great rate. The rooms were awesome, with full kitchens and an option to have breakfast delivered to your room in the morning for you to cook. It also had a grocery selection which was helpful for us since our vehicle wasn’t running. Check it out if you’re ever out in CO Springs! Anyway, my dad is amazing and came to the rescue with a truck and trailer to help haul us home. He lives in the same town as us, so it took him 11 hours to drive up to Colorado. So, we decided to take the boys to do something fun for the day while we waited for him. I had been to the Garden of the Gods when I was a kid with my family and then Jereme and I went up there with his family about 15 years ago. So, it had been a really long time since I was last there. And let me just say, my boys LOVED it! I have never heard them ask to have their picture taken so many times. So, if you have little boys, or girls, that love the outdoors and enjoy climbing over cool rock formations, then this is the place to go! Oh, and it’s FREE to visit!
  We Ubered over to the Garden of the Gods visitor center to start out our day trip. It has restrooms, a few exhibits, a cafe/coffee shop, a souvenir shop, movie theater (that details the formation of this land form), a 2nd story viewing balcony, and a lower level desk that offers different tours – like by jeep or trolley. I believe they also offer free shuttles that drive you across the street where the rock formations are. We chose to walk, we had been stuck in the last hotel for 3 days and then again in the car the whole day before, so it was nice exercise for all of us! We packed a backpack full of drinks and a few snacks for the hike. I think next time we might pack a picnic lunch to take with us. (I’ll get to the food part later!)
  Jereme and the boys on the walk to the Garden of the Gods Park
  The views are amazing, even before you walk through the park. There are different paths and trails along the way that are very easy to walk along. There are a few stairs to climb, but nothing too hard. It was really hot when we were there so we took a lot of breaks in the shade. We enjoyed watching the rock climbers during our breaks.
  One muddy part, the boys problem-solved an easier way across!
  There was a log down to use to cross the water! It was hard to stay balanced!
  Below are just a few of our favorite pictures in the park.
  My family!
  Notice how nice most of the paths are!
  Climbing with my boys!
  Jett climbing through a tunnel
  My boys had the best time!
  Jett just doing his thing!
  Jake was so mad that I wouldn’t let him climb as high as his brother!
  Loved all of our adventures this past week!
  More stunning scenery!
  We explored the park for about 3 hours and then we got hot and tired. We decided to venture back to the visitor center for some food and to peruse the exhibits. We had a wonderful late lunch at the cafe. The boys had yummy cheese pizza and I had a tuna sandwich. Jereme had a turkey avocado sandwich. It was a little pricey, I think we spent about $40 on food , but overall we enjoyed what we ordered! Then we walked around the exhibits and ended our visit at the souvenir shop where little Jake spent ALL of his birthday money! Haha! Below are a few pictures from the visitor center.
  Different animals found in the area
  Once again, the teacher in me loved this! We definitely want to go back and visit Colorado Springs next summer. Near the Garden of the Gods is also The Cave of the Winds and Pike’s Peak. I’m sure there’s so much more in the area to explore, so stay tuned for our next visit!
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