Colorado Vacation - Day 2/Part 1

July 3 - BBQ & Cave of the Winds

With 11 of us, we piled into 3 cars and hit the road before lunch to head South towards Colorado Springs. There's of course an amazing view of the Rockies all the way down, so I'm pretty sure Josh and I had our eyes glued to the windows. We also were able to see the Air Force Academy from the highway where my dad studied. My parents took me and my siblings there a long while back to visit, but I don't remember it much. Maybe next time we'll have to stop for a tour.

 United States Air Force Academy

Upon arrival in Colorado Springs, we stopped for lunch at Rudy's Barbecue, a staple chain from Texas. We got our fill of brisket, beans, root beer, and 'nana puddin'. Mmm mmm.

Rudy's Barbecue

Nana Puddin'

Next we made our way to Cave of the Winds. If we had planned in advance we should have purchased tickets and a tour time online, but we managed to busy the kids and keep them relatively happy as we waited to take our turn in the cave. Being the July 4th weekend, the cave was fairly busy. Once inside, we had a 45 minute tour with a slightly obnoxious tour guide, but we were fascinated by all the stalagmites, stalactites, "cave bacon," etc. We fortunately did not see any bats.

Walking to Cave of the Winds

 Cousin Brea

Cousin Jennifer

Josh and Harper are pretty impressed!

Cave of the Winds

The kids were pretty exhausted after the cave tour, as were the adults, but since we were in the area we took a car tour of the Garden of the Gods. Next time around we'll have to spend a day here and do some hiking.

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods

And yes, this is just Part 1 of Day 2. We did all of the above before dinner and headed back to Highlands Ranch for the Fourth of July block party.