PPIHC 2K9

We're getting back to normal here after an eventful weekend!

On Saturday, Joel, JP, and I went to the Royal Gorge, which is a little over an hour southwest of Colorado Springs. It had some absolutely beautiful views, but I wouldn't suggest it if you're afraid of heights. The bridge over Royal Gorge is the highest suspension bridge in the world (according to them), and there is also a gondola that takes you across the gorge...about 0.25 mile above the Arkansas River. You can see rafters and the passenger train running along the floor of the gorge. There is also a very steep "incline railway" that runs to the bottom of the gorge. Saturday was a beautiful day, and we were able to partake in all of these activities.

The gondola that took us across the gorge.
The ladder attached to the ceiling of the gondola...note that this was a standard sized ladder and we were 0.25 mile above the river.
Joel and JP.
A view of the canyon floor through a gap between the wooden planks of the bridge.
The flag of my mighty Mississippi.

The incline railway.

On Sunday, we left the house a little after 4 a.m. to get a good spot on the mountain for the Pike's Peak International Hill Climb. We found a parking spot at Devil's Playground (the highest area parking was allowed for the race) and staked out a spot with our chairs. We then sat in those chairs for the next couple of hours in the dark, cold, windy mountain air (well, Joel and John did...I napped in the Subaru!). The rest of the day was filled with more wind and quite a few adrenaline rushes as cars, motorcycles, 4 wheelers, and other speedy vehicles sped past us. It was certainly an experience I'd recommend if you're in Colorado in July!

Sunrise from Pike's Peak.
More views.
Spectators scattered on the hill prepared for the race.
JP and Joel (JP is on the left covered with a sleeping bag).
Good morning!
The first car up the mountain...the vintage class!
Motorcycle class.
"Quad" class.
We could see a lot of the track from where we were sitting.

One of the racing cars was stuck in traffic with us on the way down the mountain at the end of the day. A few minutes later, we passed him again and he was being towed!
One of the racing semi-trucks...unfortunately, the rain prevented this division from racing.

"Monster" Tajima looking to break the elusive 10 minute barrier up Pike's Peak. This was the moment all had been waiting for...but he didn't make it! Maybe next year, Monster.


This is the sidecar division. When I heard sidecar, I was thinking big clunky motorcycle carring an elderly couple. As you can see from the video, I was a little off!

A mid week outing.

Last night, we FINALLY made it to the "Gettin' Down Downtown" concert in America the Beautiful Park. This concert series is held on Wednesday evenings during the summer, but we have either been out of town or had something each week. When we showed up last night, we were really surprised to see how packed it was. Joel and I keep saying we've somehow missed the Colorado Springs 101 class, as it always seems as though everyone else in this city knows where to hike/eat/play, etc and we've neglected to receive the memo. Last night was another example of that because it seemed like every Colorado Springsian (?) was there!
The centerpiece of America the Beautiful Park. A large rotating circle thing that sprays water.

Kids playing in the pool at the base of the large rotating circle sculpture/fountain.

It was a lot of fun, but once again, the rain came....thankfully we got to see most of the concert before we had to bail out.

Joel sitting under his chair because of the rain. I, on the other hand, brought my rain jacket...so I was sitting IN my chair.


Joel was wearing an M-State shirt last night, and some guy came up to us asking if we went to State. It turns out that he's from TX, but his brother went to State and married Davis Wade (of Davis Wade Stadium)'s granddaughter. Boy, do I love being from the South...you can always find some sort of connection!

Well, its about t minus 4.5 hours until our first out of state visitor arrives. JP is touching down at the Colorado Springs airport this afternoon. We look forward to a fun-filled weekend of dangerous car racing (Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on Sunday) and visits to tourist attractions.

One thing that we've noticed is that we are so close to the mountains, that you can't really see the sunset...this is the most color we've seen in the sky at the end of the day:


I feel as though we're in Colorado Springs for the long haul now, as we don't have any trips home planned any time soon. Joel and I had the pleasure of attending Chuck and Emily's wedding festivities in Memphis over the weekend of the 4th- a good time was certainly had by all! After that, Joel flew back here for work and I went home for a few days!

Now Joel is back to working in full swing and I'm back to the job search.

Even though Joel had to work this weekend (which only means spending less than 3 hours each morning blowing off tennis courts and being home by breakfast), we had a nice relaxing Colorado weekend! Friday morning, we went to America's Family Yard Sale at Focus on the Family. We took this time to take our unofficial tour of their facilities, and we bought a great radiator heater for $3! Here I am at Focus taking my first step through the wardrobe into Narnia:

Aslan on the other side:

We spent the rest of the morning browsing REI, and then took a nap and headed to Bear Creek Regional Park for some hiking:



Unfortunately, the afternoon thunderstorms have returned, so our trip was cut very short, but we planned to make another go of it on Sunday.

Sunday, Joel got through with his work in time for us to attend church and Sunday school. We're really enjoying the new Sunday School class that we've been visiting, and can't wait to get to know the couples better!

Sunday afternoon, we had another big storm, but it cleared up by around 4 p.m. and we decided to make another attempt at hiking. We'd read about St. Mary's Falls, so we thought that would be a nice rewarding hike. Both the hike and the falls were beautiful! With the views along the trail, I really kept thinking we'd see a bear or other large mammal, but we only saw a bunch of chipmunks.




Some John Denver for your listening pleasure...

Lions and Tigers and...

I mean...why couldn't I have been downtown at that particular moment!? And too bad Joel wasn't the landscape worker mentioned- he could have been famous! Read on:

Bear prowling downtown nailed on parking violation

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July 10, 2009 - 1:33 PM

LANCE BENZEL

THE GAZETTE

A black bear that ventured into downtown Colorado Springs this afternoon was captured when it tried to hide in a city-owned parking garage.

State wildlife officers tracked the animal down with the help of Colorado Springs police. The bear was tranquilized in the municipal parking garage at Nevada and Colorado avenues about 1:50 p.m.

The state Division of Wildlife could not immediately be reached for information on where the bear would be relocated.

Witnesses called police after the black bear interrupted the course of business on a busy stretch of East Pikes Peak Avenue, a few blocks from the central business district.

About 1:15 p.m., the bear was spotted crossing Pikes Peak to the south. It darted around a building that formerly housed Sportique Scooters and then crossed a parking lot where landscape worker Doug Marker was on the ground laying wire.

He said he heard someone yell "Bear!"

“I almost fell over him,” Marker said. “I got up and he was about two feet from me.”

The bear bolted south across Colorado Avenue. About a half-dozen people were on cell phones alerting authorities to what they'd seen.

I mean...why couldn't I have been downtown at that particular moment!? And too bad Joel wasn't the landscape worker mentioned- he could have been famous

Hehaw

A nice local news story:
http://www.kktv.com/news/headlines/49183112.html#

We had a nice visit with friends this weekend. Our friend from State Christy Chapman is the RUF intern at Colorado State University, and she and her boyfriend came down to Colorado Springs for a wedding- it was great to see a familiar face!

And now for what you've all been waiting for...today was the long anticipated trip to Cripple Creek for Donkey Derby Days! After waffles this morning/afternoon, Joel and I packed up the Subaru with folding chairs and a picnic lunch and headed to the mountains. Cripple Creek is a tiny town about 45 miles (1.5 mountain driving hours) from Colorado Springs southwest of Colorado Springs. This is an old mining town that now has loads and loads of small casinos. We've been hearing about the 78th annual Donkey Derby Days, so we thought it would be a good excursion. We got to town just in time for the donkey races.

A really excited Joel preparing to watch the race.

The shotgun start (just over halfway through this video, watch the woman in the red and white striped shirt and sunglasses...):


This is nearing the end of the race:


We decided to venture into a couple of the casinos after the donkey race, and hit the jackpot at JP McGill's Casino! Well, jackpot for us...we won $9 playing penny slots! At this point, the sky was darkening with rain clouds, so we decided to head back to Colorado Springs and blow our earnings at Five Guys Burgers and Fries for supper. All in all, it was a great excursion!

Here are some more photos from our journey:


Two asses.

Two more asses.

The dark clouds that made us decide to eat in Colorado Springs rather than outdoors in Cripple Creek.

A view from the highway between Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek

Hail on the road...wierd weather here.

The left and right sides of a double rainbow we saw on the way back to Colorado Springs.

Some music from Cripple Creek bagpipers to leave you with (the shorter woman dancing was wearing donkey ears before they started):

Yikes.

I apologize to those at home, but I just saw this on my iGoogle page, and I thought I had to share. If it is any consolation, at least our humidity is higher right now...? Don't worry though, I still miss oak trees, real dirt (not this rocky stuff), flatlands, and oxygen.

Weather

Restore

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Starkville, MS

106°F

Current: Clear
Wind: W at 0 mph
Humidity: 33%

Fri

97° | 70°

Sat

97° | 72°

Sun

95° | 72°

Mon

90° | 65°

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Colorado Springs, CO

77°F

Current: Clear
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 38%

Fri

83° | 58°

Sat

83° | 54°

Sun

81° | 56°

Mon

83° | 54°