Day 2

Day 2 found us traveling from Amarillo, Texas to Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Again, the drive was fairly uneventful with the exception of the beauty of Raton Pass and the change of scenery.  We did, however, pick up our 10th state in our geo-caching goal of all 50 states.

Another highlight of the day was stopping in Pueblo, Colorado to have lunch with my mother-in-law and her husband.  They have spent the summer camping in Fun Valley, CO and drove about 3 hours to meet us.  It was a nice rest for us and certainly good to see her for an hour or so before we have quite a long break between visits.

After finally arriving in Colorado Springs, Mom and I took the kids to Garden of the Gods where we walked the trails and took in the spectacular display of God’s handiwork.  Several times throughout the park, J commented, “God is amazing!”  and He truly is.  During our walk, we were able to see a large buck up close and personal as he was eating dinner.  Then high up on the rocky tops, we saw birds nestled in the crevices of the formations, tiny plants growing through cracks.  As I took in this majestic site, I couldn’t help but hear the words of the old gospel hymn “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”  With tears in my eyes, I felt the presence of the Lord surround me on that walkway through the gardens, reminding me that His eye is watching my every move and His hand is guiding my every step.

A funny ending to our trip to the Gardens….I really, really wanted a picture of the kids at Balanced Rock.  I had my picture made there back in my sophomore year of high school when I went on a choir trip. so I wanted to make sure they experienced it as well.  Unfortunately, I missed the pull-off parking area, so I thought I would just make a nice, easy U-turn (with an F-150 and Uhaul trailer) and go back up the road and park.  Well, the U-turn was no problem at the bottom of the hill.  There was a nice wide turn-off to the right, so I basically just whipped around there and headed the other direction.  Just as I started back up the small 2 lane road, Mom noticed a sign that said “NO trucks, NO trailers, NO vans” BUT I CANNOT AND WILL NOT back up a trailer and there were no turn-arounds in sight.  My only choice was to just keep going and hope for the best.  As we neared Balanced Rock from the other direction, we discovered the reason for the sign.  The road splits, and our lane now went through a tiny opening between two other rocks overhanging the road.  So here we were…Mom as white as a ghost…the kids giving advice on how to drive through it…and me  telling Mom, “just keep watching and make sure I don’t scrape the mirrors.”   It was pretty hilarious!  Fortunately, we made it all the way through…no problems…no incidents…only a few other tourists laughing between their evil eye looks.  The best part…I got my pictures!  I wish I would’ve taken a picture going through the gap, though, but I think reading this will give my husband enough troubles without visual aids!