Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs

 

Well, I went grocery shopping and I stopped at the meat counter at Safeway and a couple of the items on offer surprised me. It is not unusual to see alligator meat or frogs legs at the markets in Louisiana, but a Safeway in Colorado Springs?

And then, a fellow in the campground stopped me while I was loading up feed for the horses.

He offered me this t-shirt with his logo. Apparently, he photographs rodeos for a living. He showed me some of his portfolio and he is quite good. For some reason, he says he is blacklisted from the circuit. So, there is a back story, I have no idea about.

Any way, I got a free t-shirt.

On my bucket list - riding at the Garden of the Gods park. After yesterday's yoga lesson, Ari and I drove into the park to scope out places to park. We found a lot that has horse trailer parking. We decided our best chance of nabbing a spot would be to go during the week and as early as possible.

So, Monday morning bright and early, we headed out with the horses and the lot was empty when we arrived around 9:30 in the morning.

We hadn't had breakfast, so after we parked, I made breakfast in the LQ. It feels a bit decadent to be able to drive somewhere and have a kitchen and bathroom with you.

Breakfast was egg and cheese croissants with turkey bacon and a glass of orange juice.

Views from the trails were spectacular. The trails were actually pretty easy to ride. There was some up and down and some rock face, but, overall, it was a pleasant and fun morning. 

A hiker was kind enough to take our picture...a rare one with both of us. Check out the hoo-doos behind us.

Back in the parking lot

The weather held. There were a few sprinkles as we were loading up to head back to the campground. It kept threatening to rain, but held off most of the day.

Tomorrow we head to the Big Iron Ranch near Denver, CO.

Norris - Penrose Equestrian Center - Colorado Springs, CO

 

Our current stop is the Norris-Penrose Equestrian Center. This is a view of the barns from the upper parking area.

There is an RV dump on site...which has no signage and no markings, so it is a bit tricky to find.

It is located in the parking area between the large community hall and the barns.

The horses are inside the barn in 10' x 10' stalls with no runs. These are cramped quarters, but the horses are out of the rain.

We have water and electric hook-up, but no sewer - hence, the stop at the RV dump on our way in.

Spots are pull-through and it is pretty nice. Good internet, good cell service. Not too noisy, although we can hear a train horn every so often.

With rain storms threatening, we decided to ride in the afternoon. There are trails off the property into a park and open space. The views at the top were pretty awesome.

You can see the storm clouds overhead.

No rain during the ride, but it started about 10 minutes after we got the horses back in their stalls.

Because of the rain, I booked us a drop-in yoga class at the SunWater Spa. This place also has hot tubs, massages, and facials, but unfortunately those services were booked.

The yoga studio is gorgeous. Ari and I were the only ones in the class - with a couple of people joining on Zoom. It was like getting a private class - and it was only $14 per person. It felt wonderful to be able to stretch out.

This is the view from the yoga studio balcony.

There is a food truck outside the SunWater Spa called Teva. I ordered beignets (3 for $5). They were burnt. We complained and the guy said that they were cooked properly. I am sorry, but they were NOT cooked properly. They were burnt. He refused to make the order correctly. I will be reporting him on Twitter later.

After the burnt beignets, we scoped out places to park if we want to ride at Garden of the Gods. I am hoping the weather is clear enough tomorrow morning we can get a ride in. Fingers crossed!