Who knew that our Subaru’s axel would be on it’s last leg after our 1,000+ mile trek to Colorado?! Our car sounded horrible and we knew it would cost a pretty penny and we weren’t sure how long we’d be stuck in CO waiting for parts. Poor little Outback had been put through the ringer over the last couple years with Corey traveling for work weekly. We thought there was more life in this Subaru and had been nursing it for a while.
OUR VERY EXPENSIVE SOUVENIR – DAY 5
Luckily, Colorado is like the capital of Subaru dealerships, and repair shops, and I’m guessing the most amounts of Subaru in any state. Anywhooo, I didn’t have anything at all on our itinerary for the day after the concert. That’s when we decided to do some car shopping.
Corey spent the earlier part of the day looking up different dealerships in Denver. And also had a delicious meal at an old school looking diner. Think 1950s decor and the whole metal looking building on the outside and inside. Super cute.
Luckily, Corey found just the right Outback he had been wanting at the dealership Groove Subaru in Englewood, Colorado. Being this 47 yo woman had just spend several nights sleeping in a tent and staying up for a concert, I was worn out. The young guy that was our salesman, I think he thought I needed to be included in the whole transaction with my husband. I could care less. It was so polite that he tried to included but this woman needed a serious nap. One of the best types of naps. Don’t bother me, I’ve kicked back in the front seat of our old car nap kind of nap. I left the dealership building and walked over to our old car and proceeded to take a 2 hour nap while Corey and the salesguy test drove, haggled on price, had some ‘freebie’ items thrown in, waited for the loan to be processed, and whatever else people do when buying a car.
One of the best naps I’ve ever had.
I have never had to buy my own car. I mean I’ve never done paperwork, or searched for a car or any of the things my deal making man takes care of. Yea, I’m spoiled. My first official car was a Mitsubishi I figure a man that can drop new or rebuilt engines in vehicles has much more knowledge about cars than I ever will. Plus, he gets me in my choice of vehicles. For goodness sakes, he found me a 2017 Subaru WRX 6speed. He really knows me. The first car he helped pick out after I was working as an engineer back in the 1900s was a Mitsubishi Eclipse. Oh how I loved that car and was so happy he picked that one out. I did had one caveat – I wanted a sunroof. Some how this man found one for me. Again, super spoiled over here. (Looked like this one below) So thankful for my man!
So Day 5 was all about finding a car to be able to make it back home over the 1000 mile trip. Whew!
FLORISSANT FOSSIL BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
Day 6 was amazing getting to see the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument and Pikes Peak! THOSE TWO STOPS WERE AMAZING!
Ok, so I didn’t know that there were Redwood Forests in Colorado many many centuries ago! Corey and I found out about this from his mom. She went there I think with her parents and told us how neat it was. They have a little museum that is interesting and a hiking trail to see all the stumps that survived as fossils after so much time. It’s pretty amazing how giant these stumps were also. Check out how giant this stump was compared to my 6’3″ husband (circled in red). It’s hard to imagine just how big redwood trees were back then unless you have actually seen them on the West Coast. Hoping I get to see those some day and give them a hug. (*nature lover here*)
There were also lots of dainty flowers, butterflies, prairie dogs, and beautiful vistas. It was a bit hot there and we were glad we had plenty of water with us. If you get to go be sure to wear sunblock. It gets a bit hot hot hot! We probably spent about 1.5-2 hours on this stop. Worth the trip.
FYI according to the FQA page on the website, “There is no camping within the national monument. There are many public camping sites nearby including Mueller State Park, Eleven Mile State Park, Eleven Mile Canyon, and the Pike National Forest.” And pets are allowed in a pet area and the parking area but not in the park.
PIKES PEAK
What a CRAZY ride up to Pikes Peak! After we drove up the mountain, I decided I’m a HUGE fan of guardrails on roads. Thank goodness we got the new car. I can’t imagine driving up to the top of Pikes Peak in a car with questionable axels. WHEW!
The drive up was beautiful and full of so many different topographies and vegetations. First, there are all these trees like birch and then pine and then small vegetation and lastly just rocks and boulders. It takes a long hot minute to make it up to the top. And you’ll feel the altitude changes as you’re going up (and down)!
You have to be slooow going up as there are sheer drop-offs by the road! But the views are AMAZING!
We made it to the top after about an hour and a half. We stopped a couple times to check out the WOW views and take pictures of the scenery and then ended up taking pictures of groups of strangers that asked. The view though. WOW! Just breathtaking and not just because of the lack of oxygen. Harhar! We were at 14,117 feet at the top!
Be sure to bring a sweater as it can be cold at the top. There is a visitor center with a little museum, cafeteria, gift shop, and outdoor historical buildings and remnants. We had to sit down for a while in the cafeteria since we weren’t used to the altitude. I remember being a little wosie at some point and having to spend time sitting in the cafeteria. WHEW! Totally worth it though. It was one of the most amazing views I’ve ever seen!
This was a picture of the entrance to the Visitor Center. Looks small but is deceiving!
On the way down the mountain, we stopped and took even more pictures but also got to see the groundhog looking critters. They would pop up from the terrain and them show up 10 yards away from their tunnel systems. Super cute little guys. I probably spent about 20 minutes trying to get pictures of them with the fancy camera. Then I realized they seemed to be talking to each other letting their friends know I was sneaking around their field of boulders. Also to note was some of the boulders were somewhat flat and indented where a tiny kiddie sized water pooled. I had so much fun watching these guys. Adorable.
I hopped back in the car and down we went. On the way, there is a check point to check your breaks to make sure they aren’t getting to hot. There were quite a few vehicles that had to park and wait for their brakes to cool off so they wouldn’t careen off the side of the mountain!
This was an opportune time to find a restroom and snacks at Glen-Cove Inn. You can see the brake check shack in this picture below. Probably the prettiest rest stop I’ve ever seen!
During the rest of the way down the mountain, we saw so many deer. There were even a mom and twins. So sweet! What an amazing treasure. If you are planning a trip to see Pikes Peak check out this website about summer time shuttles, times it is open, how to drive to the top, costs, timed entries and how to reserve them, and more. And don’t forget your warm clothes!
After we left Pikes Peak, we started our lonnnnggg 1000 mile trek back to the flatlands of Louisiana. We were pinching pennies and ended up sleeping in the brand new car. It was not the most comfortable drive ever.
On the way home we drove through the Northside of Dallas and stumbled upon a Buc-cee’s we hadn’t been to before. It was the first time we saw a carwash at Buc-cee’s! We also stopped at a Goodwill and I found a glass chess game for a great deal.
This trip was one for the history books! Literally! We saw the world record holder of the largest Bowie knife in Texas, spent the night in Amarillo, Texas, at The Big Texan home of the 72oz steak with cowboy hotel(including pens for cowboys’ horses, live music, a giftshop, pool, parking area for RVs and horse trailers. On the way out of Amarillo we stopped briefly at the Cadillac Ranch and got to do some spray painting, crossed into New Mexico(a first for us) and saw the Capulin Volcano National Monument and hiked the Lava trail, made it to Colorado and touched old dinosaur bones and saw fossilized dinosaur tracks, watched Beck in concert, bought the most expensive souvenir ever, checked out old Redwood fossilized stumps, and saw Pikes Peak. I couldn’t have packed much more into the trip! It was TERRIFIC!
This spring break we caught a great deal on nonstop tickets for all 5 of us for only $960 total to Puerto Rico. Couldn’t pass that up and will have memories to savor for the rest of our lives.
Next up? A trip to the beach to celebrate my sister’s 50th birthday! Yep, that’s right. She’s getting the whole family together to relax and I’m going to be spoiling her since she’s spoiling all of us. It’ll be a great week!
Until then, let me know what your favorite or craziest vacation has been. I’d love to hear all about it!
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