Colorado Springs, Colorado

Canyons, mountains, goats & giraffes — and cake! 

Back in September, the family and I had a weeklong date with the wide blue yonder. We spent eight days in Colorado, staying near Colorado Springs with my Uncle Jack — and his horse Whiskey, dog Crockett, and cat Steve — for the front half the trip, then trekking to Estes Park for the tail end.

On our first night in town, we piled into the rental car and drove to Old Colorado City, a charming town on the west side of Colorado Springs. There's a quaint main street, Colorado Avenue, lined with boutiques, galleries, and watering holes. We bopped around for a bit before heading to the evening's main event: the Sky Sox.

The baseball game was a hoot, mainly because my Uncle Jack is one of those uncles with a seemingly never-ending stash of antics. As my brother Kevin pointed out though, whoever built the little stadium got it all wrong — the view from the bleachers faces the parking lot, not the mountains. Welcome to Colorado, hope you didn't want to look at it! Food and drink, as one might expect at a ballpark, is overpriced. But despite the lack of view or affordable eats, we enjoyed ourselves, and the crowd sure got into it.

On Day Two, we hit up Castlewood Canyon State Park. We hiked the trails, stopped in the shade to share snacks, water, and reapply sun screen, and even got to freak out with fellow hikers over a rattlesnake sighting.

Speaking of being spooked by the local wildlife, have you ever seen a wolf spider? I have. Cross my heart, it was the size of a mouse. This one was sitting on Uncle Jack's front stoop one night. The shrieking that ensued (from all members of my family), Uncle Jack fumbling for the keys to get in the front door, my dad eventually whacking said wolf spider with a broom — it was a truly slapstick, hysterical scene. But only because we lived to tell the tale. 

Day Three was actually Labor Day, and we decided to spend it with pizza in Idaho Springs and a winding drive up to the top of Mount Evans. We first tried going to Echo Lake, but the parking lot was full, so we were outta luck. Next time: Go early. Really early.

We consoled ourselves with pizza at Beau Jo's — pizza everyone on the interweb raves about. We left feeling that the pizza was good, not great. The big selling point is that the thick crust becomes a breadstick that you can dip in honey. Perhaps a novel idea on paper, but...Shrug! Call me when there's cheese in the crust!

After pizza, we wound our way up to the top of Mount Evans, the kids in one car, Uncle Jack and my parents in another. Though we spied scary-beautiful views and a family of mountain goats en route, the drive sadly did not agree with my mom. A note on elevation: Stay mega hydrated and take preventative Ibuprofen. Even still, Mom was a trooper and found her smile for the family portrait.

Day Four was a big one. We started at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, then climbed the Will Rogers Shrine, then ate life-changing almond cake, then toured the Cave of the Winds, then finally basked in the golden hour at Garden of the Gods.

The zoo is pretty amazing, as it's set in the mountains. The highlight, hands down, was feeding the giraffes. What a goofy-looking bunch of flirts! Can we do this every day?

A trip to the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun is actually included in the cost of zoo admission, so you'd be a dope not to take a short jaunt up the hill to the lookout tower. The view is worth it, and the tower is surrounded by a sea of trees and wildflowers.

When you're hungry for lunch in Colorado Springs, I can tell you this much: Go to Shuga's. It's where we dined after the Will Rogers Shrine and sweet heavens, it was divine. The place itself oozes eclectic charm, and the offerings leave you feeling a bit overwhelmed at all the deliciousness available to you.

For drinks, we went for ginger lemonade, sweet mint iced tea, a strawberry lemon fizz, and a coconut ginger fizz. And there were about ten other equally tasty-sounding sippers on the menu. For food, we mostly got sandwiches — mine was the Phellini with tomato, goat cheese, and basil pesto on grilled rosemary bread. More please! And I couldn't say no to the house-made almond cake, which truly changed my life. I will find a copycat recipe, and that recipe and I will live happily ever after.

After lunch we drove over to the Cave of the Winds, which was nice enough, but a little pricy if you ask me. Also, I think maybe I'm just not really a cave girl — not when there are mountains and open sky to be seen above ground. But if caves are your thing, then you'd probably get a kick out of the Cave of the Winds.

Our final stop of the day was Garden of the Gods, where majestic red rock formations shoot out of the ground. It's like you've landed on another planet. Seeing them silhouetted in the dramatic, golden lighting of a sunset sky only amped up the otherworldly experience.

I would recommend visiting the Garden at magic hour for sure — but I'd also say you could easily spend a handful of hours walking around and taking it all in. While the paths are paved and very family-friendly, you can also go off-roading and climb some (not all) of the formations themselves. The Garden of the Gods was a seriously awe-inspiring way to end our stay in Colorado Springs. Next stop: Estes Park!