Garden of the Gods
~Thursday, October 29, 2020~
Day 137
Guess it’s that time again for another oil change on the truck, which is usually a 2-person job. The hardest part in trying not to spill any oil on the ground while camping, is probably getting the used oil into the emptied new oil bottle for disposal, especially in windy conditions. Note to self: don’t change your oil on windy days. Normal driving conditions for our diesel truck say to change it every 10,000 miles, and when towing over 1,000 miles, to change it every 7,000. Right now, we’re around 16,000 miles on the truck (we bought it in February), and have done only 1 oil change to date, so it’s time. We’ve put a lot of heavy miles on this beast so far, as we expected to do. I’d say the hardest driving we’ve done by far has been in Colorado with the many steep mountain passes we’ve had to make our way through.
After a quick observation that we had by far the dirtiest looking trailer/truck in the loop, it was time for a quick bath, especially with such great weather. Man, this trailer has been through some extreme temperatures in just 4 or 5 days, from the low of 5 degrees to temperatures like today of 70. It wasn’t the most thorough job we’ve ever done, but looks 10 times better than it has in a while.
We had plans to meet Katelin (our awesome niece) for dinner so worked in a little sightseeing before that. One of our stops and a must see when visiting Colorado Springs, is The Garden of the Gods.
Nestled at the foot of Pikes Peak, are these red rock sandstone and limestone protrusions formed millions of years ago. The area became so beloved by Charles Elliott Perkins, that upon his death, his family donated it to the city of Colorado Springs and that per his request, that it be free to all visitors forever. This was some of the coolest formations we’ve ever seen. The minute these red rocks come into view, your awestruck. We also happened to be there at the perfect time of day (just before dusk). Another item on the list was to check out the luxurious Broadmoor Hotel, but we ran out of time and were only able to do a drive by. We had passed a really cool dog park on the way to the hotel and wanted to make sure before dinner to stop by there at least for a few minutes with Sadie to get some energy out. So before dark, we managed to get about 15 minutes in at Bear Creek Dog Park. She quickly made a few new friends, likely because she had a ball and they didn’t.
Katelin had picked out one of her favorite spots for dinner at Front Range BBQ in Colorado Springs. It was the perfect, casual spot and guess Katelin & Jeff’s meals of chicken and pork were delicious. There wasn’t a whole lot of fare for a pescatarian but they had a Fish ‘n Chips special that I opted for, that was excellent. Lots to catch up on about our travels and her life in Colorado Springs.
It was so good to see her!