Garden of the Gods 08/27/10

After making Shannon steak and eggs for breakfast this morning (he has only been home a total of 3 days in the past 2 weeks working between the fire station and St. Francis ER) I felt motivated to enjoy this beautiful morning. I told Ava after breakfast we were going to see some red rocks. As we drove closer she was so excited to see and touch these "big rocks/mountains".

I was pulling into Garden of the Gods Park and this intuitive almost 3 yr old says with a gasp "Who painted the rocks red?!" I replied, "I suppose God did." An acceptable answer as we are at the Garden of the Gods named so because the Ute Indians and the first settlers were so enamored with the beauty of this place. Most of the trees you see in the pictures were planted by the settlers in the late 1800's and later in the 1900's to reclaim the damage/erosion caused by the millions of visitors to the park. Ava of course wanted to pick flowers and take some rocks. I had to explain that if everyone who visited this place took a flower or rock, there would be no more to see. You can never instill conservation and respect for nature too soon! ; )

We got Chase in the carrier and headed out. To see Ava so excited about hiking and seeing this beautiful place warmed my heart. She is so special! For an hour and a half we walked and looked at the rocks, reading the signs, watching the climbers, and having a little snack in the shade. It was a great morning with my babies and the weather was perfect.

Next on the list of things to do is Eleven Mile Canyon (one of Shannon and my favorite places since we moved here 9 yrs ago), the Colorado State Fair, and then maybe a drive thru Monarch Pass later in Sept. to watch the Aspens turn color.