A Hike in the Garden

We started our mornings off slow and lazy. We could only wash two loads of laundry a day (septic system) and they only left us one dishwasher pellet, and we all needed showers at some point, so it was very tricky determining water usage limits. It was clearly posted everywhere, that if you mess this up, you will pay for the entire septic fix out of pocket. Stress! 

But we also started mornings off early. Maybe it was the time change? But we were mostly up (not Brennen of course :) by 7 (what?!) We'd make a big breakfast, figure out our plan for the day, then pack up the snacks and water and head out for an adventure.

We met our NGFs at their rental house, dropped off the kids, Buck and I went to Costco to stock up on supplies, then came back for lunch. We left all the food in our friends' fridge, then headed to Garden of the Gods (free, yes!). 

The kids dipped their toes into the process of freaking us out by climbing to unrealistic ledges and far off distances . . . of the dozen kids along for the ride--SIX of them are teenagers, and one is four months shy of becoming the same. It was time for a little independence (but that also meant hoping cell phone service worked when they took the wrong track and had to retrace to find us).





It was on this first, initial, premiere showing of Muriel to the world . . . that she became the most pupular (I totally typed that on accident, but I'm keeping it! Ha!) dog in Colorado. You would not believe the oohs, ahhs, screeches, tears, requests for photos, people dropping their bags and themselves on the path/sidewalk/road next to her and begging to pet her. Adults, children, singles, couples, babies, people of every skin tone, belief system, mental state, all were drawn to Muri. If you want to make friends with EVERYONE, get a cute puppy to walk down the street. No joke! Talk about drawing humanity together. Amazing!







Lots of selfies, high winds, and held breaths :) I think it's so funny that little sister is offering a hand to a stuck big brother. It's all about choices, when you're rock climbing. What goes up, might not come back down so easily :)





Caelan took lots of puppy selfies. Muriel is clearly deserving of a little spotlight :)


After our visit to the Garden, we went to the giant gift shop. We had our people everywhere in that store! So many souvenir options--from trinkety junk to sculptures selling for 10's of thousands of dollars. Caelan took Muri to get something to snack on (dogs are allowed pretty much everywhere in CO) and the puppy ended up with a free "pup cup" of whipped cream. And Caelan ended up getting a discount on her order because Muri was so cute! Ha! What a deal :)

There was a ring that I thought was really pretty, and it's kind of a "thing" for Buck to buy me a Native American made piece of jewelry on vacation. This one was way pricier than anything else I'd ever liked. He wanted to see it, and I said if you can find it, you can buy it for me. You have to understand, this souvenir shop had wings . . . you'd practically need a map to get from one end to the other. It's HUGE! Buck paced around, trying really hard to find my tiny ring, but without success. He promised he wouldn't buy it, if I'd show him where it was. He agreed it was very pretty and dainty. Later I was telling my NGF about it, because I noticed she wears a similar ring in different colors. She had purchased hers locally on a previous visit to the Springs , and said that *my* ring price sounded very reasonable and about the same as hers. Hmmm, interesting . . . :)


After we left the souvenir shop, we strolled through Manitou Springs. Loads of cute little shops, and loads of places selling weed and mind-altering experiences (we skipped those). Facemasks were required in ALLLLL the shops, and we had accidentally left ours in the van, so we just window-shopped. 

I did rediscover my favorite little business in the town--the fair trade Turkish lantern shop! It is so neat and clean and beautiful! All the colored glass lanterns and lamps, handmade by Turkish-women co-ops. I was a little swoony, I'll admit. But, the shop closed in five minutes and that saved me from an impulse buy (four years in the making, ha!) 

We ate dinner at the same super-yummy Mexican restaurant (The Loop) that Buck's stepbrother and his wife took us to on our last visit. Mahi mahi tacos AMAZING!! The staff was so kind; they gave us our own giant room and made us sit socially distant (which the kids were 100% fine with). The food and service was excellent, and they even let Muri hide beneath the table and get a much deserved nap. No one to pet her or take her picture under the table :)



We "had to" go back to our friends' rental because all of our food was there :) My NGF stopped for ice cream, so all the kids watched a movie and slurped the sweets. What a super fun, stunning weather, time-together sort of day!