There we were cruising along towards Cañon City and then we saw the little blue sign with an arrow. Happy Apples? Of course we had to stop. Sadly their apple crop had been wiped out, but we picked happy raspberries instead. Yum!
After Happy Apples, what else could we do but go to the Museum of Colorado Prisons? The museum was the old women's prison and it was fascinating. It also shares a wall with a current medium security prison (formerly a supermax). Nothing like seeing guard towers and barbed wire up close and personal to give you the real prison museum experience.
Ice cream for lunch? Don't mind if we do. KaleidoScoops in Cañon City.
What prompted our trip to Cañon City originally was a coupon I bought from Denver Perks at the beginning of the summer. It would be the momentum needed to make a day trip. All the sudden the coupon was a few weeks from expiration, the summer had come and gone. Unacceptable.
A quick journey down memory lane: The last time I was at Royal Gorge I was on a youth mission trip and full of middle school angst. We did a lot of sight-seeing on that mission trip - the quintessential Colorado experience....from Casa Bonita to Pikes Peak, from Gunnison to Garden of the Gods....no wonder I wanted to move back here. I remember taking endless (awful) pictures of the Colorado scenery: the funny looking house on I-70, the red rocks for which Colorado is named, tiny snow capped mountains in the distance, the cliff divers at Casa Bonita. Where is that album now? I can just see myself in my khaki shorts and brand new Banana Republic t-shirt with a map on the back, being all self-conscious around the highschool boys.
And now a return to the present: It was a beautiful day to enjoy the bridge, arial tram, incline railway and the park - with no crowds. It also meant no gunshows or cutesy stage entertainment. That's ok.
At the end of the day we visited a friend in Colorado Springs who was preparing a "healthy Chinese meal" for us. We busted out our chopstick skills enjoying dumplings, spare ribs, salmon, veggies and fruit. And went home with bags of food to enjoy in the upcoming week. A perfect Colorado day.
Wow, it does look like the perfect day!
ReplyDelete