Colorado

I found that the best moments of the trip were the unplanned accidents.  Our chance to see beautiful Colorado Springs and Pike’s Peak cost us a two-hour delay in our drive.

But the delay, like the one that took us through Zion National Park, was well worth it.

We spent the night in Colorado Springs with family. Colorado Springs seems like such a lively place: everyone is out for a morning stroll or jog.  The locals tell us it’s a very active town because there’s so much natural beauty to admire, despite the urban/suburban setting.

My roommate and I woke up in her aunt’s house at 5am, showered, and prepped for a 6am departure time.  Our schedule was pushed back so we could see the house that my roommate’s aunt and new husband are renovating at the foot of Pike’s Peak.  You can literally enjoy your morning coffee with one of the most spectacular views in the country.  All along my roommate’s new uncle had insisted that we not leave Colorado Springs until we had been through the Garden of the Gods, so we threw our departure schedule out the window and obliged.

Thank God we did:

Imagine this is your backyard...

The rock formations all have names, like Kissing Camel...

...and Balancing Rock

Afterward, our tour guide was generous enough to take us out for a leisurely breakfast before hitting the road.  For breakfast we found ourselves at another cultural cross-roads: Western Omelette Restaurant, a Mexican diner serving breakfast with a spicy kick.  (Seriously, if you like spicy in any meal of the day and you’re near Colorado Springs, check it out).  Normally I’m one to order the hot chili, because in New York the mild or medium barely have any kick.  But at Western Omelette, mild was respectably spicy.  They have regular breakfast fare, too.  It was super tasty, as you can tell by the fact that I’ve spent just as much time talking about this place as I have about the unbelievable splendor of the Colorado landscape.

Sadly, I did not stop any snap any photos of the breakfast joint or of my meal, mostly because a) I have not gotten my blogger feet completely wet yet and I felt weird photographing my food, and b) I was too busy eating to bother with the world outside my plate.

Hands-down, Colorado won the Favorite State of the Trip Award.