Road trip, Climbing the Manitou Incline + Colorado Springs🚞🏞

 Hey guys! I'm back, with a travel post! For the July 4th weekend, we went on a road trip to Colorado springs, and it was such a fun trip!

The mountains, as you can see, were my favorite part of the whole trip....

The road trip part of our vacation-

We drove to Colorado Springs, as our first long road trip, and honestly I thought it wasn't too bad! I didn't feel too fatigued, and though I was scared of the dreaded BOREDOM, everything went smoothly. 

Colorado Springs!-

We went to many places in Colorado Springs

On our first day, we visited The Broadmoor Seven Falls, and climbed the Manitou Incline as a family. Seven Falls was really nice.. there was a small hike up to the cascading waterfall within the canyon. After that, we went to the Incline-I did'nt make it to the top. Only till 1800 steps. But keep reading, because I went again....

 

Day Two brought HAIL when we were driving under the mountains on our way to Twin Lakes, and everyone was in awe with the mountain views. At twin lakes, there was of course the lake, making it feel like a beachside with beautiful mountains. It was such a picturesque and nice spot!

On the third day, we went to Royal Gorge Bridge. It was basically a high pedestrian suspension bridge over a canyon, and though it was really thrilling, we couldn't explore much because it started to heavily rain. On the bridge, you could see a train that goes below in the canyon and kayakers who kayak in the river that flow through.

Wednesday, our fourth day, my dad and I went back to the Manitou Incline. I was determined, and really wanted to finish the whole Incline. Shoutout to my dad, who took me again! ;) ...slowly but surely...I MADE IT TO THE TOP!!!! If you're wondering, the Manitou Incline is very steep, and is known to be extremely difficult, but I didn't think it was too bad! The highest point, the top, is 8,590 feet, and is 2,768 steps. Boy, were my legs jelly from top to bottom(yes, i had to walk ALL the way back down again). 

After that, we came back home, had breakfast (a yummy bagel feast!), and then relaxed for a while. Later in the afternoon, we went to a few places: Manitou Cliff Dwellings, The Broadmoor Hotel, and Cave of the Winds. 

Starting off with the Manitou Cliff Dwellings...Basically, the attraction consisted of a replica ancestral cliff dwellings. Honestly, I wouldn't say this was my favorite place, because there wasn't much too it...

We had some extra time on our hands before our cave tour, so we decided to visit the famous Broadmoor Hotel. It was really nice inside, and the views from the hotel...beautiful!!

Then we went to Cave of the Winds were we waited for our slot time-the time in which they would take us around a cave. While waiting, my brother got a rock kit in which there were many rocks in a bag of dirt, so he had to sift the dirt in water, and as we watched, he collected many different rocks. Now he claims to be a "Minecraft miner"🙄

Going into the cave it was really interesting to learn about the science behind all the crystallization formations and the history of the cave. We went on a normal tour, but there was another HAUNTED tour, where they send you off in the cave with just a bucket..and a candle...

Anyways, we had a really fun time, but sadly realized that the next day would be our last full day in Colorado :( 

Thursday, our LAST full day, we took the co-

gsrail up to Pikes Peak, and the views were stunning!!! Pikes Peak looked over the whole city, and it was so beautiful to see everything from the top. The train ride up was slow yet relaxing, as we passed tall trees and large mountains. After the cogsrail up, and back down, we spent the rest of the afternoon/evening in the Manitou Springs downtown area. We walked around, got some souvenirs, had food, and that concluded our trip!

The next day we packed up, and got ready to hit the road! 

This trip was amazing and I still can't forget the mountains, after coming back home :) Will definitely be going back!😉

                                                                                     ~Arya