It's the morning after, because yesterday I was tired enough to not feel like leaving my room to fetch my USB mini cable for uploading photos once I had reached my room. It wasn't that I had driven a particularly lengthy stretch, just that I think I tried to fit too much into one day, after considering the massive traffic I encountered in and around Denver.

I started the morning in Limon, CO, fairly early, because I was ambitious. I wanted to make sure I saw and did all the things I wanted to see and do in Colorado Springs, and since I stopped early the night before, I had an hour and a half to drive before I saw the first one, the Garden of the Gods.

The Garden of the Gods is one of those places I hadn't even heard of prior to my trip, and I'm very glad I was apprised of its' existence, since it was amazing. For those of you who haven't looked at the pictures, it's essentially a giant area close to the mountains outside Colorado Springs, containing massive red rock formations that have been used as shelter and as sacred places by native tribes in the area, specifically the Utes, and it is phenomenal to look at. I saw half the park walking, and snapping photos every two seconds, stopping only for a while as a deer stepped in front of the family in front of me to eat a bit, Great photo opportunity that I sadly missed, due to wanting to be quiet so as not to scare it off. I toured the rest of the park in the car, and snapped a shot of the balancing rocks while I was there.

Next stop was Pike's peak. I had read up beforehand, and they recommend giving yourself at least two hours to fully do Pike's peak, even if you don't plan on buying stuff while you're there. There aren't a ton of THINGS to do on Pike's peak, but for someone who's never been on top of a real mountain before, it was pretty darn amazing. It's also the only photo I've snapped of myself to prove I was there, since I might not even believe it otherwise. Driving up Pike's Peak was pretty much as I expected, but I was surprised at how long it took to drive down. There's a brake check station about halfway down, after the most vertical part of the drive, where they scan the heat of your brake pads to make sure you haven't been riding them, so you NEED to take the upper section in low gear, which was an interesting experience, very much unlike any other driving I've done, and, I'm assuming, good practice for the rockies segment of my trip.

After Pike's Peak, I was initially planning on hitting the Botanical gardens in Denver, but since Pike's Peak had taken nearly three hours with the picnic I had at the top, I needed to hurry. I had a hotel reserved in Rawlins, WY, south of my next stop, Yellowstone National Park, and it was about a five hour drive away. Unfortunately, it ALSO happened to be a direct route up the I-25, passing very close to Denver, and through the western parts of it, and I happened to hit the weekend traffic, which is apparently a regular thing, as everyone leaves the city for the weekend. I was stuck in various traffic jams with very small interspersed periods of normal driving from about 3:00 to around 5:30. At that time, I still had around 225 miles to go.

Fortunately for me, the delays had caused me to be driving west during sunset, and it is really one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever witnessed. In a clear sky, even wearing sunglasses, it made everything else look like it was in pure shadow with how bright it was. As it dipped below the horizon, the colours were amazing as well. I think the only colour that was not present was green, and there was plenty of that on the ground. I must have taken five different shots of the sunset from my car.

The hotel I stayed in also has their check in in a diner, which I thought was cute, and instead of the continental breakfasts, you just get to eat free at the diner.

Yellowstone next, and then one, or possibly two days of driving.

Cheers!