Day Adventure in Manitou Springs

Monday, November 28th, was a beautiful day, so Nick and I decided to get out and do a little adventuring.  Nick's parents had provided us numerous suggestions of fun places to see in the Colorado Springs area.  We finally made up our minds, and headed to Manitou Springs.  This is a small,artisan city at the bottom of Pike's Peak.  The town is known for world class art, it creepy history of witches, warlocks, and wizards, and it's 24 fresh mineral springs in the area.  

After walking through town and popping into the interesting shops, we came across a local bar, Townhouse Lounge.  We took a seat and checked out the bar.  To our surprise, we spotted a very special piece on the wall...

A UGA HAT! We asked the bartender about it, and found out the owners of the bar were, in fact, Dawg fans! Nice to know we have 'family' in unexpected places.  We quenched our thirst with a beer recommended by the bartender, it was called Colorado Native.  It was an amber lager, brewed by Coors in Golden, CO, and featured all local ingredients from the state.  


We settled up at the bar and went on to check out a few other shops in town.  When we had had our fair share of Manitou, we jumped in the truck and headed to a park we had passed on our way up.  Looked like a perfect spot for a little hiking and testing out the new camera (a very generous gift from a very loving family member!).  

This park is a beautiful area full of hiking paths and the natural red rock formations.  We had just enough time to enjoy a 1.5 mile trail before the sun started to go down.  Great shot of Nick to show how massive these formations are.

Second is a panoramic shot Nick got of our view, as I kept on along the trail.  

At the split in the trail, we opted for the 200 ft incline that brought us up to this prime photo spot.  This overlooked an amazing ridge of red rocks that went all through the park.  


We climbed back down the trail, winded for sure, the altitude is something to get used to, and headed back to the truck as the sun started to hide behind the mountains in the distance.  


A successful day of adventuring, for sure!