Big Camp Colorado Springs 2018 - The RC Bickett Gang

Summer seemed to hit with a loaded schedule and only a few camping trips. Then it continued on as fast as it seemed it could go. The kids were in an extended summer camp for three days each week. They enjoyed seeing their friends and going on field trips every week. And just like that it seemed like school was quickly approaching.

We had the last week before school off from summer care, so that is when we decided to take our big camp this year and after visiting with a couple from Colorado Springs on our anniversary dinner, that is where we decided to head.

South Through Nebraska

Brian took care of all of the vacation planning and decided we could head south through Nebraska and then over to Colorado Springs, missing the I-25 traffic, which was great because I had been wanting to see Car Hinge for a few years now. Unfortunately, Brian told me it was on the other side of the state and that we would not be going that far. So I was quite surprised when we pulled off the road and were looking at Car Hinge — something that was weirdly on my bucket list.

Definitely a must see if traveling through western Nebraska.

Beautiful Red Rocks

On our first day there we took in the city park called Garden of the Gods. They had a wonderful visitor center full of interactive and educational exhibits. We learned all about the Magpie and then took a short shuttle ride to the center of the park where we were able to hike around some of the red rock formations.

This was such a great park to hike through.

After dinner, our evening excursion included the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings where we got to explore the world of the Anasazi and how they lived in 1200 A.D. It was fun seeing the kids make some of the same memories that I did as a child when we vacationed there.

Fun for the kids to see how life use to be for this culture.

Above The Ordinary

We knew that summiting Pikes Peak was on the top of our Big Camp must-do list. We also knew we needed to give our bodies a few days to acclimate to the elevational changes before our accent so we set out on our second day for America’s Mountain. The drive was beautiful — much like our Big Camp Rocky. Once we reached the 14,115 feet elevation we lingered in the high mountain air, did some bouldering and built a couple of zen rock piles. It was about the time that we were enjoying our world famous Pikes Peak fried donuts that Ellie said her head hurt. With that, we bout-faced and high tailed it out of there. Apparently altitude sickness was starting to get to us.

Jackson was able to get some rocks to balance too.

In To The City

Since we were so close to some major shopping centers we thought we could tackle a little bit of school shopping in the middle of our week away. We also had a girl wanting to move her room into the basement which meant we needed a bed that could double as a guest bed. So we headed north to Centennial and landed at IKEA, then a shopping mall, and on to Red Robin for dinner.

It only took us 2 hours to find what we needed.

More To See & Do

We were told often that voyage to Colorado Springs isn’t quite complete without a trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. We were fooled to think that a zoo in the mountains could be grand but this zoo was. The coolest part was their giraffe exhibit which included a heard of 19 that you could feed! Make sure to hold on to your zoo map because they are easily mistaken for lettuce and we saw a few go down without question. The funniest part was when a female gorilla, who was sitting and watching us as much as we were watching her, tapped the glass suddenly when Ellie tried to make a face at her through the glass, and then she went back to sitting quietly.

Jackson feeding the giraffes with their long tongues.

Ellie smiling after the gorilla told her to stop making faces.

After a quick lunch back at the camper, we headed to the Cave of the Winds. Once we got there we realized that this was our first spelunking excursion as a family even though we have so many caves near our home. As we were waiting for the cave tour to start the kids and I shimmied up a spider web tower slide that looked easier said than done. While on the tour we saw some neat rock formations and even got to experience total darkness when the lights were turned out briefly. After the cave, Ellie and I summoned up the courage to hit the areal park which extended over the canyon wall.

Expanding Our Horizons

On our last day in Colorado we took a little road trip to see an engineering wonder. Hanging high above the Arkansas River, the Royal Gorge Bridge is one of the world’s highest and most famous suspension bridges. We took a ride across in the aerial gondolas where we could see all the way down the Gorge. On the other side, we watched some people shoot back on the zip lines then played in the giant climbing playground before making our way back over the bridge.

In America’s longest single span aerial gondolas.

Making Our Way Home

And after what seemed to be a pretty quick week it was time to head back home. We traveled up I-25 and then over to Scott’s Bluff, Nebraska where we saw some pretty famous characters as we drove through town. When we stopped we were able to meet a few emergency responders and peek inside their vehicles including a fire truck, police car, ambulance, and a helicopter. Jackson asked a firefighter “what it is like to be a firefighter” and his response was that it was “pretty cool”.

AND then we got to see some of our favorites. Jackson was pretty excited to see full sized Lightning McQueen and Mater.

We feel so blessed to be able to take time to travel as a family. Our week long trips are such a wonderful time for us to get away, reconnect with each other, and see some pretty cool things.

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