Garden Of the Gods

Last week winter came and it came with a vengeance. We had temperatures in the single digits and in the negatives with the wind chill factor. But this week, we’ve had beautiful crystal blue skies and much warmer temperatures. In fact, it was so nice we decided to take a beautiful scenic drive and have a picnic. We drove down to the Garden of the Gods, about 1 1/2 hours south of us.

Garden of the Gods is a beautiful “garden” of natural red rock formations that are between 300-320 million years old. It a magical, spiritual place, and is one of my favorite places to go, and better yet, it is in our own backyard, so to speak. We picked up Mike & Lauren and off we went. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. We hiked around, found the perfect picnic spot, then hiked around some more.

This is where we stopped for lunch. This rock looks like a perched eagle.

Garden of the Gods is a very popular tourist destination, averaging about 6 million visitors annually. And it was a beautiful, perfect day. So unfortunately, it is difficult to capture the rocks without people around, try though I may.

We even saw quite a few White-tailed mule deer. I think we saw about a dozen total, but not all at once.

After leaving Garden of the Gods, while still in the area, we drove down to The Miramonte or Bishop’s Castle in Manitou Springs. Mike and Lauren and never seen it before. We did not take the tour this time.

As we were driving through Manitou Springs, we saw a lady walking an emu on a leash. Yes, an EMU. That’s not something you see everyday!!!!

Like I said, we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. The weather was fantastic, we had good food, and better yet, great friends to share the day with. Life is definitely good. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it so make it great. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.