The Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs.....

It started out as another typical work day, but somewhere around 10a, I decided I had to get a rental car and go see a few things. I REALLY didn't want to unhook the rig, so I asked in the office if they had a car rental they recommended .....Enterprise, cause they had to come get me. So they gave me the number, I called, but was told I was too far away for them to come get me....great. The owner, David, said...you make the reservation, I'm leaving at 4p I'll take you. Then tomorrow we will figure out how to reverse it....WOW...how nice was that....these folks are awesome.....if you are in this area you MUST check it out...
www.campground1.com Mountaindale Cabins and Resort....it is amazing.

So...I got my car $38 and as promised David took me....I was only 6mi from the Garden of the Gods which is where I really wanted to go....it was a gorgeous day and the drive was great. It did feel a little odd to be in a small car after having driven the rig so far.

There were several pull-offs on the way....gorgeous snow-capped mountains....Pike's Peak

I didn't know Pike's Peak had been the inspiration for America the Beautiful...did you??

Yep it was a little breezy, but had to get this shot with the Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak...wow!

The Kissing Camel's....one of the most famous of the rock formations.

Pretty interesting stuff.

The entrance sign....when u pass this it turns into a one-way road with many small parking lots along the drive to allow you to park and walk the gardens. But I went to the Visitor's Center first, looked around watched a 14min film and took some pics...then I went for my drive and walk....it was gorgeous.

Now for some gorgeous pictures of the rocks from my walk in the gardens:

The Gardens were donated to the city....pretty cool.

I loved the perfect placement of this sign about Pike's Peak....with it looming in the background:

Here is a closer shot you might can read it better....

A few more formations.....see the kids climbing the rocks....there were several doing it.

One last shot from the road as I was leaving the Gardens

Another famous formation....Balanced Rock.....amazing!

Now it was time to head to Manitou Springs...it's a small town, one main street, shops, restaurants.

I walked it for  about an hour and decided to head back.

Some of the town was built up the side of the mountain

This sign was on the wall of a building as I went by....this place goes back a few years....

I was headed back until I saw this sign.....it totally sucked me in:

Rudy's BBQ...and gas station....how can you not try a place where you can get BBQ and gas at the same spot....woohoo!!

You go through a line and order, and since I was a newbie I got to sample before ordering. I tasted the turkey, the brisket, and the pork loin. The also had baby back ribs and sausage but I couldn't sample those. You order by weight, so I got 2 ribs (1/4 lb) and 1/4 lb of the pork loin, corn on the cob and tea. Your food is given to you in a plastic drink crate. Too funny....then you go get your drink and help yourself to a relish bar, which was no big deal. It cost me about $10 and was pretty good.....woohoo, no cooking tonight. 

Would I go back.....sure. 

Now it really was time to head home. It was dark and I intended to be back before dark because of all the wildlife and I was not anxious to hit anything or have it hit me in this rental car. I had to drive 20mi south (following the GPS Dee and Jim gave me...thanks guys it has saved me), away from the city lites....it was a nice ride and I arrived home safely. Another great day....time for bed, have to get up early to work.

Hope you enjoyed my little side trip, I sure did....Good Night!