Colorado Springs --- Friends!

Roger here...  Chuck and Cindy and Sophie the dog booked a site right across from us for two weeks.  Yay!  We have been close friends and camping buddies for many, many years even though they are Indiana University fans :-).

Solar Eclipse Day....  We joined the rest of the world celebrating the recent solar eclipse.  Our location provided an 87.5% coverage --- not bad.  Dianne and I bought a pair of eclipse glasses after the last event in 2012, so we were able to pass the glasses around and watch the entire event live.

Chuck is doing a little quality control.

The sky was clear!  We had a great viewing spot at our campsite, so we moved our chairs to the appropriate spot and began the celebration  with a toast (Chuck's famous breakfast juice).

Our celebration selfie at 10:30ish.

Here we are at 11:47.

Ok, it did not get that dark.  At one point the lighting was not as bright --- like twilight.  The temperature drop was noticeable.  However, it definitely did not get very dark.  As a former science teacher, I look forward to these things --- the viewing through the glasses was fascinating, at least to me.

The Great Escape....  I will start this segment with tranquil photos of a doe and her fawns.  Dianne took these pictures from inside our motorhome.

The deer are often nearby, especially during mornings and evenings.

Later in the day we enjoyed a game of Mexican Train in the screen house.  The dogs were nearby since we could zip them in with us.

A large toad hopped onto our sunshade shortly before the game.

He climbed up and down the shade while we played.  At one point he appeared to be sunbathing.  

Dianne informed me that I needed to get him off the sun shade.  She was afraid he would fall onto the rocks where Charlie the cat (on a leash) might eat him.  Sigh.  I carefully scooted the toad away from danger while Dianne held the cat.

Our game happily resumed, but not for long.  The Great Escape was about to begin.  A deer walked by.  Before we realized what was happening Sophie bolted through a small opening at the bottom of the screen doorway.  And, Bandido bolted right through the screen!

This is where he landed on the other side of the screen house.  We were able to grab Tequila before she also escaped.  

For a short time the dogs were nowhere to be found.  Dianne here:   I did catch a quick glimpse of the deer sprinting away and Bandido at full speed not far behind.  Sophie stayed nearby, but Bandido evidently refused to abandon the chase.  The deer was long gone by the time Dianne saw Bandido and called him back.  He seemed to be very proud of himself.

But Mom, I didn't notice the screen until I was through it!

Isn't duct tape wonderful! Chuck and Cindy took over the repair of the screen before the game resumed. 

Our screen house may well be seeing its last use.  We have had it for many years. The screen is now fragile.  Sad.

Breaking news... Bandido incarcerated as a repeat offender.  Un-named sources have reported that a squirrel hopped by a Mountaindale Campsite when Bandido the Dog (Mission, Texas) smashed through the mesh screen of a dining tent for a second time in two days.  Authorities have detained Bandido and imprisoned him in an adjacent motor home.

Chuck and Cindy are planning to start a business in screen mesh repairs.

The second escape pretty much ices the abandonment of our screen house before heading back to Texas.

Return to Garden of the Gods...

When Chuck and Cindy arrived, we discovered that they had not previously visited Garden of the Gods.  With our new knowledge about timing, parking, and the park layout, we decided to make a return trip.

We stopped at the Visitor Center this time.  Chuck and I went in to get a map.  We wanted to walk along the paved garden trail if we could find a place to park.  When we arrived, the main parking area was again full.  We again found ourselves on the one-way road looking for any available parking.

Chuck, Cindy, and Sophie (Luckiest dog in Indiana)

We did find a spot away from our destination, so we did a short scramble on the ridge trail.  The scenery was again beautiful, but not what we really wanted.  We decided to go around in the truck one more time.  The parking lot we wanted was again full, but we did find a parking pull-off near the Garden Walk that we wanted to do.  It involved walking along the roadway to an extension trail that took us to an intriguing walk on a paved trail.  Worth the hassle!

Chuck and Sophie found a side trail that took us into a wonderland.  People were climbing the multiple rock formations and having a blast. 

Cindy took Chuck's picture as he and Sophie went through one of the formations on a narrow trail, finding a different exit leading back to the paved walk.

I am so glad that we were patient enough to find our way.

The caption on Dianne' shirt is appropriate for us as we travel with our dogs, "SQUIRREL!!!"

Brats and Beer Reunion....  Last week I had lunch with Pam and Bill.  Pam and I worked together for many years before we both retired.  We invited them to our campsite for brats and beer.  Chuck took over the role of grill-master.  Cindy whipped up some mac and cheese.  Dianne put together a spinach/strawberry salad.  Pam, Cindy and I all retired from Hamilton Southeastern Schools.  For our former HSE students and friends from Fishers, Indiana.....  We probably talked about you :-).  Good times.

That's all for this post.  More to come as we continue to explore.