Everyday Adventure // Garden of the Gods (Part 1)

We’ve been having some perfect weather lately – incredible sunshine and equally lovely rains.  Normally, I’m a sunshine person all the way, but the last few rains have been most welcome for two reasons.   One: it makes the perfect soundtrack for lazy mornings cuddling in bed.  Two: it is ridiculously, vibrantly, unusually GREEN.

In the four years I’ve lived here in the Springs, I don’t remember greens like this – there are rare moments I even imagine myself back in the Midwest.  My husband and I have been taking full advantage and spending some time in one of our favorite spots (albeit a “touristy” one – pretty sure most Colorado Springs postcards feature this landmark).

But really, what more can you ask for?  Scenic views with mountains and red rocks, an extensive mix of paved and dirt trails (stick to dirt to avoid, well, everyone else) and all a short drive from home.  This isn’t the first time you’ve seen Garden of the Gods on this blog and it surely won’t be the last (in fact, tune in tomorrow to see my favorite black & white shots from the last few days).

The easiest spot for the paved trails is to park in the main parking lot (pull off 1) but there are tons of pull-offs along the drive and I’d recommend finding another one – Pull Off 1 can get very crowded and as a result, so can the paved trails.  The photo above is from my favorite pull-off and there is rarely more than one car stopped there.  There’s really a lot more to this park than what you see on the postcards.

See why I don’t mind the rain?  I love how the mountain gets all snow-covered and the foothills turn bright green and flowers are popping out like champions.  It’s like nothing else and I know the more it rains, the longer all this will last!

This is as close to a postcard as you’re going to get from me today – a great photo of my love from our hike yesterday.  Wish you were here!