Conquered the Manitou Incline!

OH MY LANTA! I still can't believe I climbed 2,768 steps on Saturday afternoon. That was a massive staircase! Some of it was so narrow, I was climbing on all fours with my water bottle as a crutch. Crazy! I know! AND I am afraid of heights so every time I turned around to take a picture, I started shaking. However, I made it to the top! 

This challenge has been on my bucket list since I heard about it. I had no idea how much endurance I would need for this though....My friend Mike, clearly, was in better shape than me. He got to the top about 30 minutes or so before me. He "graciously" came down and climbed the last 1,000 steps with me. Mike could have stayed and waited for me. On the way down, I ran out of water but it was raining so I wasn't as parched as I was climbing up. We ate some snacks when we arrived at the top and of course to catch our breaths. According to the sign at the beginning of the trail, it was .88 miles to the top and over 2 miles to the bottom. Weird. However, the trail was winding all the way coming down. So, I guess that makes sense.

When we left Denver, it was 90 degrees but when we arrived it was maybe 75 degrees, which was nice. On the way up, the weather was cloudy with the sun playing peek-a-boo. On the way down, however, it started to rain. Not hard, thank goodness. It was lightly raining then starting sprinkling. We heard thunder and saw some lightening bolts from a far so we hurried down as quickly as we could. Halfway down, I pulled a muscle in my leg! UGH! Been happening to me a lot lately, I think I need to stretch more. After massaging my muscle for 5 or so minutes, we continued on to the bottom. 

Next challenge....conquer a 14er!! We'll see when I get a chance to do that. Last time didn't go so well because the leader didn't respect my needs. At any rate, I will post when I have conquered that beast! 

One neat thing that happened on my way up was seeing a chipmunk, actually more than one, running around. I also liked the fact that the higher you go, the less likely you see bugs especially bees! 

I am glad I reached the top and even more glad God saved me from certain death! Now I just need to find a T-shirt that proves it :) 

 

First Car Race!

 A former student of mine, for the last 3 months or so, has been encouraging me to go to a car show or car race of some sort. I have always given her the look...if you know what I mean. Well, last weekend I went to a car race at the El Paso County Fair. I had NO idea what to expect. 

It was a bit chilly when we sat down around 6:30 pm. There must have been 8 car races at least. Different types of cars in each one. The arena was dusty and smelled like gas. Go figure. 

Jimmie and I ate dinner while watching, which consisted of a huge turkey leg, fries and sausage on a roll. Good food, considering it's a fair. 

There were a couple of car crashes and one lit on fire!!! Yes, you read that right. The poor girl driving, I can't imagine that happening to me. She didn't even hit anything or anyone!!! Out of nowhere!!!! CRAZY!!!! Tons of people ran out to help put out the fire and drag her out of the car. The driver was fine. The fire truck and ambulance showed up soon after. It took maybe 20/30 minutes to clear the track and put the fire out before the race could resume. Overall, it was a fun event! 

Afterward, we all watched the fireworks and enjoyed the carnival part of the fair. Jimmie and I rode the farriswheel among other rides. We also played some games and I won two goldfish. However, they died the next day. SMH. Oh well. I wasn't sure they would survive the trip back to Denver anyway. 

Glad I go to check off "going to a car race" off my list! Would I go again? Not sure, maybe. At least now I know what a car race is. 

The Best 4th of July Ever!

 As an African American who recently discovered the difference between Juneteenth and 4th of July, the celebration last weekend doesn't hold the same anticipation it used to. However, I had an amazing time riding an ATV, setting off fireworks, eating some really good pancakes, watermelon and BBQ while hanging out with some amazing people. Made some new friends too! 

The day started with a pancake breakfast supporting the local firemen in Colorado Springs. They also served sausage and scrambled eggs. Being lactose intolerant makes things annoying but I know if I don't have a lot of dairy, I'm okay. My stomach will just be upset for an hour or so. Afterward, we headed to Garden of the Gods and walked around the historic village next to it. The kids played games and we met Abraham Lincoln! 

For dinner, we went to Jimmie's friends house in Monument and ate some delicious BBQ! We played badminton, disc golf, Nerf gun war and archery in their backyard. The kids were so full of energy and for some reason they kept picking me to play with...probably because the adults were busy talking. By adults, I mean the parents. I wasn't really interested in their conversations about pregnancy or remodeling. 

I will admit when Jimmie asked me if I wanted to ride the ATV, I looked at him like he was the Mad Hatter. Eventually, I hopped on and he showed me where the brake and gas was. Instead of petals, it's on the handles. Similar to brakes on a bike. I can drive a car and ride a bike so this shouldn't be terribly difficult, right? I was a little nervous but he was watching me practice around the circular driveway for a few minutes before heading out to the field. After a couple times around, I got the hang of it. However, there was a small shallow pond and I didn't realize the ATV could drive through it so I stopped hard almost causing me to fall. Jimmie encouraged me to go through it so I did....slowly. I still avoided that section even when we started racing each other though. 

The family must of have bought the biggest package of fireworks cause there were so many! Sparklers, mini rockets, colorful smoke bombs, cannons just to name a few that I recognized. I have no idea the names of all of them. Jimmie and I lit a cannon and while it was pretty intimidating, it was really cool seeing the fireworks against the black sky. The kids were so impatient to light the fire works. When we got there around 6, they were already lighting the mini rockets and smoke bombs in the driveway. It was fun lighting those up with the kids. 

Overall, it was a great day to be an American!

Side note: First pic is of Flash the turtle trying to get out of his pen. SMH Always trying to make the great escape!