Happy Friday!!!
Honestly, I can’t believe that’s it’s already Friday. What have I been doing?!? Haha oh well, two more days to enjoy!
Today I wanted to re-cap my hike in Cheyenne Mountain State Park! I know some of you may be interested after an instagram picture I posted… haha.
On my way out to Cheyenne Mountain State Park, I drove through Garden of the Gods (for the millionth time… this is like my backyard here and I love it). As I was driving I saw a small crowd gathered so I parked, hopped out, and got to see these guys!
How cool is that?
Then it was off to Cheyenne Mountain State Park! Cheyenne Mountain is a smaller mountain in Colorado Springs but has soooo much cool stuff, especially for kids and tourists (The Zoo, The Broadmoor Hotel, many parks, etc), oh and the Air Force base… but I don’t think I can go there? Aaaaanyway, I’d never been to this park (that I remember) and saw online that they had tons of trails, so I could pick based on how far I wanted to go.
After speaking with the Ranger inside the visitors center, I picked a path that would take me about 4.5-5 miles and then headed out. Unfortunately I was greeted with this sign:
I legitimately almost turned around.
Did anyone else read Laura Ingles Wilder books? Well there was one where her father was stalked by a panther, and seriously ever since then I am SO FREAKED OUT by mountain lions (the present day version of panthers).
I hoped the sign was overly cautious and tried to put the potential for attack in the back of my mind. So glad I did because the hike was gorgeous! By the way, they had a lot of informational signs throughout the trail area, and there was one for black bears and another for mountain lions that said if they attack to “fight back”… Seriously?!? I think I know who would win that one… Me. HA.
It wasn’t too much of an incline, so great for families (and an adorable older couple I passed!) but enough of a challenge that I enjoyed it. I love getting “lost” in the woods. I came upon one area that was a field of boulders inside the forest and seriously felt like I was in another world:
The pictures do it no justice.
After a while I came upon this big rock on a ledge with a tree growing on it. My first thought was: “I bet a lot of people try and climb that. Stupid, I’m sure it’s dangerous.”
As I got closer… “I’m totally climbing that.” (don’t worry, it was pretty easy to climb up there).
Ta Da! So glad I did! I felt like a little kid, like an adventurer!
You could even see Kansas! Well… maybe…
Another cool thing I discovered (okay, my friend Caroline showed it to me but I just finally tried it) was the panorama feature on my iPhone! You just click options when you’re trying to take a picture and you can take a panorama shot!
How cool is that?
My hike was a lot of fun, and I also ended up jogging bits of it (I get impatient on the way back, especially the downhill and flat parts), and loved that I only came across a few other hikers.
And now what you’ve all actually been waiting for… the Ellie GIVEAWAY WINNER!!
The winner is….
Michelle at Eat, Move, Balance!
Congratulations, Michelle! Just send me an e-mail (peaceloveandoats@gmail.com) with your mailing address and I’ll get the outfit to you ASAP!
Have you ever tried the panorama feature? Haha is this just new to me?
Are you a fan of hiking? Do you ever go solo?
Ever seen a bear or mountain lion in the wold? I’ve only come across deer…