Spending a Summer in the springs

Shortly before leaving for Paris, Justin received news that he had been offered a summer internship in Colorado Springs.  It was one that he was happy to accept, despite the fact that it started just a couple of weeks after the Paris trip.  We had arrived home late Friday night from France, and left again Sunday afternoon to drive to Orem to do make-up drills with the company.  Justin stayed there for an additional week, participating in a military exercise.  Vivian and I returned to Logan to pack the house for the move to a little apartment we'd successfully secured, sight unseen, on extremely short notice, (and we are grateful to have it.)


After a short deliberation I announced to Justin that I felt no need to make a big production of this move.  We're double renting right now, so he agreed to my proposal to bring only an air mattress, a card table, and some camping chairs to serve as our summer furnishings.  This was a decision that we do not regret.

Justin arrived home the day before the move and loaded both cars with our stuff.  We left the next day for Laramie, Wyoming.  I was still very sick, so we thought it best to make it a two-day trip.  Laramie turned out to be about as great as I've always envisioned it being, and I can't say that I wished that we had time to linger.  Then again, perhaps I'm being unfairly harsh since I spent a large portion of the night there throwing up.  The drive the next morning into Colorado Springs was similarly miserable.  Once inside our new apartment, I found the air mattress, but not the pump, but was too sick to care.  I laid down on the uninflated bed while Justin lugged everything in by himself.

Two days later it was Memorial Day and I rallied a little bit to try and get out and explore our new surroundings.  We drove out to Manitou Springs and spent just enough time there to be somewhat unimpressed, and finished the day with a short hike to Helen Hunt Falls, a waterfall that was weirdly more impressive from below than above, but it was great to just be outside again, and Colorado Springs is beautiful!

At a park that we stopped at in Manitou Springs

Justin and Vivian playing hide-and-go-seek in the park

Vivian Prepping for the hike to Helen Hunt Falls

The above view of the falls

At the bottom of the falls

A week after that Vivian and I made another trip to Utah and back for drill, which produced a series of complaints from me about why I can't just be allowed to be home while I am sick and miserable during this pregnancy.  My wish was finally granted, but Justin's enthusiasm for being out and about each free Saturday is contagious.  Our first big outing was supposed to be to Twin Lakes, but I got horribly sick and talked Justin into cutting the trip short and visiting Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument instead.

Petrified Redwood stumps make up most of what there is to see there.

Vivian thought the dirt was the best part.

The following Saturday the morning sickness was finally beginning to subside and we made another more successful go at Twin Lakes.  First, however, we decided to visit the National Mining Museum in Leadville.  To my own irritation I determined that it probably wasn't going to be all that interesting, and I left our camera in the car..  It was such a mistake!  The museum is full of rock and mineral samples that Vivian bored of quickly once she realized that she wouldn't be touching anything behind glass.  There were also a series of life-size mine shafts from different types of mines.  These actually freaked her out a little, but Justin and I were fascinated and impressed.  Then there was a home where you walk through and it shows how many different items contain minerals.  We didn't even make it to the top floor because our time was running short.  If you ever find yourself in Leadville, Colorado though...

We returned to Twin Lakes and went on a short little hike that ran along the shoreline.  It was very easy, and beautiful.

Predictably, Vivian's favorite part was the dirt.

Our pictures really can't quite capture it.

I guess that I overdid it a little though, since our excursion ended that night with me, once again, throwing up, this time in the apartment parking lot.  At least it was at the end of the trip, and the trip was definitely still worth it.