A Break from the Road - Day 1

Happy 4th of July from Aurora,Colorado
Ed and I are experiencing a pleasant rest from our usual driving marathon.
Krystyna and Andrew are our hosts, tour guides, and drivers.
Today our destination was Colorado Springs, about 50 miles from Aurora. First stop, Garden of the Gods. Garden of the Gods is a free city park within the city of Colorado Springs. I was expecting a traditional garden - flowers, perhaps a few sculptures, maybe a pond and a few ducks. This was a garden unlike anything I had seen before. It is a group of magnificent sandstone rock formations. Many are over 300 million years old, sculpted through time by the forces of nature. We had left our home base under cloudy skies, but by the time we had reached the garden the sun was out and it was a very comfortable 75F.
Next stop lunch. Our hosts were very excited for us to see the Broadmoor Hotel. It is a destination 5 star resort, much like the Empress Hotel in Victoria. It is nestled under the mountains, complete with its own golf course and tennis courts. The hotel is spread out over several acres with an artificial lake in the centre. In one of the lobbys are several photographs displaying a Who's Who of famous celebrities, politicians and sports figures who have stayed at the resort. For lunch I enjoyed a Cobb salad, which I beleive is from California, but I thought it a good choice of American cuisine and Ed had the grilled salmon sandwich on sourdough.
After lunch and a stroll around the lake we were off to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings.The Manitou cliff dwellings are located in Manitou Springs, Colorado, at the foot of Pikes Peak. (Pikes Peak is the mountain that provided the inspiration for the writing of, America the Beautiful.) The Manitou Cliff Dwellings were built in their present location in the early 1900s, as a tourist attraction. The building stones were taken from a collapsed Anasazi site in southwest Colorado, shipped hundreds of miles to Manitou Springs, and assembled in their present form as Anasazi-style buildings.
Heading home our blue skies turned very dark and ominious. Soon we were seeing lightening in the distance and huge drops of rain began to fall.
Our 4th of July celebrations this evening are relatively quiet - with the exception of the natural light and sound show being put on by Mother Nature. The rain has returned and it is hard to tell the difference between the loud bangs outside made by fireworks being set off by the neighbours and the loud claps of thunder.
This holiday we are not only experiencing many different places, people and accomodations, but also weather.
If variety is the spice of life we are becoming well-seasoned.