Day 7 & 8: Leadville and Colorado Springs

On the morning of July 6, I woke up early, packed up camp and got back on the Independence Pass to head to Leadville, CO.  It was only a few hours on the road and when I arrived I grabbed some breakfast at a neat little cafe.  Afterwards, I wandered around the town and visited a nice little camping store, where I purchased my JetBoil stove!  I only spent about an hour and a half in Leadville and then hopped back on the road.  My friend, Leonie, told me about a place called "Garden of the Gods" that was on my way to Colorado Springs, and was a welcome break from the road.  The place somewhat reminded me of Arches and it was beautiful.  I wandered around the park for a little while and snapped some pictures.    

After a few hours at Garden of the Gods, the weather started to look pretty ugly, so I hit the road to find a campground outside of Colorado Springs.  First I tried the KOA...full.  Then I went to one of the state parks....full.  Luckily, the lady at the state park told me to check out Golden Eagle campground and they had plenty of room!  As I pulled into the campground, I caught a break in the rain, which gave me just enough time to get my tent set up.  After about 30 more minutes of rain, the weather cleared and I had a chance to try out my brand new Jet Boil stove!  It was super easy to use and I was so glad not to be eating Goldfish for dinner again!  

The next morning I woke up early, packed up camp and headed up one of the local trails.  No fancy names for this trail...it was just called Trail #2.  

Gorgeous views!

After my hike I drove up to the United States Air Force Academy and toured around it for a while and then I visited the Olympic Training Facility.  Both were quite impressive.

The chapel is one of the most amazing buildings I've ever seen!

After several hours of exploring, I headed east to find another campground.  I didn't quite make it to the Kansas border, but I was close.  I ended up staying at a KOA site (way more expensive than it should be! $28 for this tiny patch of ground and a place to park, haha).  It's still cheaper than a hotel and way more fun too!  

The next morning I packed up all of my stuff and hit the road to my new home, Kansas City, Missouri!  It was a long 9 hours in the car, but tomorrow you can also read about one of the highlights of the trip...it involves prairie dogs!