Day 3 started with a beautiful mountain sunrise (pic from our bed) up the hill from Silverthorne. I wanted to hike the trail to the Lily Pad Pond that was within walking distance of our condo and was recommended by our host. I was told it was a “5 minute hike” but what we discovered was that it was a 5 minute hike to the starting point! Almost 2 hours later we returned, still unprepared, but satisfied that we accomplished a significant hike. Later in the day we headed toward Idaho Springs, hiked to St. Mary’s glacier, enjoyed a mountain pie at Beau Joes and drove over the continental divide.
Day 2 involved a shot of coffee after the warm, sticky night at the Limon Super 8. Reminder – do not stay there! We left Limon for the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs and arrived early enough we could park in a parking spot in front of the building. After touring the visitor center we hiked the area to see what there is to see (sidebar: we were here last year as well). From there we trekked up Pikes Peak by Acura as far as they would let us drive and the remainder of the way by school bus. The bighorn sheep were beside the road to greet us. Much construction was still in process at the top but we were able to tour the new visitor center and see the tram landing.
Day 1 was a travel day from KC to Limon, CO. We try and make the best of western Kansas and eastern Colorado so we thought we’d start our tourism at the Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park. We did eventually make it to the Colorado border and eventually Limon and ended the day with ice cream at the local ice cream parlor. Ryan learned sunflowers also grow in Colorado and the Super 8 in Limon leaves much to be desired, including AC.
A tv show has made the city famous, shiplap is standard décor and the silos is the place to be. Last week we took a couple days off and went on a road trip to Waco, Texas, home of the Baylor Bears and Chip and Joanna Gaines. I had been wanting to go see the Magnolia hype for some time now and we were in need of a getaway. So what did we all do? Thursday we arrived and checked out the downtown area and a couple of shops.
Friday we began our Magnolia tour with a stop at Magnolia Press coffee shop, then walked the grounds of the Silos, stopping in at the shops, church, garden house and the bakery. Since it was rainy and cooler, a drive to McGregor took us to the Magnolia House and Carriage House they renovated into vacation rentals. We made some stops at a couple antique stores along the highway, seeing what we could find. We wanted to be outside so we headed to the Waco Mammoth National Monument, a location where over 20 mammoths have been discovered, many of these were females and their young.
Saturday started with a trip to Magnolia Table (had to wait about 40 minutes) for breakfast and it was delicious. We’d booked a Fixer Upper tour for late morning, which did not disappoint. Our tour guide was fantastic, showing us properties bought by the Gaines’, several houses they’ve featured on Fixer Upper and some Waco history. There are several of the homes that are now listed on Airbnb and we got to walk around one of them (Three Little Pigs house). With stops at The Little Shop on Bosque, the original store, and Harp Design Co., the tour ended up being an hour longer than it was scheduled. Saturday afternoon was spent outside and driving around, with an evening walk around the Baylor University campus.
On Sunday, we made the trek back to Kansas but not without some purchases including baked goods and home décor. Now when we watch Fixer Upper we recognize some of the places we saw. It may have been cloudy and rainy the majority of the time we were there but still had a enjoyed the long weekend getaway.
