A Fun Weekend

So this past Friday Andre’s cousin Kayeloni came down to the Springs and we had ourselves some adventure. We went to a place called Itz down by the movie theatre on Powers and North Carefree. I wasn’t really sure what to expect and was a little worried it would be for young kids. It turned out to be a good mix, it is very similar to Dave and Busters but with a pizza buffet.

We each paid 20$ which included unlimited soda, pizza, pasta, salad, desert, and one hour of unlimited playtime for the games. I was incredibly lucky and won the jackpot on like five different machines, which left me with like a bazillion tickets. At first I was excited about what I could get with the tickets, but I ended up walking out of the prize store with a penguin on a stick.

It was fun, I would do it again.

Saturday we woke up and went miniature golfing. It was blazing hot, we all felt like we were melting, but it was still fun. We went to Hitt’s Mini Golf, which is a great deal it’s only two bucks per game, all day every day (just remember to bring cash). Andre beat everyone badly. (We are pretty sure he practices mini golf while everyone is sleeping).
Because of the heat we only played one game, and then decided to go swimming at Villa. However, as soon as I had changed into my swim suit the weather dropped a good 40 degrees and it was raining.

We then decided to go rock climbing at Sport Climbing Center. I was once an avid climber but in recent years gravity has gotten the best of me. Anyways, Kayeloni had never been and I am trying to get someone to climbing at Garden of the Gods with me so I wanted her to try it out. She did good, but definitely has a fear of heights just like the rest of the Johnson’s (excluding myself). Pierre and Andre would make great climbers if they could get over the whole vertigo thing.

Anyhoot we all had an awesome time, and I’m hoping to get a climbing pass to sport climbing center some time this summer ;)

I have two videos. One of mini golfing, and one of rock climbing.

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Thursday we went up to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. We usually end up going to the zoo about once a year. I personally think that this zoo has much better exhibits than the Denver and Pueblo zoos. The giraffe exhibit is probably the best, you can easily feed and pet as many giraffes as you want. The zoo is on a steep mountain so if you are severely out of shape you might want to visit the flat and square Denver zoo.

Andre and I were able to see all of the animals and exhibits in less than three hours, it was a really hot day, but we got a refillable drink and we were good to go. We had a lot of fun and most of the animals were actually doing something not just sleeping or lying around. I got a lot of great pictures and made a video that has footage of all the cool animals that were on exhibit.

Horseback Riding 6/11/2010

Friday I woke up early ( 6 AM ☹ ) to go horseback riding. I had not been in a while because Angela (the person with the horses) had hurt her back a few months ago. I met Angela on Craigslist a few years ago and had originally started taking riding lessons from her, when I stopped she started inviting me on trail rides which has been awesome.

Angela has three horses and a pony along with a trailer to haul them around in, so we have been riding all over Colorado. Friday we went to a local trail in Black Forest that is about 5 miles in length. I rode Comet, which is her white Arabian, she rode Seirra who is a mix of Draft horse, her 9 year old daughter rode the Pony/Horse Emit, and Jackie rode the Quarter Horse/Appaloosa mix Seattle.

It was a lot of fun; I had really missed riding and was glad to be back on the trail again. After the first time around Angela and her daughter Alexia stopped at the trailer to take care of some of the horses, but Jackie and I took Comet and Sierra out on the trail again. We made great time, trotting and cantering most of the way so the loop did not take us long.

I tried getting some pictures and video of riding but it was pretty difficult. I got some footage of trotting and walking but I couldn’t get any of cantering because I probably would have died trying. I did manage to make a video, but some parts are a bit shaky and you might get seasick watching.

Water World!

Thursday 6/10/10 Andre, Pierre, Monique and myself headed up to Denver to use the free Water World tickets Andre won from Atmel. We somehow timed everything perfectly, brought our cooler full of lunch and drinks and paid for a locker so everything went smoothly. The nice thing about Water World is that the parking is always free and you are welcome to bring in outside food so you don’t have to overpay for lunch like at Elitches.

We got into the park right as it opened claimed a table with our cooler, put our stuff in a locker and headed out for the rides! We made incredible time and had finished most of the rides/slides in the park before lunch. After some sandwiches, drinks, and oatmeal cream pies we headed back out to finish up what was left in the park.

The weather was great for a water park, although it could have been a little less cloudy at times. We all had a lot of fun, and I walked away with only minimal injuries :). Afterwards we had a delicious dinner with everyone back in the Springs at Rock Bottom Brewery.

Mt. Cutler Trail

I went hiking today with my younger sister Cynthia; we drove down towards Helen Hunt Falls to hike the Mt. Cutler Trail. This trail is fairly short only about 2.5 miles for the entire thing but there is a high gain in elevation. There were some decent views of Seven Falls and the Shrine. The trail is clearly marked, but somehow we managed to get lost trying to get back. We eventually found the actual trail and made it back to the car.

It was a nice day, a little overcast so it wasn’t too hot. If you are ever in the area and want to see seven falls without having to pay $10 a person simply hike up the Mt. Cutler Trailhead and you won’t be disappointed.

Eleven Mile Reservoir and Canyon

Today we went fishing. It was an adventure to say the least. We left early in the morning and headed up to Eleven Mile Reservoir. When we got there we were disturbed to see the large amount of bugs flying around. It was unrealistic, none of us had ever seen anything like it… it was almost like a horror movie. We decided to park and make a run for the lake; Andre and I couldn’t make it, after about 20 bugs in the mouth we ran back to the car and sat in our enclosure while watching the swarms through the windows.

The rest of his family somehow made it out to the lake, they called us via cell phone to tell us there weren’t as many bugs near the water. Reluctantly we made it to the shore and even though there were still a ridiculous amount of bugs we did a little bit of fishing. There were HUGE fish here they were at least two feet long, but they weren’t interested in our bait. (Probably because of the smorgasbord of bugs that was available)

Shortly after we began fishing I cast my line out and the wind blew the hook into Justins (Moniques boyfriend) arm. It was slightly severe, the hook went all the way in and we could not pull it back out which resulted in us creating another hole in his arm and pushing it through. I felt really terrible as I had never hooked someone before, but Justin took it like a man and didn’t make it a big deal.

At this point the wind had died down a bit which meant the swarms were all over, and there was no escaping. We literally had to drag Pierre away from the giant fish that he so desperately wanted to catch and we drove down a canyon to a picnic table. After a bug free lunch, we decided to try Eleven Mile Canyon where there was a nice river. At first we were disappointed because we didn’t see any fish… then we hit the jackpot.

Pierre, Andre and I came across a still pool filled with about twenty or so trout, ranging from a foot to two feet. We were extremely excited… until hours had passed and we had literally tried every single type of bait in our tackle box. None of us ended up catching anything, but I have been learning more about fishing online, hopefully we will have better luck next time!

Also there is a clip in my video where you can kind of see all the bugs we had to deal with.

Queens Canyon Part II

So we went back to Queens Canyon in Glen Eyrie today. This time we took Andre’s parents Cathy and Yancy and Pierre came too. It was an overcast day but it was perfect, not too hot, and not too cold. The last time we went we didn’t understand that you had to go past the trail to get to the waterfall and the punchbowls and we thought we were heading towards nothing. This time we were determined to see everything.

The trail is fairly short; we crossed the river several times and quickly made it to the waterfall. We were very close the last time we went, but the waterfall was really pretty and we got some great pictures. We did a little bit of scrambling and went to the top of the waterfall where we found another trail. We weren’t really sure what the “punchbowls” were but we kept following the trail and eventually came to three pools.

The trail was a bit hazardous in spots with loose footing on the river, but thankfully no one got hurt. At the punchbowls the rocks were extremely slick and most of us had wet shoes which made it worse. Andre and Yancy tried getting across the three pools but the rocks were far to slippery and Yancy fell in the second punchbowl. Overall we had a lot of fun, and this has now become one of my favorite trails. We also saw some great wild life; several bighorn sheep, giant birds, turkeys, lizards, and lots of butterflies.

I made an epic video that you can watch here

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Waldo Canyon

Today I went hiking with Cassie at Waldo Canyon. This is my favorite local hike; it’s very long, over eight miles but a very pretty, scenic, empty and relaxing hike. I’ve never been to the trailhead parking lot and had a problem with parking (even on Saturdays). In fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than 10 people on the entire hike.

If you take highway 24 about a mile past the stoplight for Cave of the Winds you will see a parking lot on the right hand side of the road. When you park you will see a clearly marked sign that reads “Pike National Forest Trailhead Waldo Canyon”, so you’ll know you are in the right spot. The trail is very clearly marked; although it is very long, the hike is easy and only moderate in some spots.

The trail starts out near the road but you are quickly guided away from it and you will hike over two miles to “the loop”. When you reach the loop you’ll see a sign that says < Waldo Canyon Loop 3 ½ miles >. I’ve always gone left; I feel the trail is more enjoyable this way. Anyways, after turning left at the sign you are taken through a pretty valley and over a couple of streams. There are usually lots of purple flowers and purple butterflies to match on this part of the trail.

Eventually the trail starts to incline again and you gain a decent amount of elevation as you approach the center of the loop. Shortly after hiking back to the top you are rewarded with some very beautiful views of Pikes Peak. As you continue down the loop you also start to see views of a canyon. When the loop ends you simply take the same 2.5 mile route back to the parking lot.

I have seen lots of wildlife at Waldo; today I saw some lizards and lots of angry squirrelss. However, the last time I went I saw a herd of about twenty deer that were literally on the trail in front of me. Some parts of the valley seem like a great place for a mountain lion but I have yet to see one… anywhere but the zoo …
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