The Adventures of Bushwhack Jack: Jack and Amy's 2019 Colorado Vacation

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Jack and Amy's 2019 Colorado Vacation - Day 3

Jack and Amy's 2019 Colorado Vacation

Day 3

Monday, May 27th, 2019

Amy and Me with Pikes Peak behind us

During our short stay in Colorado, I never really got off Eastern Time, so I was up by 4:30am each day. Since Amy likes to sleep in, I took off on my own for a few hours to hopefully capture a sunrise from the Garden of the Gods.

There was not much of a sunrise, but there was still some nice early morning light and no crowds!

Garden of the Gods at Sunrise

One of many Deer that inhabit the Garden of the Gods

Looking through the Belly of the Siamese Twins at Pikes Peak

Garden of the Gods

The Siamese Twins - Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods Sunrise

Shortly after Sunrise, I met back up with Amy, we had a nice breakfast at The Pantry in Green Mountain Falls and hit the road for a few more sights!

Horsethief Falls was next. This hike is about 3.0 miles out and back (1.5 miles each way) with about 600 feet of elevation gain. I was really surprised by the amount of snow on the trail and covering the waterfall.

Horsethief Falls

From Horsethief Falls, we decided to drive Gold Camp Road back towards the Colorado Springs area. We were a bit disappointed by the amount of trash, graffiti, and vandalism along this road. But there were still quite a few scenic spots to enjoy. Including the short hike up Saint Peters Dome!

Jack and Amy Selfie at the Saint Peters Dome Trailhead

Saint Peters dome can be seen right next to my head

view from Saint Peters Dome

Saint Peters Dome Panorama

View of Saint Peters dome from an unnamed rocky outcrop

Up next was the North Cheyenne Canyon area to check out Helen Hunt Falls and Silver Cascade Falls. Helen Hunt Falls is very nice, but very touristy since it is right next to the road. According to Amy, Silver Cascade Falls was not worth the climb! I would agree! However, there is a nice view point from the top.

Helen Hunt Falls

Silver Cascade Falls

Amy and Jack Selfie at the top of Silver Cascade Falls

view from the top of Silver Cascade Falls

Amy and Me at the top of Silver Cascade Falls

Amy was ready for some Kindle time, so I decided to hike up to the summit of Mount Cutler. It's about a 2.0 mile out and back hike (1.0 mile each way) with about 600 feet of elevation gain to the summit of Mount Cutler.

view of Seven Falls from Mount Cutler

view from Mount Cutler

Mount Cutler Panorama

view from Mount Cutler

We had a nice early dinner and returned back to our rental cottage. Amy was ready for a little relaxation, while I decided to hike some of the trails of Green Mountain Falls. This quaint little town has a really nice trail system. However, the waterfalls were less than impressive!

Catamount Falls

Along the Thomas Trail

view from the Thomas Trail

Crystal Falls

Lots of small low flow waterfalls like this one.

I didn't bother taking photos of most of them

A cute Canadian Family

Cute Chick

You don't see a whole lotta signs like this in the Carolinas!

Later that evening, Amy and I decided to head back to Garden of the Gods for Sunset! Our little sunset hike around the Garden of the Gods was definitely one of the highlights of our stay in Colorado!