The last week of May, my husband and I were blessed to have been able to go on a little trip. Just the 2 of us. In the 20 years (Oct.3rd), that we have been married, we have never taken a trip with just the two of us. We have always had the kids with us. Our youngest two have never even stayed away with others, without one of us always being their with them. So when this opportunity arrived, we took it and said this would be our anniversary trip. It was also the first time that I had ever flown. I have always been afraid of heights, but I truly loved flying in a plane and look forward to doing it again. 
We were blessed to have been able to take a trip west to Golden, CO. This is a beautiful little town at the foot of the Rockies. We stayed in a beautiful hotel called The Golden Hotel. The view from the room was amazing. I couldn’t wait to get to exploring around the area. 
One of the first places we went was to the Buffalo Bill’s Museum and Grave. I love history, especially that of the Old West. So to be able to go see where Buffalo Bill and his family were buried and to see a place dedicated to his life, was awesome! 
Once we left Buffalo Bill’s Museum, we just rode around looking at the different views. It is so amazing how the Rocky mountains are so different than the Appalachian Mountains. We rode to the Red Rocks Amphitheater. While we didn’t get to go into the amphitheater seating area (they were having a graduation), we did get to see the visitor center and walk around the outside of it. It is gorgeous there! I would LOVE to go back and walk the trails around the area, as well as see a concert in the amphitheater. The pictures I took with my phone does not do this place any justice.
Another cool place that my husband and I went to was The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. It is one of the largest urban refuges in the United States. It has over 330 different species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and amphibians. The story about how this refuge came about is truly amazing. The U.S. Army had built this area as a chemical weapons manufacturing facility after japan bombed Pearl Harbor, to support the war effort. After the war was over, the land was then leased to the Shell Chemical Company for agricultural chemicals. Then the Arsenal was then used for Cold War weapons production and demilitarization. For the rest of the story of who started cleaning up and how they did it, go to the Arsenal’s site.
While we were at the visitor center at the Arsenal Wildlife Refuge, we saw prairie dogs! I had never seen one before and we saw close to 100 or more running across the plains. God’s creations are amazing! I wish we could have gotten a good picture of live ones close up, but they were too quick for us.
This picture was taken at their museum they have set up. One day, I am hoping to go back so I can take my kids. They have tours of the who area and you can see the mule deer and bison roaming on the prairie. I know they will love seeing this!
I thought I had better split this up into two posts. It was like we were on a field trip. I took around 700 pictures and can’t wait to tell you about the trip to Mt. Evans and show you the views from 14,000 ft.
Until then… 🙂
