Last of the Vacation Photos, I Promise

After leaving Old Town Albuquerque late Sunday afternoon, we drove to Karen's home in Rio Rancho where we got to meet her family and see the backdrop for so many of her wonderful photos.  I absolutely loved her home...very southwestern.

From there we drove to Santa Fe where we had dinner in the historic downtown district.  Unfortunately it was night time and all I carried with me that evening was my Iphone so the photos are extremely less than spectacular.   Lynne, Catherine and I then spent the night in a wonderfully comfortable condo and made our way back to Colorado Springs on Monday morning.

A front had moved in over night and we woke to chilly temps.  Up until this point it had been in the 80s every day but that particular morning it was barely 50.  By the time we got to Colorado Springs, it was 40 degrees and rainy. Come late afternoon the rain had turned to snow!  I still find that so hard to fathom...snow in May.  Wow.  Like the typical Florida tourist that I was, I ran out and snapped some photos.
   

I had no idea that it could snow at anything over 32 degrees but apparently when you're 6000 feet above sea level, anything is possible.   It snowed for about an hour at which time it turned back into rain.  To give you an idea of just how much the higher elevations received....

Here is a photo of Pikes Peak taken from their backyard deck on the first day of my arrival.

And second one taken off the same deck on my final morning, the day after the snowfall.

Beautiful, isn't it?

We had one last excursion on the way to the airport...I needed to buy some Colorado Crap for Meg.  Lynne took us to the Garden of the Gods, a registered natural landmark located right in Colorado Springs.  Unfortunately we only had time for the gift shop (a wonderful gift shop I might add) but I did snap a few photos of the scenery.  This is one of my favorites.  Peeking just above the cloud line is a snow covered Pikes Peak.

Lynne then graciously drove Catherine and I back to the Denver Airport where we said our goodbyes and boarded planes for our respective states. While it was good to be home,  I missed them all immediately the next morning.  Thank you all for such a wonderful time!!!

In case you were wondering....Meg LOVED all of her goodies but I doubt she lets me leave her again any time soon.  She really, really missed me.  :-)