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| Our tour guide, Chaise |
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| These are the two sink holes that the two boys found |
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| This is the original light bulb of Edison |
After our tour we all went into the gift shop to get some goodies!!!! Our cave photo was up on the screen all day. We all thought that was pretty cool. 
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| Pepper got a cool rock and Asher said his souvenir was a Dr. Pepper hahahah |
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| Taj got a shark rock thing and Graham got a switch blade |
Then we ate lunch in their beautiful lodge full of windows. Next to the cave they have all these cool activities to do. They have a ropes course, climbing wall, a step up ladder thing and a zip line. Asher is still in no shape to do any of them so I sat out with him. Scotty and I had just as much fun taking pictures of the kids being brave. I was so impressed with Taj and Pepper. They were both scared on the ropes course but they still did it all. Graham was so helpful and encouraging to them. At one point Taj said that he wasn't going to do the rope thing and Graham yelled to him, "Hey Taj, If you do it I'll buy you an ice cream". Without thinking, Taj was out on the rope crossing it. hahahah. The power of ice cream!! 
All 6 of us did the zip line because it was fine for Asher to do. It was really fun!!! 
After cave of the Winds, we were all tired. We were going to go back home but then some how we all thought it would be a good idea to drive up to Pikes Peak. It takes no energy to drive. And, the entrance was seriously like one mile from us. When we started up the mountain we looked at our gas tank. It showed that we had 60 miles left in it. The road up to the summit is only 19 miles. So logically, we had enough gas. .. . . right??? Nope. As we ascended higher and higher our gas tank got lower and lower. Our altitude went from 8,000 feet to 14,000 feet. By the time we reached the top we had 2 miles left in our tank. OOOPS. 
The drive was absolutely beautiful. I have fallen in love with Colorado. . . . in the summer :)
We got out and the top, took pictures, ate donuts from the visitors center, and enjoyed the cold:) 
After we enjoyed the beauty and insane views, we knew we had to figure out how to get down the mountain with 2 miles of gas left. The first thing we did before pulling out was a family prayer. We knew that we needed a miracle here and we asked Heavenly Father to help us. Then we drove off. Scotty put the truck in neutral but even with the truck in neutral, we were at 0 miles in no time, coasting down the mountain. 
After only 4 miles there was a brake check stop for all vehicles. The lady there checked our brakes and said that they were way too hot to proceed. She said that she had gas to sell but it wasn't diesel. We have to have diesel. So we pulled over and sat there thinking, praying and waiting for the brakes to cool. I looked at my map that showed the closest gas station. It was 18 miles and 35 minutes away. I knew that there was no way we could have made it without totally ruining our truck. So what now?????? We were stuck. We totally knew that the higher in altitude you go the more gas you use but we seriously thought we were OK. NOPE. As we were pondering on what to do, sitting there in a parking space, I looked over and heard a guy saying that his jeep broke down and a tow truck was going to come up to get him. My thought was maybe the tow truck would have diesel gas. So Scotty went over to talk to the guy. The guy said that the tow truck actually can't make it up on time. That option wasn't going to work out. Then after about 15 minutes of praying and talking to other people, trying to figure out what to do, a diesel truck came down the mountain and was in line for his brake check. I watched Scotty walk over to the truck and ask the guy if he had any extra diesel gas with him. I couldn't hear the guys reply but I saw him pull forward and park. Scotty yelled at me with hope in his voice, "He has extra diesel"!!!!! I almost started crying. I want you all to meet Bradford. 
Bradford carries a lot of extra diesel. He sold us enough gas to get us down the mountain and to a gas station to fill up. He was sent to us by Heavenly Father. We were so grateful. You always hear of the Bible parable about the 10 virgins and 5 of them not having enough oil. Well, we were one of those 5 today. Bradford was so funny. He said that there was a sign at the entrance that said that you have to have at least a half tank of gas to do this drive. How on earth did we miss it??? I don't know but we did. Lots of lessons learned here. First, don't let you gas tank go under half a tank - spiritually - don't let your spirituality fall to half power. Second, look for the warning signs and follow them - spiritually- Heavenly Father gives us warnings and commandments in the scriptures, we need to see them and follow them. Third, when you mess up, look for help. And if you are on the other side of it - look for those that you can help - spiritually - When we sin, Christ has already atoned for our sins so we can repent and be forgiven.
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| Crystal Lake |
Before we left to drive down the mountain, we said another family prayer of thanks. We thanked God for sending us Bradford and for His mercy in a time that we needed it. Then we proceeded down the gorgeous yet unforgiving mountain. We arrived home safe with grateful hearts. Our new theme for Pikes Peak is Got Gas???
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| Pepper took a Pano in the car ;) |
I bought a zip drive from Cave of the Winds and it had all these pictures on it. It is really such a beautiful place. Enjoy!!! 
After our tour we all went into the gift shop to get some goodies!!!! Our cave photo was up on the screen all day. We all thought that was pretty cool. 
Then we ate lunch in their beautiful lodge full of windows. Next to the cave they have all these cool activities to do. They have a ropes course, climbing wall, a step up ladder thing and a zip line. Asher is still in no shape to do any of them so I sat out with him. Scotty and I had just as much fun taking pictures of the kids being brave. I was so impressed with Taj and Pepper. They were both scared on the ropes course but they still did it all. Graham was so helpful and encouraging to them. At one point Taj said that he wasn't going to do the rope thing and Graham yelled to him, "Hey Taj, If you do it I'll buy you an ice cream". Without thinking, Taj was out on the rope crossing it. hahahah. The power of ice cream!! 
After only 4 miles there was a brake check stop for all vehicles. The lady there checked our brakes and said that they were way too hot to proceed. She said that she had gas to sell but it wasn't diesel. We have to have diesel. So we pulled over and sat there thinking, praying and waiting for the brakes to cool. I looked at my map that showed the closest gas station. It was 18 miles and 35 minutes away. I knew that there was no way we could have made it without totally ruining our truck. So what now?????? We were stuck. We totally knew that the higher in altitude you go the more gas you use but we seriously thought we were OK. NOPE. As we were pondering on what to do, sitting there in a parking space, I looked over and heard a guy saying that his jeep broke down and a tow truck was going to come up to get him. My thought was maybe the tow truck would have diesel gas. So Scotty went over to talk to the guy. The guy said that the tow truck actually can't make it up on time. That option wasn't going to work out. Then after about 15 minutes of praying and talking to other people, trying to figure out what to do, a diesel truck came down the mountain and was in line for his brake check. I watched Scotty walk over to the truck and ask the guy if he had any extra diesel gas with him. I couldn't hear the guys reply but I saw him pull forward and park. Scotty yelled at me with hope in his voice, "He has extra diesel"!!!!! I almost started crying. I want you all to meet Bradford. 
Bradford carries a lot of extra diesel. He sold us enough gas to get us down the mountain and to a gas station to fill up. He was sent to us by Heavenly Father. We were so grateful. You always hear of the Bible parable about the 10 virgins and 5 of them not having enough oil. Well, we were one of those 5 today. Bradford was so funny. He said that there was a sign at the entrance that said that you have to have at least a half tank of gas to do this drive. How on earth did we miss it??? I don't know but we did. Lots of lessons learned here. First, don't let you gas tank go under half a tank - spiritually - don't let your spirituality fall to half power. Second, look for the warning signs and follow them - spiritually- Heavenly Father gives us warnings and commandments in the scriptures, we need to see them and follow them. Third, when you mess up, look for help. And if you are on the other side of it - look for those that you can help - spiritually - When we sin, Christ has already atoned for our sins so we can repent and be forgiven. 
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