Exploring Colorado Springs & Helen Hunt Falls

 We thought it would be cool in the mountains, but it has been in the 90's the past few days.  There is definitely a difference in the humidity between here and  in Texas. When you are in the shade it's pretty comfortable.  We didn't do much over the weekend.  Jim watched the U.S. Open and I pretty much stayed on the computer working on genealogy.

Monday, we drove over to Garden of the Gods.  We went into the Visitor Center which was like a zoo.  There were so many people in there, we weren't sure why it was so crowded.  We decided to just drive through the park.  We know we'll be back and it was just too crowded and hot to get out.

Today,  we went to visit the North Cheyenne Canon Park with the Helen Hunt Falls being our primary destination.

We drove through the mountain walls with carved rocks and pine trees on each side of the road.

We continued to meander down the road until we reached the pull off for Helen Hunt Falls.  This was something else I found out about while reading Trip Adviser.  Someone wrote, why go to Seven Falls when you can go to Helen Hunt Falls for free.  

We climbed up to the bridge looking over the top of the falls and then continued up to the very top overlooking Silver Cascade Falls.  We followed the stream for awhile as we climbed to the top.

We continued the climb 

and reached another part of the stream. We stuck our feet in, the cold water felt great on this hot day.  There was only a trickle of water going over the Silver Cascade Falls.

 We reached the very top and snapped our pictures to prove we had made it.

Another gorgeous view!

 We spent awhile just taking in the view and then decided to make the trek back.  It's always easier going downhill. :)

We left the falls and it was time for lunch.  We found a picnic table nearby and even had guests!

A robin and scrub jay joined us.  

After lunch, we returned home to stay cool.  At one time, our outside thermometer read 101 degrees. Yikes, it's hot out there!  The good news is there is a front coming in tomorrow and the high is supposed to be 81.