The last big driving day on this trip. After the usual American breakfast, I started up my beautiful Jeep Wrangler and went straight onto I-25 south towards Colorado Springs.

My first stop was Garden of the Gods. This public park is famous for its dramatic red sandstone formations with Pikes Peak as a backdrop. The best part? It’s free to visit. There are walking trails, climbing routes, scenic drives, and plenty of viewpoints. The most popular formations are Balanced Rock, the Kissing Camels, and Cathedral Spires. No wonder it’s a registered National Natural Landmark and one of the most iconic sights in Colorado.

I began with the Trading Post, a huge souvenir shop filled mostly with cheap imports from China, Bangladesh, and other low-price countries. Still, tucked away in the back, they had some local art and indigenous items. Nothing really grabbed me – except for a small Colorado sign with a bear for my travel wall.

From there I headed to parking lot 13, hoping to grab a geocache I need for a challenge. But the area was dull, and the walk too long in the heat. Back into the car and over to the main lot, number 2. This is where the real highlights are – the Central Trail with the best rock formations. There are even signs warning you to stay on the path because of rattlesnakes. Anyone want to try a shortcut? Not me.

After a nice walk, plenty of photos, and appreciating how well the area is developed, I drove on to my next destination: the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. These structures were originally built by the Ancestral Puebloans (often called Anasazi) in the Four Corners region and later relocated here in the early 1900s to preserve them. You can walk through the rooms, see how people once lived, and visit the museum with artifacts and cultural displays. Of course, there’s also a huge souvenir shop, though if you look carefully you can find some quality items.

Half the day was already gone, and I wanted a geocache above 3,000 meters. Yesterday I came just a few meters short, which annoyed me. The easiest option was on the road up to Pikes Peak, Colorado’s highest mountain at about 4,200 meters. I didn’t plan to go all the way up, but even part of the drive would have been enough.

The problem: the road costs money. I stopped at the entrance, looked up at the dark clouds, and checked the forecast – thunderstorms. Definitely not the right time to be on a high mountain. Did I just see a biker racing down on a road bike. Crazy! I decided to skip the cache and head to Manitou Springs instead.

Manitou Springs turned out to be the most touristy town I’ve seen so far. First, though, parking: $6.50 for two hours in a central spot – pirates! The main road is lined with shops, cafés, and restaurants. There’s even a store selling every kind of sign you can imagine. I don’t need any of it, but it was fun to walk around. Hwo needs any of the stuff like Bigfoot T-Shirts and all the Made in China crap?

By then it was already 3:00 p.m., and I finally sat down for lunch in a small restaurant with a Mexican-style bar menu. I ordered nachos with cheese and ground beef – delicious, but almost too much. My stomach kept reminding me about that for the rest of the day. Lunch was talking back to me.

Since it’s summer, I couldn’t resist an ice cream. My first and only one this year: a waffle cone with a single – but very generous – scoop of Dutch chocolate. At $7.50, it was big enough to count as two or three European scoops. Worth it. But was that smart after the lunch? Who cares!?

The Jeep also wanted something to drink, so I filled up at the next gas station. He grunted satisfied. 😀 As I turned around, I saw that I had made the right choice about Pikes Peak. The mountain was swallowed in black clouds, thunder rolled, the wind picked up, and raindrops started to fall.

I still needed three geocaches for my challenge. With lightning and thunder following me, I grabbed two of them by taking a detour around traffic on the Interstate. For the last one, I had to try three spots near the hotel. The first was at a construction site full of workers – impossible. The second took too long with multiple steps – I was to lazy. The third finally worked: a cache on top of a parking garage by a light rail station. Someone had cheated and rotated the sign it was hidden in, so I didn’t have to go through the whole process. Done! Only two caches left before I finish.

Back at the hotel, I skipped dinner – still full from nachos and ice cream. Just something to drink and some YouTube before bed. Later, I’ll have to calculate how many kilometers I’ve driven during this trip.