I love Sundays.......

On Thursday 23rd Feb, Stu got to go on an excursion to WinterPark with some of the kids from his school.  He and Jakeb drove up there together and when the kids left, were able to stay on and do some snowboarding.

 Jakeb on his way down and Stuart getting set to take on the mountains.

Every Saturday Stu and the boys go snowboarding, this weekend it was at Copper Mountain,

so Sunday's are the one day Stuart and I go off on our own and explore...and so far we have been treated with some great sights.  Last weekend we drove to Colorado Springs and found a place called Garden of the Gods...a National Natural Landmark of which there are 13 in Colorado. The name of the park dates back to August 1859 when two surveyors helping to set up nearby Colorado City were exploring the nearby areas. Upon discovering the site, one of the surveyors, M. S. Beach, suggested that it would be a "capital place for a beer garden" His companion, the young Rufus Cable, awestruck by the impressive rock formations, exclaimed, "Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods." The beer garden never materialized, but the name stuck.

The colours were amazing and reminded us of the Kimberley and Pilbara with a bit of snow thrown in.

 Balancing Rock with snow.   The white snow on the red rock is a beautiful mix.

On Monday night Jen, Stu, Jakeb and Joshuah went to the Pepsi Centre in Denver to watch the Denver Nuggets take on the LA Lakers.  It was a great game and the skill of these guys is amazing....and the entertainment was fantastic too. Denver Nuggets won which helped!

Morgan was also there with about 60 students from his Uni, so we got to catch up with him as well which was great!

One of the LA Lakers, Kobe Bryant (No. 24) is apparently the best player in the US at the moment.  He was pretty impressive to watch, even though he was on the losing team.

Tuesday night is date night for Jen and Stu.  At home, every Tuesday meant Stu was at Army, so this year we are making the most of him not having to parade.  The cinema down the road charges $5 each to go to the movies on a Tuesday, so we're seeing a movie each week followed by a meal out....it is so cheap....we had a delicious meal and beer for $30...so all up $40!  I'm a cheap date!! Outside the cinema is a fire pit and table and chairs, so Stu insisted I take a photo of him with his feet ankle deep in snow!  It was bloody freezing!!

This Sunday we decided to head up to Wyoming. We had been told by plenty of Americans that Wyoming was a flat, barren State and "why would you go there?" That was all we needed.  After living nearly 25 years in flat, barren country it was right up our alley!!  We drove up to Ft Morgan and took the road to New Raymer.  We wanted to see a particular site called Pawnee Butte and our trusty map and GPS  told us to turn onto a gravel road.  It wasn't particularly well sign posted but we managed to find it.  There was plenty of truck traffic on the unsealed road as there were many oil pumps in the area, with a bit of ranch country thrown in.

The Pawnee Butte's...a most unfortunate name, that gave us a good giggle everytime we said it!!  I am sure we were mispronouncing it, but we would never let protocol get in the way of a good bum joke!! It was a great drive out there and well worth the effort.  Below is a creek that was frozen over......pretty speccy!

We then drove through country that reminded me of driving from Wangkatjungka to Halls Creek and even around Gascoyne Junction...all unsealed with the occasional ranch to be seen.  Apart from the trucks, we pretty much had the place to ourselves and it was so nice to be back in the "outback" with no houses, cars or people!

We then headed up to Carpenter, Wyoming before visiting Cheyenne.  Turns out Cheyenne is the capital of Wyoming and with only 56 000 people and it being 4 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon it was pretty quiet, but so lovely.  We stopped at a Wranglers shop to look for a hat for Stu.  He bought one about 15 yrs ago in Fitzroy Crossing and has been looking for a replacement for about 9 years and has never found what he wanted.  So there we were in Cheyenne, Wyoming going through the cowboy hats.......

...when lo and behold we found just the right one.....an Australian hat!!!  Of course it was way cheaper in Wyoming than Australia (if you don't include the airfare to get to the US) and was just what he wanted!  (No, not the red or white one!!)  Cowboy Jack served us.....a friendly fellow with very high jeans, a very large belt buckle, a very nice scarf, a very big hat and a very large moustache!  And a very "cowboy" accent!!  Y'all come back now....y'hear?!!!!

Stu also wanted the boots, but that's where I drew the line!!!

 Wyoming State Capitol....it was a great looking building.

So another great day exploring.......we are off to another basketball game tomorrow night with some other exchange teachers, so should be a bit of fun.