Garden of the Gods and wild Colorado cuisine

Thursday, August 9^th – Garden of the Gods and wild Colorado cuisine.  Still in the greater Denver area, we headed south on Colorado State Hiway 85 to Castle Rock to pick up I-25.  The plan was to tour the Garden of the Gods (GotG) in Manitou Springs (Colorado Springs area) and then have an early dinner at one of the finest restaurants in this part of the state, the Craftwood Inn (more on this unique dining experience later).   

I’ve been to the GotG Park before, but each time is a spectacular experience.  A wonderfully rich ecological resource, the Park has been called “the most striking contrast between plains and mountains in North America" with respect to biology, geology, climate, and scenery.  The Park has an abundance of beautiful red rock formations with a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains in the distance.  The rock formations – that seem to jut abruptly out of the ground at sharp angles – were formed millions of years ago when the continental shelves far beneath the earth crashed into one another. The GotG is one of those special places that is a “must see” for any vacation/visit in the Colorado Springs area.  I’m pretty sure the couple of photos I’ve included with this blog update won’t do justice to the Park’s unbelievable formations – it is simply far too gorgeous and breathtaking, with plenty of evidence of the  past ages, including the eroded remains of ancient mountain ranges. (see following photos)

After a short stop at the Park’s Trading Post, we headed into historic Manitou Springs that stands at the base of Pikes Peak to dine at the famous Craftwood Inn.  Dining at this unique restaurant for the third time was just as wonderful as the first two.  My sister, Sandi, has also been here several times, but this was Lynette’s first time.  The Inn’s atmosphere can best be described as “English Tudor estate dining with exquisite mountain views” and “fine casual country elegance with award winning wine.”  Ditto on both counts.  The menu consists of a wide variety of Colorado wild game including elk, red deer, venison, pheasant, quail, wild duck, caribou, antelope, wild boar, ostrich and buffalo.  Wow!  Let me say that again: Wow!  Quite a selection, eh?   

After some careful consideration, Sandi decided on the wild duck; Lynette on the ostrich; and I selected a trio of wild game medallions: elk, antelope, and red deer.  Quite delicious, let me tell you.  We also found a very nice Colorado Riesling from Plum Creek cellars to accompany our dinners.   This was the second instance of finding good tasting wines on our journey out west: first in South Dakota, and now in Colorado.  The service and atmosphere at the Craftwood Inn is superb – the whole dining experience is one not to be missed. 

Note: Photo above is Lynette and Denny in front of a guest house/cottage as part of the Craftwood Inn amenities.  The photo is Denny's sister, Sandi, and Lynette, same setting.

Tomorrow we head to Red Rock (yes, THOSE Red Rocks, the amphitheater) to show Lynette this spectacular concert setting.  After that we plan to drive another half hour to Evergreen, a small artist mountain community/town just off I-70.