Vacation, Day 2: Prairie Dogs and A Nice Back Deck View

After a hotel breakfast (which was what it was...we had few expectations for anything other than the typical waffles, yogurt, etc.) we checked out of the hotel owing nothing for Thursday night's room, and we also got our points re-credited as promised. We handled the complaint politely from our end and the hotel staff were professional on their end, so all is well.

Most of Friday was spent driving, but we broke up the monotony with a trip to the Hays, KS, Wal-Mart for end-of-season, cheap replacement swimsuits and an adapter so we can use our MP3 players in the van. I'll tell you, that was exciting.

We had lunch at Colonial Steak House in Oakley, KS. It doesn't look like much, but with about 25 trucks with both local and out-of-state plates sitting in the parking lot, we figured it would be good. We weren't disappointed. Everything on the buffet was good, but the fried chicken was the real star.

Colonial Steak House in Oakley, KS.

Buffet offerings.

Kat, with farmers and tourists in the background.

A shot that Kat took of me.

What's more, it was across the road from Prairie Dog Town! Prairie Dog Town is about the cheesiest of roadside attractions you'll find, but it ended up being worth the price of admission for all the fun we had with this little miss who was very friendly with us. We probably could have petted her, but we decided it was best to limit the relationship to conversation over lunch (treats we gave her).

Little prairie dog on the prairie.

Prairie dog eating a Milk Bone.

So close...

...almost close enough to touch.

We finally made it to Colorado Springs and to Shane's sister and BIL's house around 6:00 in the evening. Here is a view of Pikes Peak from their back deck. The haze is from smoke from wildfires to the south.

Hazy Pikes Peak view from the back deck.

Here is Kat playing in the back yard (just dirt for now...it's being landscaped soon) with the dogs.

Kat with Izzy and Tory, who's almost out of frame on the right.

And here's dinner. Steaks and chopped salads, along with some drink concoction that remains without a name. That's a huge steak, I know, but I shared mine with Kat.

Steak on the grill with a big salad.

Shane with his sister.

Kat with Shane's brother-in-law.

It was such a lovely night that we stayed outside late, eating and drinking...maybe too much of both...until midnight. Which of course, felt like 1:00 a.m. to us. I was too tired to blog then...better late than never, I guess.

(BTW,  I thoroughly dislike my current camera.  Our last camera was a similar style in a different brand and liked it so much better.  This one  seems to give me inconsistent results and the user manual leaves MUCH to be desired.  I apologize all the less than wonderful pictures.)