A WEEKEND IN COLORADO SPRINGS WITH MY BETSIES (NO, THAT'S NOT A TYPO!)

Crystal Reservoir

No, that is not a typo in the heading.

I specifically mean Betsies, not Besties,

although I am referring to a group of women 

that I have a unique and special bond with.

Betsies is the plural of Betsy,

and now, lest you think I went to Colorado with a group of ladies all named Betsy,

please allow me to explain.

In my previous life, I was an executive at a popular television network.

I loved my job.

I must have.......I worked there for 32 years. 

I was extremely career-driven, and wanted to advance.

Back around 15 years ago, 
 I heard about a program for executive women in the cable TV industry 

run by The Betsy Magness Leadership Institute.

It was highly competitive to get accepted, 

and the application process was daunting. 

But........I really wanted it.

And I think that passion came through on my application,

because lo and behold, they accepted me!

Suddenly, I was one of 25 women across the country 

to be named as a Betsy Magness fellow.

These ladies and I spent several multi-day sessions together over the course of a year 

honing our leadership skills through intense introspection.

There were times when even I didn't want to understand myself that thoroughly!

The culmination of the program included powerful, 
yet gentle feedback that we gave to each other........

insights that I continue to value to this day.

It was terrifying.

It was exhilarating.

It was draining.

It was invigorating. 

It worked.

Soon after I completed the program,

I was promoted to a senior executive position

with more responsibility and a much larger staff.

It would not have happened had I not been a Betsy Magness fellow.

The 25 of us in the program became extremely close over that year,

and these woman will forever be known as my "Betsies." 
They are some of the wisest, funniest, most giving women 
I have ever had the honor to know.

In June 2018, twelve of us attended our third reunion,

this time in Colorado Springs.  
We came from New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, Washington, DC, and California.
One came all the way from Germany with an infant.

I was a little nervous about going, since I'd left the industry

a few years back,

but I need not have worried.

Bonds are strong, and it was as if no time had passed. 

We talked.
We laughed.
We drank.
We ate.
We explored.
We drank some more.
And we continued to offer support and advice to each other.

Crystal Reservoir

Over our three days in Colorado Springs,

 We spent an afternoon at Pike's Peak......

a morning in Garden of the Gods,

and an afternoon at the Air Force Academy.  

  PIKE'S PEAK  

We arranged an afternoon tour with Manitou Springs Adventures,
as none of us had the stomach to do the driving up Pike's Peak Highway.
They took us up to the summit in jeeps, and I do mean up.......
 

and up.......

and up........14,115 feet to be exact.

We made tons of stops along the way to admire the scenery. 

The views from the summit took our breath away........
and I mean that literally!
The air was so thin, it was hard to breathe, 
and we all felt a little woozy at times. 
No one had any serious problems, though. 

We were intoxicated by the vista stretched out in front of us.

View from Pike's Peak

In 1893, Katharine Lee Bates wrote America The Beautiful,
after her visit to the summit, inspired by the glorious views.

O beautiful for spacious skies
for amber waves of grain.
for purple mountain majesties
above the fruited plains.

View from Pike's Peak

Since then, whenever I hear that song,
I visualize those mountain majesties and spacious skies that stretched out before us.

View from Pike's Peak

View from Pike's Peak

Original Summit House built in 1873.

Original Summit House.

  GARDENS OF THE GODS  

I must be truthful.......
It was HOT,
and I did not complete the hike to Garden of The Gods.
A couple of us turned back mid-way,
and surely missed some great photo opportunities.
In the heat of the moment (literally!)
I made a choice between continuing the hike,
or passing out on the trail.
 In hindsight, I'm kind of bummed that I didn't stick it out. 
Fainting seems a small price to pay for getting some amazing snaps. 😉

   US AIR FORCE ACADEMY    

 

Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence in All We Do. 

That's the motto of the Air Force Academy. 

We watched a wonderful introductory video,
which brought us all to tears with the academy's mission:

"To educate, train, and inspire men and women to become leaders of character,
motivated to lead the US Air Force in service to our nation."

Integrity.
Service Before Self. 
Leaders of character.

Yes, indeedy....... 
what important traits to instill in our youth,
and those who represent our country.

There's an entire "wing" (pun intended!)
devoted to character and leadership development.

Center for Character and Leadership Development

The eye-catching centerpiece of the campus 
is Cadet Chapel, an interfaith house of worship.

Cadet Chapel.

Cadet Chapel

Cadet Chapel

It was wonderful to spend a long weekend in Colorado with my squad.......
 a girls' getaway at its finest!

 

I 💖 my Betsies!

LINKING WITH:
Best Of The Weekend

Weekend Travel Inspiration: Go West, Young Man

How much of the United States' natural beauty have you seen?

 I've been "from sea to shining sea"... 

"over hill and over dale,"
and "from California to the NY island,"

But as much as I've traveled, I haven't seen 

many of our country's national treasures.  

This summer, Junior Goo Shoes was fortunate to go on a 4-week tour with his camp, that literally took them from the mountains...to the prairies...to the ocean, white with foam.

Well, maybe not the prairies.

They went to Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California,

camping out half of the time,

and staying in motels the other half.

Most of these photos were taken by Junior Goo Shoes;

a few were taken by the camp counselors.

There's no way I'd have had the stomach for some of the things they did...

and by that, I mean I couldn't have even watched.

Take the rock climbing trip, for instance.

"Oh, guess what happened? I dropped my camera from the top all the way down the mountain. Luckily, the guide saw it and brought it to me." 

OK, it was just the camera,

but hearing about anything falling off that mountain was something I really didn't want to think about.

Rock Climbing in Estes Park, Colorado

Somewhere near Estes Park, Colorado

I would have fainted watching Junior GS do this zipline...
the "Edge of Time" traverse in Estes Park.

His thoughts: "It was AWESOME!!!"

 That's not him in the photo, by the way.

As much as I thought this was terrifying,

I did want to see a picture of him doing it.

I think the counselor got every kid but him. 

"Edge of Time" Estes Park, Colorado (Photo by camp counselor)

 I didn't have to be there in person 
to be stressed out about the rafting trip.

Just signing the waiver back in May did a number on me.

And then, there was this phone call:

"I've got such a story for you.
When we went rafting, at first it was fun.

Then it was really fun.

Then, one hour in, the boat in front of us hit a rock,

and we hit them...flipped over,

and we were stuck under the boat. 

It finally lifted off.

The current was so strong, I didn't think I was going to make it, but somehow, I finally got to shore."

I nearly had heart failure listening to that, 
and it was three days after it happened.
No, I'm not cut out for this stuff!

Rafting on the Arkansas River, Colorado (Photo by Camp Counselor)

 

Driving the scenic route through the Rocky Mountains, Colorado

Snowball fight in July atop the Rocky Mountains, Colorado

Maroon Bells, Colorado

There were record-breaking temperatures 
when the kids got to Utah...
118 degrees!

Landscape Arch - Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

Delicate Arch - Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

Delicate Arch - Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

It was also beastly hot in Lake Powell,
but at least they got to be in the water all day.

Lake Powell, Arizona (Photo by Camp Counselor)

Horse Shoe Bend in Colorado River, Utah

There was a lot of moaning about getting up super-early to see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon,
but it so was worth it!
"Oh say, can you see, by the dawn's early light?"

Grand Canyon, Arizona

By the time they got to California,
the kids were ready to be back in civilization.
Aside from enjoying the cooler temperatures,
they walked around San Francisco,
took in an Oakland A's game,
visited Alcatraz,
and walked the boardwalk in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz, Califonia (Photo by Camp Counselor)

It's been fun listening to "tales from the trip,"
but mostly, it's been great hearing about how much 
the kids bonded during their travels.

The memories of the trip will last a lifetime...
but so will the friendships, I'm guessing.

Linking With:
Weekend Travel Inspiration
Our World Tuesday