A two hour hike through the Red Rock Canyon Open Space was our first activity for the day.  This city park offers dozens of trails that weave in and around the large rock formations which are part of the same geological uplift that formed the Garden of the Gods.  You can actually follow the spine of rocks connecting the two locations as illustrated in the photo below.

Next it was back to campus for a farewell brunch with Nicolai which paled in comparison to yesterday’s breakfast.  We posed with Nico for a photo using 14,114 foot high Pike’s Peak, visible from virtually everywhere on campus, as a backdrop.  In Nico’s words, “the view never grows old.”

After hanging out for a little while and meeting some of his friends we left Nico to return to his studies and set out for Aspen, a three hour drive away over beautiful Independence Pass.

Future visits to Colorado will be timed for earlier in the month when aspen trees are at peak fall color.  We were fortunate, however, to find a few groves which were still holding leaves.