Pikes Peak!

Day 5 – July 3, 2016

Exploring Colorado Springs

Today was a really cool day. We woke up to bright sunny skies and a nice balmy temperature of 78 degrees. We left the hotel early and headed to the Garden of the Gods, which is a city park that you can drive through. I thought it was pretty cool – because we saw all kinds of huge boulders and rock formations, set against the back drop of the Rocky Mountains. Surly Hunter had another opinion – “Why do we have to see and climb these dumb rocks?” Next summer – he’s going to Florida to work.

Our next adventure was the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. I rode this train over thirty years ago with my parents and I thought it was the coolest thing. I couldn’t wait to experience it with my kids. Pikes Peak is not the tallest mountain in Colorado, far from it, but it is the only one that has a railway. It takes just over an hour to reach the summit and the views are breathtaking. As we traveled upward, we were encouraged to drink water, because of the change in altitude. In fact, there were signs at the depot warning passengers that some may need oxygen at the top. As you can imagine – this unnerved Audrey, who is still not over the fact I wouldn’t buy “Bear Spray” last year in Yellowstone.  I never imagined that it would affect me, but man did it ever. By the time we reached the summit (14,115 feet), I was feeling very nauseous. It was also freezing, 26 degrees, and there were even patches of snow on the ground. We were allowed to disembark for about forty minutes to take pictures and use the facilities. After pictures, we stood in line for the bathroom and I kid you not – I was dizzier than I ever remember feeling. I truly thought I was going to throw up. I was shocked by the physical reaction I had to the altitude and thin air. Audrey said she felt it – but the boys didn’t seem to have any symptoms.

As the train left the summit, on our way back down, it began to snow. It was pretty cool.

The adventure wiped me out, but I still had one more stop. I took the kids to the Broadmoor Hotel, where I stayed with my parents all those years ago. It is an amazing property and I wish I could have given the kids at least one night there, but the price is exurbanite and in no way works for the road trip budget. We had drinks and appetizers on the patio, overlooking the lake. There was a wedding going on and Audrey had fun watching the bride. Hunter could not have been more bored.

We did take-out for dinner and went to bed very early.

Quote of the day:

Hunter. Our train conductor asked us to show our enthusiasm whenever ever we passed another train. She wanted us to wave and hoot and holler as we passed. Audrey and I really got into it and were very enthusiastic. Hunter threw this line at us – “You guys are like those freaks who cheer every day on the Today Show.” Nice.

Garden of the Gods

Pure torture for Hunter...

A view on our way up.

Views from the top.

A rare moment for loving coexistence.