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This morning we packed out of the hotel without incident and hit the road for Manitou Springs and the Cog Railway to the top of Pike's Peak.
( Pike's Peak Without Busting )
It had been a pleasant summer afternoon down in Manitou Springs, but as we neared the summit we closed the windows to keep the snow from coming in.
( The Snows of August )
We took a whole lot of photos. Click through any of those above, or see my Pike's Peak Cog Railway album.
We did see wildlife, but it was elusive and camera-shy. On the way up, we saw a bighorn sheep, and Lisa saw a marmot (there are apparently many of them on the mountain). Coming down, we saw a deer. And there were lots of birds, even up on the snowy wastes near the top.
( One more Cog Railway photo )
Before leaving the area, we stopped for an early dinner at a Black Bear Diner in Colorado Springs (starting level 4 in their Passport program of collecting restaurants). Lisa then drove us up to Denver. At times, we could see trains operating on the UP/BNSF "Joint Line" that parallels I-25. We skirted the Denver area on our way to the hotel in Golden, where we were happy to arrive relatively early.
This second day of riding trains was also great fun. I sort of wish we'd had maybe another fifteen or twenty minutes at the top, but given that I could feel the altitude, perhaps it's just as well that we left when we did. And after the oppressive heat driving through Kansas, I was happy to be in the snow at the top of Pike's Peak.
Tomorrow we head west on I-70, bound for Green River UT.
( Pike's Peak Without Busting )
It had been a pleasant summer afternoon down in Manitou Springs, but as we neared the summit we closed the windows to keep the snow from coming in.
( The Snows of August )
We took a whole lot of photos. Click through any of those above, or see my Pike's Peak Cog Railway album.
We did see wildlife, but it was elusive and camera-shy. On the way up, we saw a bighorn sheep, and Lisa saw a marmot (there are apparently many of them on the mountain). Coming down, we saw a deer. And there were lots of birds, even up on the snowy wastes near the top.
( One more Cog Railway photo )
Before leaving the area, we stopped for an early dinner at a Black Bear Diner in Colorado Springs (starting level 4 in their Passport program of collecting restaurants). Lisa then drove us up to Denver. At times, we could see trains operating on the UP/BNSF "Joint Line" that parallels I-25. We skirted the Denver area on our way to the hotel in Golden, where we were happy to arrive relatively early.
This second day of riding trains was also great fun. I sort of wish we'd had maybe another fifteen or twenty minutes at the top, but given that I could feel the altitude, perhaps it's just as well that we left when we did. And after the oppressive heat driving through Kansas, I was happy to be in the snow at the top of Pike's Peak.
Tomorrow we head west on I-70, bound for Green River UT.
