Pike's Peak or Bust!

        After a restful night, the day dawned clear and bright. We had intended to sleep in this morning but most everyone was up by 7:00 am. After breakfast, we loaded into the van and headed to Manitou Springs, the home of the Pike's Peak Cog Railway. Founded in 1889, the cog railway is a system that uses a cog to engage a rack that is part of the track. This allows a train to climb a much steeper grade than a regular train, which can only climb about a 9% slope. The steepest part of the trip up Pike's Peak is about a 25% grade.



The cog and rack system

        We made the trip to the 14,110 foot summit in about an hour and a half. The temperature up there was a brisk 44 degrees. Snow was piled up in places on the ground and a few snowballs were thrown. Many of the guys were interested in the famous, high-altitude donuts that are sold at the Summit House. We were able to get them to stand still long enough for a few photos but that was about it. After an all too brief thirty minute visit, it was back to the train for the trip down the mountain. The trip up and back gave us wonderful views of the mountain, the countryside, and a view that allowed us to see all the way to Kansas. 

 

 

 

 

Gathered at the summit

 

The view from the train

          After the descent to Manitou Springs, the boys made sandwiches for lunch before heading out to explore the town. Manitou Springs is similar to Gatlinburg in both look and the types of stores. We also took the time to taste the spring water that made the town famous. One of these springs had a high content of iron salts. Most who sampled it agreed that it tasted like liquid nails.

 

Tasting the water at Iron Springs Geyser

 

        Our next stop was in the Garden of the Gods, which is a city park in Colorado Springs. The geology of the park is quite fascinating, with huge, red sandstone formations that rise from the ground in unusual shapes. One of these formations is a 700 ton boulder balanced on end. The scouts made an effort to push it over without success. In another part of the park, we hiked among the formations and observed a group of baby falcons making their first attempts to fly while their mother kept watch from a nearby rock. The scouts were more fascinated by a climber who was attempting to scale one of the rock faces. They seemed ready to observe her for hours but I insisted that we move on. They were also ready to try some rock climbing of their own but we managed to suppress that as well.

 

Balanced on Balanced Rock

Captivated by the climber

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        As we headed back to the campsite, we made another Walmart run to get our dinner and breakfast supplies. After a dinner of pasta and chicken, everyone is now preparing for bed. Tomorrow we move onward to New Mexico.

 

             More photos from the day are available here.