Pikes Peak

Today Clare summited her second 14’er by riding the Pikes Peak Cog Railway from Manitou Springs all the way to the top.  The train ride was 8.9 miles and took about 1.25hrs.  We were all looking forward to the trip and found our seats while Clare took one last walk around before having to sit on our laps for the rip.

The views from the train were pretty amazing; the conductor was quick to point out interesting rocks, waterfalls, trees, and other points of interest.  Those sitting on the ‘three-seat side’ of the train had some pretty great photo opportunities while those of us on the ‘two-seat side’ saw lots of rocks.  The people on the three-seat side kept getting up to take pictures, hope they got some good ones.

She thought about taking a nap on the way up. 

We finally reached the summit and got off the train, I was surprised how many people were at the top, we had to wait in line to get in the door of the little building!  We only had 30 minutes at the top, so we had to be quick about of restroom break, doughnut eating, t-shirt shopping and picture taking.  Clare was a real trooper; she ate an entire doughnut, had some juice and used the ladies room all after getting a few quick pictures and doing a little rock climbing.  

Mom and I stopped in front of the sign for a quick picture before getting back on the train, lucky for us the one pic we took turned out pretty well.

Clare wasn't as interested in having her picture taken. 

The ride back down wasn’t nearly as interesting, because the train doesn’t turn around we were still on the side with fewer points of interest.  Clare didn’t seem to mind, she was asleep within the first 10 minutes. 

Mom bought me a new Kindle, I'm loving it and it was perfect for the ride back down. 

I think we were all pretty glad to be back in Manitou Springs and have room to stretch our legs.  A friend had suggested a BBQ place just a few miles from the train depot so we loaded up and headed for Rudy’s before heading back home.  The BBQ was really good, after a long day we all enjoyed our lunch.

We took two cars, we could have all fit into Jeff’s car but Grammy and Grampy planned to make a few stops on the way back, so we took separate ways from Rudy’s.  Jeff suggested taking the back roads home, it turned out to be a really nice drive.  We didn’t see many other cars, and drove thru some beautiful areas, including some of the Hayman fire area.  The most interesting thing we saw on our way home was a bear!  Both Jeff and I did a double take; sure enough right there in the road was a bear.  I quickly got the camera as Jeff pulled over.  The bear ran across the road and back into the wooded area (which had been burned so we could still see the bear) and up the hill.  Jeff pointed out this was the second Bear he’d seen, but unfortunately he didn’t have a broom with him to duel it; luckily he didn’t need his broom.

The bear is on the right side of the picture, just to the left of that first tree. 

 

Overall it was a great day and an experience we won’t forget.  I don’t know that we’ll be taking the train the next time, but we can say we’ve done it.