Pikes Peak

The next day we packed up the car and left Estes Park, heading southeast towards Denver. We had a mild case of culture shock as we went from the quiet peace of the National Park to the traffic jams of a huge city. But it was worth it so that we could visit Casa Bonita, the Disney Land of Mexican restaurants. We saw the cliff divers, the pirate cave, and even Cartman. And after a few hours we got back in the car, suffered through some more traffic, and then eventually made our way to Colorado Springs.

The next day we returned to the high elevation mountains with a visit to Pikes Peak. There are a few ways you can reach the top of the mountain. You can hike to the top via a 13.5 mile uphill trek that has over 7,400 feet of elevation gain. Or you can drive along a 19 mile-long road that switchbacks up the mountain. We were lazy and just took the train instead. The Pikes Peak Cog Railway starts out at a quaint little train station in Manitou Springs, and then runs directly to the summit. The ride up takes about an hour and has an elevation gain of about 7,800 feet. The conductor on our train spent the time on the way up telling some cheesy jokes, like describing the different types of wildlife that live on the mountain. He mentioned that earlier that day they saw the Rocky Mountain flamingo (just as the train passes by a plastic pink flamingo standing by the tracks).

The views from the train are great - and made me really glad I wasn't having to drive up there.



The tracks ran through thick forests and alongside a few streams with waterfalls on them. Then the train cleared the tree line.



The conductor also gave lots of facts about the mountain and its history, including how a poet named Katherine Bates traveled to the summit in 1893 and was inspired by the sweeping view. She wrote a poem, which was published and then became the lyrics for the song "America the Beautiful." And just in case anyone wasn't familiar with the song, our conductor sang it for his captive audience on the train.



And soon enough the train made one last push up the mountain to the summit, which sits at an elevation 14,115 feet.



At the top is a visistor center that has a museum, gift shop and a little cafe that sells donuts. We only had about an hour there before the train departed to head back down the mountain, so I hurried to get a few pictures. This is the view looking back towards Colorado Springs:



It was really hazy up there thanks to smoke from some really bad wildfires in Colorado.



The elevation up there is no joke. I got winded walking up the stairs at the visitor center, and there were people laying on the ground on the visitor center. We saw one family from Florida who had people who passed out because they were not acclimated to the elevation change.





Next to the visitor center was the remains of this old stone wall, which was part of an early shelter built in 1873.



And one last shot from the summit, before our hour was up and it was time to head back to the train.



Thanks to gravity, the ride down the mountain is a little bit quicker. And thankfully the conductor didn't serenade us with any songs again. Soon enough we were back in the train station in Manitou Springs. The depot was built in 1891: