Little known fact … in 1893, poet & songwriter Katherine Lee Bates hired a carriage to take her to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado, and while there was inspired to write the poem (and later hymn) “America, the Beautiful”. One of the fun pearls of wisdom we learned on our visit to Pikes Peak, via the newly refurbished Cog Railway!
I’d officially like to SKIP the story of the DRAMA prior to our train ride, over the malfunction of QR code intended to facilitate payment for parking. Let’s just say that we figured it out, and did NOT miss the train! (And … I retained the hard copy of my receipt, in anticipation of finding 5 extra charges on my next Amex statement!)
The train is shiny red & yellow, and absolutely beautiful! Lulu took turns posing at the station with both Mom AND Dad!
The train has assigned seats, and ours faced down the mountain (meaning we rode up backwards, but [thankfully!!] rode back down facing FORWARD!). We were also knee to knee with the people seated across from us. On the way up, we rode opposite a dad & his 10 year old son, Owen. Nice people! (but, if I’m being honest, on the silent side.) All was well, and it was a GORGEOUS ride to the top, with views of fabulous vista after fabulous vista. I will allow said vistas to speak for themselves. 🙂
Simply lovely, all the way! No apologies for similar photos … it’s ALL GREAT! 🙂
This photo was taken just past the “Tree Line”, and we were headed toward some seriously high elevations. Another story told by our conductor was that of Mr. Man, a pack donkey, who was on the railroad construction crew, and was named so because he was “just one of the guys.” I was on the wrong side of the train to snap a photo, but Mr. Man’s gravesite is a revered sight to see on the way up.
And then we got to the top of Pikes Peak.
Where it was 40 degrees colder than it was at the bottom
And it was snowing.
The trip down, certainly once we were once more below the Tree Line, was MUCH more pleasant. I began feeling better within 10 or 20 minutes. Of course, this sight was the first one on the way down, & it was a li’l scary: This is the road on which cars DRIVE to the top:
Young Owen had swapped seats on the descent, to go & sit with older brother, Jack. We made the VERY DELIGHTFUL acquaintance of his mom, Holly and little sister, Willa. Six-year-old Willa has a personality as cute as she is, and she regaled us with tales of going into first grade, and dance recitals, and Brownie scouts, and catching fish, and raising chickens. What a sweetie!! Willa’s eyes went WIDE when I asked if she would please take a photo with Lulu. Look at that sweet face!!! 🙂
Just about at the station again, our 12-year-old conductor (Oh, OK, maybe he was 18) was happy to pose with Lulu, also.
Upon returning to “Earth”, so to speak, we explored the fabulous & adorable town of Manitou Springs:
As seen on the sidewalk in Manitou Springs …
Oh, and for all of our Arcade gaming efforts, we amassed about 150 tickets, which won us:
And we ended our day in Manitou Springs with a really delicious dinner at
A “Highly Recommend” rating from us!
It was back to our hotel before another early start the next day … where I was a little amused by the “very serious” posted letter by our hotel staff:
And ONE FINAL THOUGHT. Gerry’s been ALL IN with these trips, including the ones he’s not even on with me. He mentioned to me at some point between leaving the Cog Railway and our hotel down time, early in the afternoon, that he’d come up with a GREAT IDEA: He’d discovered that the New Mexico state line (that I’ve yet to visit) was a mere 2.5 hours drive away, and if I wanted to go, he was willing to do the driving.
I weighed the options. 9 hours of driving ahead of us the next day. 9.5 hours of driving the previous day & that morning. Forgoing ANYTHING ELSE in Manitou Springs, aside from the Cog Railway, given the 5 hour minimum round trip drive. I’m already booked for a trip to Albuquerque in October. New Mexico will, in the end, be my 50th state to visit. His intentions, as always, were in the right place, but I had to give that idea a Hard “No.” Thanks for being so supportive of “Travels with Lolo & Lulu”, Gerry. Hope you weren’t too disappointed to miss New Mexico yourself!
Next up … State #47: MONTANA!