And of course we couldn't forget Emily and Jack!
And we are pulling for the Celts seeing as the Spurs are home resting! haha
So we went to Pikes Peak on Thursday. It is called America's Mountain because it is the most visited mountain in the country.
We got there early in the morning, around 10 AM, when it was about 80 degrees at ground level, but as you can see here on the sign they tell you before you ever go up that the weather changes drastically at the top. It is usually 30+ degrees colder when you get there, and very windy. They tell you to crack your windows 2-3 inches, because the combination of barometric pressure and high winds can implode them. The day before we got there, 12 people had their car windows blown out!
We weren't but a couple miles into the park when we saw this sign...CROWE GULCH! As you go into the park you see people's homes at the lowest elevations, and this explains why. I thought Patti might be able to ask Jimmy if his people came from here...and Patti better post a comment on my blog for all the trouble I went through to put these pictures up!!! hahahaha
We started at the bottom of the mountain at about 6000 ft, and ultimately climbed to 14,110 ft. Most of the road was paved, but some of it was dirt road...we were behind this car for a while and it was not fun...our car was filthy because of it.
Check out this road...just looking at it makes me laugh.
At the summit is a tribute to the woman, from Massachussetts, who wrote the song "America the Beautiful". It was when she stood at this summit that she was inspired to write the poem that eventually became that song. The wind at this point was roaring, and we were very cold.
Another little fun fact.
You can take a train to the top of the mountain if you don't want to drive, bike, hike, etc. We read that reservations are usually made in advance, so it fills up pretty quickly.
At the Visitor's Center at the summit they had some good t-shirts. This one about the oxygen applied to me...I almost had altitude sickness. I was surprised that when I was in the store I felt foggy and like I was being squeezed...not a good feeling. And when we got down from the mountain, Cathy felt a little queasy for a while.
I love this t-shirt! In Colorado it certainly applies!
Here I am eating one of their supposedly famous donuts...really pretty greasy. 
Look at this little boy...Cathy was copying him! haha
Just watching these teenagers made me nervous...looks like they are ready to jump, huh? 
Road construction cop trying to amuse. I appreciated her effort.
This was interesting. If your brakes were more than 300 degrees, they made you pull over for at least a half hour before they would let you continue down the mountain. Since Cathy has experience now, ours were only 110 degrees...what a pro!
How about these skid marks?! It just doesn't look a good thing happened at the end of them. 
We weren't but a couple miles into the park when we saw this sign...CROWE GULCH! As you go into the park you see people's homes at the lowest elevations, and this explains why. I thought Patti might be able to ask Jimmy if his people came from here...and Patti better post a comment on my blog for all the trouble I went through to put these pictures up!!! hahahaha
We started at the bottom of the mountain at about 6000 ft, and ultimately climbed to 14,110 ft. Most of the road was paved, but some of it was dirt road...we were behind this car for a while and it was not fun...our car was filthy because of it.
We saw some people hiking up the mountain, and even some people biking...when we saw these people they were going down the mountain, a whole lot more fun than going up!
Here we are going up.
The higher you go on the mountain the steeper it gets, so we stopped at a pullout and aired out the engine...we saw lots of people doing this, so we thought it prudent. haha As you can see, by the time we got here it was already getting cold...we both put our sweatshirts on here.
Check out this road...just looking at it makes me laugh.
When we got to the top we saw these 2 girls and cracked up. I asked them what they were up to, and they said they didn't have anything else in the car and they were cold so they put these clothes on. They could have been pulling my leg, but I don't think so. Look at the girl in the green...she looks like little Julie. Cathy noticed her right away!
At the summit is a tribute to the woman, from Massachussetts, who wrote the song "America the Beautiful". It was when she stood at this summit that she was inspired to write the poem that eventually became that song. The wind at this point was roaring, and we were very cold.
Another little fun fact.
You can take a train to the top of the mountain if you don't want to drive, bike, hike, etc. We read that reservations are usually made in advance, so it fills up pretty quickly.
At the Visitor's Center at the summit they had some good t-shirts. This one about the oxygen applied to me...I almost had altitude sickness. I was surprised that when I was in the store I felt foggy and like I was being squeezed...not a good feeling. And when we got down from the mountain, Cathy felt a little queasy for a while.
I love this t-shirt! In Colorado it certainly applies!
Here I am eating one of their supposedly famous donuts...really pretty greasy.
A few pictures from out on the rocks!
Look at this little boy...Cathy was copying him! haha
Just watching these teenagers made me nervous...looks like they are ready to jump, huh?
So we start down the mountain.
We are going down as the train is going up.
Road construction cop trying to amuse. I appreciated her effort.
Some pictures as we headed down. We rested our brakes a bit.
This was probably a little fast for Marie.
This was interesting. If your brakes were more than 300 degrees, they made you pull over for at least a half hour before they would let you continue down the mountain. Since Cathy has experience now, ours were only 110 degrees...what a pro!
A hairpin turn?
How about these skid marks?! It just doesn't look a good thing happened at the end of them.
And here is the snow.
Going up to 14, 110 ft to the summit of Pikes Peak was great...we really enjoyed it.
It does seem like your hair looks much more white. I think the sun makes it stand out in that one photo.
ReplyDeleteWhy is there no 'stitched' picture of the view from the top of the mountain?
Geez, another place I will never be able to go since it's harder to breathe up there 8)
That outcropping where those 4 kids are standing...These things may have been here forever, but if you notice there's a big crack in that rock and we know what happened to the Old Man of the Mountain in NH. Fat chance I'd stand on that ledge.
We didn't even think of doing a stitch photo when we were at the top...I guess the lack of oxygen made us foggy.
ReplyDeleteOk,first I am with Barb, noway would I be standing where those teenagers where.
ReplyDeleteSecond, great job on the commentary to Kal,Jack and Emily.
Third, I can't believe after each trip down a mountain you two keep doing it again. I know
if I were there, after the first trip down I would be sitting in the rv waiting for you two to come home.
Great job on the pictures and videos.
Ellen, have you no sense of adventure!!!??? And didn't you read the t-shirt that said real Women don't need guardrails???!!!
ReplyDeleteMy stomach says your going 40!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis place is amazing. The clouds in the top pics are as gorgeous as everything else.. Your right there's got to be a God.
The pic of the tenns obviously made my stomach do a flip but so did the pic of Cathy and the one of the little boy. It is gorgeous behind them but the depth is too????
Loved the info on America the Beautiful. Everyone loves that song. A perfect place to be inspired.
These are incredible pictures. And looking at the downslope, I sure am glad that Cathy has become such a pro at driving!!! Have fun. I'm looking forward to the next adventure!!! Love you both.
ReplyDelete