Chugging along at 14000 Feet

This seems to be the year when I do things I've always put off until next time.  Many times I've been in the Pikes Peak area and this time I finally took the Cog Railway to the top.  I expected it to look like the one going up Mt. Washington in New Hampshire

And years ago the Pikes Peak Cog Train did look very similar.  Now it looks more like a trolley car and runs on diesel.

We left from Manitou Springs at 6571 feet in elevation.  Soon we passed Minnehaha Falls, a waterfall higher than Niagara Falls.  Of course that would be in elevation, not how far the water falls.

Soon we were out of the trees and admiring the views.

The descending trains pulled off onto a siding so we could maintain our momentum.

Much of the grade was 25% - a gain of one foot in elevation for every four feet traveled.  Hard to imagine.  The last three miles are all above timberline and we saw big horn sheep with a gorgeous ram that proudly posed for the people on the other side of the car.  I was too much in awe to even try for a picture of him, but here's a shot of the car in front of us.

After 8.9 miles, we reached the summit at 14,110 feet where it was a chilly 45 degrees.

In 1893, Katherine Lee Bates wrote the words for America the Beautiful after seeing the view from the summit of Pikes Peak.

I finally remembered to take a picture of the train.

For those of you interested in the mechanics, here is an actual-sized cog wheel with a section of the rack rails (which mesh with the cog) and t-rails, all positioned with the 25% grade.  Cool, huh?

Here's some of the track itself.

It was an interesting ride and worth the money at $35, but I wish the weather had been better.  I would advise doing it in early summer when it doesn't cloud up every day.  Also there would still be snow on the mountains for more spectacular scenery.  Of course that's just my opinion.

Garden of the Gods

We moved to just north of Woodland Park, CO, and settled in an actual campground for a couple of nights.  As I think I've stated before, we are not campers.  We were just lucky that it was cool enough to keep the windows shut in the evenings, but still the smoke fumes leaked in.  Bah-humbug.  However I have to admit that I do love to see all the families out enjoying nature and therefore suffer in silence.  :-D

We ran over to admire Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.  It's always an amazing sight to see these colorful monoliths rising out of the earth.

We parked in the main lot and spotted this guy peaking through the trees.

And there was more wildlife.  Looking up, we saw the Kissing Camels.

(This one we didn't name.  It was on the map.)

More pretty rocks.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this lovely place is that it was 'given to the city of Colorado Springs in 1909 by the children of Charles Elliott Perkins in fulfillment of his wish that it be kept forever free to the public.'  What an incredibly generous and thoughtful gift.

We couldn't hang around all day for the sun to get in the right position for this shot, so here's the best I could do with it.

Balanced Rock might be the most photographed spot in the park.  Ron pointed out that some cement seems to have been added to keep it in place since he was here.

Here's something just for the WINs who are reading this.  In Woodland Park, we saw this sign - it certainly made us pause and remember a great lady.

How Do You Move a Mountain

We did another day trip to Cripple Creek and Victor which are also former mining boom towns.

It's nice to know the miners had good coffee and internet service.

But Cripple Creek has reincarnated itself as a gambling town.  Perhaps not such a huge difference since the miners were the biggest gamblers of all.

Great mural!

They have a tourist train that travels just a few miles out of town before reversing back.  This little engine reminded me of the children's book about Thomas the Engine.

And for my father I had to take the other one too.

Also very cute for an engine.

Then we continued on to Victor.  On the way we passed this brand new bridge that was built by the local mining company when they decided to bury the old one with their tailings.

Yes, the mining industry is alive and well up in the hills around Victor.  You would think the town would be bustling, but I guess that's not where all the workers live.

In the gigantic surface mine operation, they are mining primarily for GOLD.  Eureka!

Those tiny dots are pieces of equipment of unimaginable size.

I caught one on the road we crossed to access the viewpoint, but Ron wouldn't run out and stand next to it for size.  (Hey, at least I didn't say in front of it.)

Also at the overlook, was the remains of a mine that originated in the late 1800's.  It wasn't until 1936 that a rich strike was made 2000 feet below.

So the answer to the question of how to move a mountain is one truck load at a time.

Even More Uphill

Next we moved to some property owned by a friend of Ron's.  It was an adventure finding it since we had misunderstood something in the directions.  We finally asked the mail person who knew right where to send us.  She recognized the name of the development and told us we were about 10 miles off.  The lots are 20 acres of wooded mountainside along dirt roads.  When we arrived at the proper spot (up a hill, just past a red pole) there was a nice level spot just perfect for us.  Since the road grader had formed quite a ridge of dirt along the edge of the road, Ron went to work with the shovel.  At that point, the neighborhood association president came by and politely asked what he was doing.  Good question.  Eventually, we settled in and enjoyed perfect weather at 9000 feet.

This was in what is known as the South Park area of Colorado, west of Colorado Springs.  Or maybe it would be the edge since South Park is more of a high meadow area between the mountains.  We were conveniently located near several attractions I had never seen.

First stop was Florissant Fossil Beds which is known for two things, fossils and petrified redwood trees.  There were lots of fossils to view in the temporary visitor center and I'm sure they'll be showcased better when the construction is finished.

But I came to see the redwoods (Sequoia affinis) - giant redwoods in Colorado?  Wow!!

I had Ron in the picture for size, but since he's much closer than the tree, it didn't work out very well.  You'll just have to trust me when I say it was big.  The sign said this one was originally 12 feet in diameter.

Not all the trees have been excavated just enough to satisfy the tourists.  In fact Ron remembers when he was here before (40 years ago), there was a giant log exhibited.  Although the rangers hadn't been around that long, they hypothesized that it had been reburied to protect it.  Hum, seems kind of like cutting off your nose to spite your face.  Or throwing out the baby with the bathwater.  You get the idea.

 Next we drove Eleven Mile Canyon - how pretty and with something for everybody.  See the fishermen in this picture?

And people playing in the water here?

And I'm sure if I waited long enough, we would have seen rafters come though here.

Although the GPS didn't think so, the road dead ends at the dam.  On our way back out of the canyon, we had our usual afternoon rain.

But it stopped by the time we reached our next stop.  We had noticed a trail head with a packed parking lot and were told the trail led to a waterfall.  After a short hike with rather treacherous hills, we reached our goal.

And, yes, it's only about three feet high.

But that was not the draw for all the hikers who were jumping off the rocks into the pool.

I thought I'd try a video of one of the dare-devils.  With all the gyrations this guy went through, I thought he was never going to jump.  But jump he did, and I think you'll agree he was very impressive.


After climbing back up the hill, we noticed this obviously ignored sign.

I always say it's amazing that boys ever make it to manhood.

Uphill

After enjoying Salida for 10 days, we headed even further uphill to beautiful Clear Creek Reservoir.  We have worked at staying cool this summer even if it means shortness of breath at altitude.

Clear Creek is about 16 miles north of Buena Vista on US 24 and has a huge, free boondocking area only two miles west of the main road (39.02216, -106.27769.).

From there it was just a short drive to visit Leadville for a day.  At 10152 feet, the town appears to be even higher than the surrounding mountains.

In the late 1800s, Leadville was the most famous silver mining camp in the world and the second largest city in Colorado.  There are lots of reminders of its past.

Ron checked out this big rock to see if they left any silver for him.  Hey!  I think that rock would look great in our front yard in Mesa.  How about it, Ron?

Since we crossed into Colorado, it seems to cloud up and/or rain every day.  I snapped this ominous shot out the moving car window on our way home from Leadville.

But as usual, the next day dawned clear and we drove up the side valley.  Pretty.

One more just because I can.

A Perfect Town

Next we were off to one of my very favorite places - Salida, CO.  This place has it all.  There's gorgeous and almost unlimited public land a few miles west of town (coordinates are 38.55431, -106.11692.)

And a handy dump with water at the visitors center in town (donation requested.)

The town is large enough to have a Super Walmart, but still retains its small town charm with a booming downtown.

There are a lot of craftsmen, cute shops, and places to eat.

And the town is situated along the scenic Arkansas River.

Which calls to fishermen like Ron and is perfect for kayakers and rafters.

There are numerous hiking, mountain biking, and horse trails throughout the surrounding mountains.  We took Rainbow Trail from Poncho Pass, which was quite a climb to dizzying heights.

And an easier hike right from our RV parked on top of the mesa.

The drive east from town through Bighorn Sheep Canyon is pretty too.

Salida is at 7200 feet which keeps it cool in the summer, but because of some 'banana belt' effect, it doesn't get too cold in the winter.

I know this must sound like a plug for Salida, but I just can't help myself.  It's simply a perfect town.