Pikes Peak or Bust

We get up early on Thursday, our last day here in Colorado, and head out to Pikes Peak. We decide to drive up the 19 miles to the summit, instead of riding the Cog Railway, an incline train which takes three-hours round trip. We didn't relish the thought of being in a confined space with our squirmy, screaming year old for that length of time, so driving won out.

We start to climb as soon as we enter the park, and take a short break at the Crystal Reservoir before we start tackling the tough part of the road. The ranger on duty chats us up for a while, then takes me aside and points to the barren peak in front of us.

"You see that tiny spot up there? That is the Summit House, where you are going to end up," he says. "And you see what looks like a "W" up the on the top? That's the road you are going to be diving on."

"And what's the road like?" I say. "I'm afraid of heights, but no one else in the family is."

"Scary," he says, chuckling at my obvious trepidation. "You'll be screaming up there."

Oh boy.

No one screams, but the trip up is a white-knuckled hour and a half drive up of sharp turns, perilous switchbacks and segments of road hugging shear drop offs without guardrails. The view is stunning, when I can bear to look out the window. Finally, we reach the summit, and treat ourselves with famous Pikes Peak high-altitude doughnuts and souvenirs. The trip down is even scarier, but Adam takes his time down the mountain slowly but surely. We rest at the base of the mountain and have a picnic lunch at a picturesque picnic site, blanketed with wildflowers. We agree that saying we made it to the top of Pikes Peak makes the journey worthwhile. The actual drive up? Not so enjoyable. Once is probably enough.

We reward the kids for our mountain expedition with a trip to the North Pole, a kitschy 50-year old theme park, featuring North Pole inspired rides, shows and gift shops. The kids have a blast riding the rides, until a thunderstorm cuts our visit short. Actually, it is time to leave--as everyone is suffering a bit from altitude sickness (headaches, nausea and fatigue) caused by ascending the more than 14,000 feet to Pikes Peak earlier.

We head back to the hotel to rest, and then eat dinner at The Airplane Restaurant, a restaurant housed in an old propeller plane. The service is horrible and so is the food, but the kids love playing in the plane’s cockpit, looking at all the airplane memorabilia and playing with the flight simulator. After dinner we go back to the hotel and start packing. Sadly, our visit to Colorado Springs is almost at an end.

Going home
Adam wakes up before the sun is even up, makes us breakfast and starts packing the car. The kids take a while longer to wake up, and Mitch hurts his neck somehow, delaying our start back home until about 7:30 a.m. He cries and cries until he calms down and falls asleep in his car seat. Poor tired boy. No nap the day before and going to sleep late have caught up with him I think.

We take one last look at the purple mountain majesty made so famous in "America the Beautiful," and begin our long, long, long trek back home across the front range of the Rockies and the plains. The drive back is not as fun, since there’s nothing new to see or do. Temperatures are hitting the 100 plus mark again as we head east. We are missing Colorado. We stop at Wichita Falls and spend the night, eager to get back to Houston.