Colorado Springs, Colorado

August 15 - 16

Canon City is just about an hour from Colorado Springs and at the top of our list there was, of course, Pikes Peak. But first, a visit to the Waffle House for breakfast. I think the last time we saw a Waffle House was in Phoenix.  We decided to plan an extra early start so there would be plenty of time for all of the places we had expected to see. 

AUGUST 15

PIKES PEAK 

I pretty much cried my way to the top of Pikes Peak. The majority of things we have done in the west have involved drop offs or being up in the air, and I have learned that I really like the ground. At  one point, I think I thought, and maybe said aloud, that I would rather crawl up the side so I could have all fours on the ground! Talk about some major drop offs...especially once you are above the tree line! Oh, driving the road was something else I thought was free but was not.   It was worth the fee.  At the entrance to the highway, the park ranger instructs the driver on how to drive in the lower gears to prevent engine overheating on the way up and to prevent brake fade or failure on the way down. The Pikes Peak Highway is 19 miles to the top, and there is also a trail that is 13 miles to the top if you want to hike it. Oh, and it was snowing/icing at the top.

At the bottom of the mountain on Pikes Peak Highway

Here we go!!

At first, when there are lots of trees, it doesn't seem that bad...

The Crystal Reservoir.

And then the trees disappear....

And there are the brave who bike down. Actually, I think this would be a lot of fun and also  safe. It appears as though you have to use the bikes that the bike company provides so they know the brakes are in good condition. Also, the van is in front of all of the bikers and there is a guide as well. There are a few places to pedal on the way down but not many, and the group appeared to stop often for picture opportunities and talks from the guide.

Group of bikers stopped for photo opportunity. 

Here is a group heading down with the van leading the way. Safe, but looks cold!

And then it started to snow/ice almost as soon as we reached the summit! BUT WE MADE IT!!!! 

Here are the little pieces of ice! The stain is from my wet bathing suit, promise! 

Windy and cold. It was about 45 degrees at the summit. That's the coldest weather I have been in since January considering I was in the Keys the first half of the year and out west since then!

The words to "America the Beautiful" which were written as a poem first, entitled "Pikes Peak" by Katharine Lee Bates. Her inspiration for the poem was her trip to the summit of what is now also known as America's Mountain. 

View of other smaller mountains and a bit of the cog train railroad. 

The railway and a few cars. 

Dad at the summit of Pikes Peak. 

At the summit. 

Turned the GPS on to get our altitude. Matched VERY closely with what Pikes Peak says! Very cool. 

There were lots of these Race Ops vehicles around the summit. After doing a little research, we learned that we missed the 90th annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb (car and motorcycle race) by a mere three days! It was originally scheduled for July 8th; however it was delayed because of the Waldo Canyon fire. The Hill Climb is a very prestigious race where these specifically designed cars race up Pikes Peak. This explains why some of the skid marks we saw were so fresh.  

Last view from the summit before descending.

Having to stop for a mandatory brake check with an infrared temperature gauge. Dad got a "Good job, sir!" from the ranger while the car in front of us must have had hot brakes as he pulled into the parking lot after his check. What an awesome safety check point to try to keep people safe. 

There is definitely a difference in the air at 14,110 feet. Although I didn't get sick, I didn't feel 100% and became light headed a few times. I was a little off for the rest of the day too! I had problems reading words on a map and fought sleep for quite a while. BUT, by the end of the day, I was back to myself. Pikes Peak was awesome,  and it's now paved the entire way. I'm sure if I get to go back again, I'll handle the ascent much better. 


GARDEN OF THE GODS
Pretty much at the base of Pikes Peak is a park with red rock formations called Garden of the Gods, and we were told we had to drive around in there so we did.  Although we have seen a ton of big rock formations on this trip, they haven't been in quite as a developed area as the outskirts of Colorado Springs. Because we were on a tight schedule, we drove through to the Visitors Center and went on our way. Here are some pictures of the highlights of Garden of the Gods. 

Another appropriately named, Balanced Rock. 

Driving through the park. 

This is Sentinel Rock. 

This marked a former Indian Trail through the area. 

From the deck at the Visitor Center. I hate that the parking lot has to be in this picture!

Here's a better picture without the parking lot. 

It's not so cold if you're not on the mountain!

The next place on our list is the Old Colorado City Historic District. This city was the original capital of the state of Colorado and has many shops and places to eat. Since it was mid afternoon by this point, I was ready to be fed so this was the perfect place to eat. Dad and I split a soup and sandwich for lunch at a little baguette place. Very tasty and the perfect amount of food. 

Mom - it's a restaurant just for you!!!

Such pretty cupcakes!

OLYMPIC TRAINING CENTER
What a great place to end the day. I had checked TripAdvisor and the Olympic Training Center was a high attraction on their list of things to do and free at that! It was a short drive from the Old Colorado City to the Center, but the GPS had us turning right into the Emergency Room of the hospital which was right next to the Center. Yikes. I don't know what the GPS's problem was with the address I entered which was even the exact address on the sign of the Olympic Training Center entrance. Who knows? Anyway, the rest of the Olympic experience was AWESOME! We were able to go on the last tour of the day (whew!) and had ample time to see a lot of the facility as well as the gift shop with everything Team USA you could imagine!

USA!

In the sculpture garden. This is my favorite one. 

Another amazing sculpture. 

Ice skater sculpture. 

Inside the Visitor Center

A year and a half until the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

HUGE poster of Mr. Phelps. 

SO HEAVY!!!! 

Send me to Rio. 

2012 logo. 

Micheal Phelp's head. 

Ryan Lochte - we'd make a super great looking couple. 

More sculptures inside the Visitor Center

Outside the Visitor Center where we had the majority of our tour around the complex. 

The facility was well maintained with a positive and patriotic atmosphere.

Along the pathway there was a flag for every country (204) that currently participates in the Olympics as well as a sign about every sport that is played, which yes, does include handball. 

There were quotes ALL over the place. All inspiring, of course!

Gymnastics! Why weren't the Fierce Five there?? We toured inside the Sports Complex as well as another building with a lot of different gyms and training areas for boxing. This facility mostly trains indoor summer sports and was previously a military base. The old barracks are used to house the athletes while they are there training. There are a total of three Olympic Training Facilities with the other two locations in New York and California.

This machine helps athletes return from knee, ankle, leg, etc. injuries because it takes off part of the body weight pressure so that the athlete can get used to using the injured body part again without the full force of their entire body weight. 

This machine helps athletes see where they distribute their body weight so they learn how to run maybe two or three tenths of a second faster.   This could be the difference in winning a medal or not. 

This is where the boxers practiced.

The pool where all the swimmers practiced! It is being cleaned now because the para-olympiads just left for London that morning. 

The Olympic Truce and the end of the tour. 

My awesome Olympic gear from the Training Center!

Colorado Springs is packed with some awesome touristy things to see. We didn't see them all of course, but we are thrilled with the places we did see! It's always so fun to visit these places, but we are most thankful for our health and luck we've had in safety so far on this trip!!

AUGUST 16

SKYLINE DRIVE
Needing a day of rest (and time to update the blog), it was an easy decision to stick around at Mountain View RV Resort and take a quick drive to the Skyline Road which we read about after seeing it heading into town. It is a one way small road that was built by prisoners in the early 20th century. It goes across the ridge of a mountain, and there are some breathtaking views. Many locals use it for their daily biking or walking exercise. 

Entrance to the Skyline Drive.

Great view of the road as it travels over the mountain!

Jeep hanging out. 

US 50 heading into Canon City.

US 50 heading towards the Royal Gorge. 

Beautiful morning views of some Colorado Mountains. 

The signs said there were some dinosaur tracks here, but nothing as obvious as what we saw in Utah. 

More great views!

It's wonderful to have a busy busy day followed by a more relaxing day. Tomorrow, we head off to  Hill City, South Dakota, to see Mt. Rushmore, our final west destination unless we change our minds!! It will be a long day, especially with the traffic in Denver. So looking forward to seeing "the heads" and happy we are missing out on Sturgis!