Road Trip!: Day 9: Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods

Colorado continues to amaze us! We spent all of today at just two locations: Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods. Both of these natural attractions are in or near Manitou Springs. First thing this morning, we went to what is called, “America’s Mountain.” From the gateway at an elevation of 7,400 feet, to the 14,110-foot summit, is a 19-mile, scenic climb. Well, of course it’s scenic. It winds up and up, and weaves around and around the evergreen trees, yellow aspens, sparkling blue lakes, rocky orange walls, and the alpine tundra. The winding road forms what are called “W’s” on the side of the mountain, with some very tight, hairpin turns. Because the climb is so steep, and often without guardrails, it’s a bit of a white-knuckle drive. Not that we didn’t enjoy it! Interestingly, just two days ago, the final few miles of the roadway were blacktopped. Prior to that, we would have had to contend with gravel, just to add to the fun of the drive. At the summit, there is a 360-degree view of the world, I think. When we were up there, looking around, a couple of vans arrived, carrying many crazy bicycle riders who were preparing to ride their bikes down that steep drive. Yikes! The temperature at the summit was a sunny 37 degrees; at the base of the mountain, it was 70. From there, we were on to our next experience. A few miles down the road is “Garden of the Gods.” The land for this park was donated to the city of Colorado Springs in 1909 by a generous family, who stipulated that it was always to remain a free park. What a gift that was! In the park are amazing and striking geological formations made up of beautiful, deep orange sedimentary rock. The formations are incredible and enormous. This is a very popular attraction for hikers, rock climbers, and bikers. Also, as in our case, for auto-riders. We took pictures of every rock formation from every possible direction. I’m running out of words to describe the beauty of Colorado.