Pikes Peak or Bust

I've been having loads of fun with friends and the sun lately, since the weather here has been incredible! Lots of sun and pool fun with Abby and Sarafia. I had them over one night for some pool fun followed by a lovely spaghetti dinner and a movie. Abby made the spaghetti, I made the garlic bread (and burned some of it....but I ate the burned pieces!) and Sarafia made the lemonade.

Sarafia and Abby in my kitchen. :)

A couple days after that, Abby left for her home state of Michigan to have a small vacation with her family. She'll be gone for almost 2 weeks and I miss her terribly already!

On a whim, I called up Sarafia to ask if she'd want to make the drive up to the summit of Pike's Peak with me. Originally, I'd wanted to see the Peak for the first time after I'd hiked the Barr Trail that leads up to the top, but realistically that will take quite some time to get me physically ready for such a task. Also, my curiosity was quickly peaked when I spied a small light on the very top of the mountain early one morning when I was opening Starbucks. It glinted so close to the sky it nearly blended in with the stars that still shone, and I immediately wanted to know what and who was up on top of that mountain at 4am.

So the following day, Saturday, Sarafia and I headed to Pike's Peak Tollway as soon as she left work. Not gonna lie, I was nervous about the drive. I'd heard rumors about the hairpin switchbacks and the narrow gravel roads with no guard rails. I'd never driven in such an environment, and as far as I know, neither had Sarafia. Since she has a 4-wheel drive vehicle and I have a 1999 Toyota Corolla, we decided it would be best if she drove, just in case. So off we went, Pike's Peak or Bust.

About halfway up the mountain lies Crystal Lake Reservoir. It's as clear as its name says it is, and as cold as you'd expect a water source halfway up a mountain to be! It's a beautiful Lake and lots of Colorado folk drive up there to fish or hang out on its small but lovely beaches. Sarafia and I stopped to look around and take some pictures.

As most of you know, I can't resist the water. So Sarafia and I made our way down to the lake and took off our shoes to dip our toes in the frigid and crystal clear water. As we watched the minnows play in the sand and mud stirred up by our feet, we suddenly heard a very small and very scared cry behind us. A small girl was running along the beach crying. She was obviously lost, and crying for her mother. Sarafia, maternal heart that she is ;), jumped immediately out of the water and towards the crying girl, completely forgetting about her shoes and socks. I watched, bemused, as she comforted the girl, stopped her crying, won her trust, took her hand, and lead her back towards the Reservoir gift shop and snack bar all in about 3 minutes. I simply picked up her shoes and followed.

After letting the woman in the gift shop know that we had found a lost child, we looked around the parking lot and area and the little girl pointed out her family's car, so at least we knew they were still in the park somewhere. We decided to sit and wait outside the gift shop for the girl's family. She'd finally told us (told Sarafia, who she refused to let go of :) ) her name, and we sat and listened, thinking we'd see her family searching or at least hear them calling for her. We waited and waiting without seeing or hearing anyone. I eventually started to get a little ticked off. I mean, if YOU had lost a four year old child next to a RESERVOIR on the top of a MOUNTAIN, wouldn't you be a little frantic? Eventually, after her family could not be located, the woman running the gift shop called in a Ranger who came and sat with us for a little bit, gathering information from the girl. He then left her in our care once again as he went to search the trails for her family.

He came back about 10 minutes later with a man (who barely looked to be in his 20's) and a little boy. They collected the little girl with nothing more than an embarrassed 'thank you' and a tiny nod. Really? You lost your little 4 year old girl on a MOUNTAIN and all you can do is look embarrassed when you find her safe?? How about relieved, grateful, happy, that we found your child and not a pedophile, or a mountain lion? Needless to say, Sarafia and I were a bit frustrated with the situation as we left to continue our journey up the mountain. But continue we did, and the amazing views soon wiped away our lingering annoyance, and replaced it with awe.

The last checkpoint before you begin to rapidly gain altitude and you enter the "Alpine Zone".

The views over the side of the road begin to get more and more heart stopping!

Finally, after about a 40 minute drive, we arrived at the summit! And it was FREEZING up there! A couple of Asian tourists took this picture for us, so sorry that it's off center. Then they asked if I'd be in their picture, so of course I said Sure! and climbed back up into the picture, so somewhere on some Japanese facebook there's a picture of me. Heh.

Sarafia made a friend and the Summit snack shop/gift shop/Cog Railway Station.

This is the monument built to honor Katherine Bates. After her first trip up to Pike's Peak, she was so inspired by the amazing views that she went home and penned the poem that would become the patriotic tune we all know and love: America the Beautiful.

And after seeing the views from the top myself, I certainly can see where she got her inspiration.

That dirt edge you see at the bottom of this picture, is the edge of the ROAD. Yes, quite unnerving. But the views are great!

Views from the Peak.

So I've heard a lot about a creature called a "Yellow-bellied Marmot"since I've come to Colorado. Apparently they live in very high altitudes. I'd yet to have come across one, until driving back down Pike's Peak Tollway, when I saw not one, but TWO of the critters! We managed to snap a picture of one, it looks like a mixture between a groundhog and a beaver.

We stopped at the Inn that marks the halfway point up the mountain, or the area before you enter the Alpine Zone, or just after you leave the Alpine Zone depending on which direction you're traveling. The cafe inside was right up my alley, and my parent's alleys as well, so I took a picture. If you know my family, you'll see why it made me think of them. :) And then there was a large bear...with an even larger bear butt. So of course we took a picture. And no, the bear isn't real. It's stuffed. :)

So Sarafia and I made it back down the mountain safely, and about an hour later my ears finally popped and I could hear again. :) A great trip, and an experience I whole-heartedly recommend to all who travel to Colorado Springs for a visit. The views are legendary and indescribable (to all of us who are not Katherine Bates), and I can't wait to summit another fourteener, as the native mountaineers say. :)

Stay tuned, more adventures to come!