On Friday we (Holly, Rodney, Nancy, and Roger) left early and drove south to the Colorado Springs area. Our first objective was to drive up to the top of Pikes Peak. We could see the mountain when we started our drive from North of Denver, over sixty miles away. When we arrived at the Pikes Peak Road we found that the route to the top was blocked by snow, but they were trying to clear the route to the visitor center at milemarker 13. We set off up the road, and reached about 12 miles and over 11,000 feet before the road was blocked. It was cold, in the 20’s, and a great trip, with with wonderful views. Along the route we were warned to watch for local animal crossings.
We then visited the tourist community of Manitou Springs, where we had a delicious lunch at the Adams Cafe. After lunch we drove through the Garden of the Gods, and hiked some of the trails. At one point Nancy pushed up a little rock that was leaning over.
During our day we saw a number of Magpies.
We then visited the Air Force Academy, including the museum and famous chapel.
The weather along our route was ever changing. The prediction was for partly cloudy, chance of rain and we were able to see various weather fronts off in the distance. When the sun was out it was cool but comfortable but in an instant it would change to a snow squall, then cloudy and then sunny again. Very unpredictable and fun.
We arrived back in Denver, and had a delicious barbeque dinner with Julie, Peter, and Jack at Famous Dave’s BBQ Restaurant and rehashed our various adventures.
No comments:
Post a Comment