On our way home from Estes Park we drove through Colorado Springs so we could go up to Pike's Peak. I wasn't super excited about this or anything. Riding up the side of an extremely high mountain with my most favorite people in the world and with nothing holding us up but the cogs of the train is not what I would call "a good time". Josh was really excited and so were Maddie and Ryley so I tried to be as well. :)
We got our tickets and had some time before the next train left so we decided to have our lunch.
Maddie takes every opportunity she can to turn her baby brother into "Sawyerina". (She's desperate for a little sister - keep dreaming sister!) She found these little flowers by our picnic bench and set to work.
After lunch we boarded our train.
I didn't take a lot of pictures on the ride up there - mostly out of terror. It was really hard to get a picture while sitting at the angle we were on and there were so many people on the train I kept getting people's heads/hats in the pictures. Plus it was threatening to rain and I really didn't want to stick my camera or the very expensive lens out of the window and risk getting it rained on or dropped off the side of the mountain.
The scenery started out a very dense forest with lots of boulders along the side of the tracks (that was really comforting - not!). As we climbed higher and higher and the air grew thinner and colder the landscape turned into one of complete red rocks/dirt. Here are some views at the top of Pike's Peak.
You better believe I did NOT walk down that little pathway to read whatever was on that plaque. Even with those handrails. No way. And neither did any of my offspring or spouse. NO WAY.
This one shows Colorado Springs down there.
Poor Cash inherited my fear of heights and wouldn't go out near the edge to take a picture with the rest of the crazies. For the record, I was VERY MUCH against Josh taking my other babies over there as well.
Proof I was actually there - I'm sure there are those who doubt it. :)
This is a picture of our train. It stops at the top of the Peak where there is a little gift shop and restaurant. Word of advice: use the bathroom at the bottom of the Peak. Where there is actual plumbing. And a sewer system. Not at the top of the Peak. Where there is not. Glorified port-a-potty's and the 100 hundred fellow train passengers who did not use the bathroom at the bottom either = yuck-o.
One of the gift shop's claims to fame is their donuts. They've been featured on one of the Food Network shows. They have to have some kind of special recipe because of the high altitude. Being the donut lover he is, Josh we thought we'd better try them.
Maddie approved.
Cash approved.
Ryley approved.
Sawyer even got a few bites. They were pretty good!
I got a little braver on the way down and took a few pictures of our view. There were lots of really pretty lakes!
This picture is cool because you can see how the vegetation just completely stops at a certain altitude. Plus you can also see the reflection of the hat that was constantly in my way. :)
Too bad he won't remember any of this!
This is a look back on our way down. The little gift shop is just over the rise.
At one point each way on the trip you have to pull over to let another train go by. Here's the other train coming.
Whistle pigs! They were all over the place at the top.
It was definitely a fun little family activity!
On the way out of Colorado Springs we made a quick drive through of the Garden of the Gods. I wish we'd had more time to see all the amazing rock formations. So beautiful!! But we had to get back on the road so we could make it back to GG and YoPapa's before too late.
Colorado Springs is on my list of places we could move to. . . if we had to. :)
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