Colorado Fun

     Leaving Taos on Tuesday, we headed for Colorado Springs. Overnight the weather had become stormy and our drive was wet and cold. We had blue skies for a short time and they were gorgeous. The road was steaming because the air was so cold.




     This is where we stopped while Jim tried to help a young couple fix their flat tire. Sadly, they had some wheels with bling that and were going to need special tools. I felt bad for them to be stuck in the cold rain.
     Wednesday we were able to connect with my cousin Karie. It was so great to spend some time with her and catch up on so many things going on in her life. Karie works at the Colorado Springs U.S. Olympic Shooting Center. It’s part of the Olympic Training Center. The center has training facilities for a variety of indoor venues such as shooting, swimming, gymnastics, wrestling, Paralympic events and others.
     Karie took us on a tour of the shooting center and then we took a guided tour of some other venues. It’s an amazing facility.

              
                         
                         
                      

     This is the beautiful facility where athletes may live, free of charge, while training at the center.

         

I loved the many wonderful paintings by Michael Dudash.

    We helped support the local economy at the closest quilt shop and then had dinner with Karie at a wonderful local restaurant, ending a lovely day.

     Thursday was another cold, misty day and we headed out to enjoy some local sights. We started at Canyon of the Gods. The weather put a real damper on what we were able to do there so we drove through the park and enjoyed what we could see.

            

             

Next time we’re in the neighborhood, we’d love to take some of the hikes around the canyon.

    

  We moved on from there to the Pike’s Peak Cog Railway. Leaving from Manitou station, the train travels at 16% to 26% grades to the summit at over 14,000 feet. Weather has been so cold and wet this month that ours was the first passenger train to make it to the summit since season opening in early April. We took dozens of photos. It was beautiful.

              

     The train wheels roll on regular gauge tracks while a gear system under the train engages with a center “rack” track, That’s how it can climb such steep grades. No switchbacks needed here!

              

    This wicked looking thing is actually a snow plow that cleared the track so we could make it to the summit. (Reminder, you can enlarge any photo by just clicking on it.)

              

              

Hard to see, but the little guy in the snow is a whistling yellow bellied marmot. He burrows deep under the snow to hibernate, then comes out in the spring digging his way through feet and  feet of snow.

In places, the snow had covered the tracks higher than the train top. Snow plow to the rescue!

    

         

Clouds were thick and dark up here. There was a train on the track ahead of us. Those are the folks who were going to open the facility at the summit for the first time this season,  just minutes before we arrived.

         

Snow at the summit was 8 to 10 feet deep. The visitor center needed a plow to the front door.

           

What a view from the summit!

Then back down the mountain, into the fog.

              
                        

         

What a perfectly fabulous day!

     Today we left Colorado, heading for Iowa via Kansas. We’re in Russell, KS tonight, going to Eagleville, MO tomorrow. Then to Iowa and the “covered bridges.”

Wishing you a great day!
Pat