We have moved on to Colorado Springs, Colorado which is just south of Denver. We visited here back in 2017 and stayed more on the outskirts of the town. This time we are only a few blocks from the historic area of Colorado Springs, we could actually walk there if we were energetic. It is very nice area to visit and we booked 4 days here just as a rest stop to catch up on any laundry or shopping we needed. RV park is not that great, really not big rig friendly. While the location is good the layout of the park is very poor for larger rigs, in fact the big rigs are all outside the main entrance backed into spots facing an auto parts store. Bruce can give some real horror stories watching some of the other rigs back into the spots over the last couple of days. Should be fun leaving on Monday as there is no place for us to hook the truck on the back of the RV, we will need to drive aways to find a big parking lot we can pull in to hook up. Fortunately we had unhooked the truck right before we got here when had stopped to fill up with fuel. I just followed in the truck.
Our previous visit here we went to see the Garden of the Gods and really enjoyed it. This time our only plans are to go up to Pikes Peak, we could actually see it from an opening in one of the formations we hiked to in Garden of the Gods in 2017. It was framed in a beautiful opening in the rocks.
You can drive, hike or take the Cog Railway up Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak is a little over 14000 feet high and you can dive there and back in 2 to 3 hours, depending on how many times you pull off to check the views and they are supposed to have lots of pull out areas. While at the top we were able to get a picture of part of the road.
If you want to hike part of the peak you can take what is called the Incline which is a series of steps that you get on at a little over 6000 feet up and you can then hike up to a little over 8000 feet. We actually saw some people doing that while we were at the rail depot. You can probably hike the whole mountain using other trails but it would probably take a few days.
We opted to ride the Cog Railway that starts around 6000 feet and goes to the peak. It is called a Cog rail because it has a center rail that has teeth that connect with a cog wheel in the train to give traction. The rail line is so steep that without the center rail you would not be able to get to the top of the peak. The Cog Railway at Pikes Peak is recognized as the highest in the world. It has just reopened this year after being closed for a few years for major refurbishing. While you do not have the opportunity to pull off and check out the sights like you would in your car, it is still interesting. It takes a little over one hour each way and you get about 30 minutes at the top.
To get to the Cog Railway you need to drive through Manitou Springs, very quaint old town, now full of shops and little eating places. Roads are skinny with parking on the side of the road and they are steep roads in much of the town. Would not want to live in that area, it is very much a tourist location.
The ride on the cog rail is not something that I would recommend for really young kids or really elderly especially someone in a wheelchair or on crutches. At the end of our ride Bruce and I had the same thought on how to improve the experience, have at least one train a day that is child free. Our train consisted of three cars connected together (they have some that are only two cars) and you can see from one end of the train to the other. We had a young couple with two little girls sitting by us, one parent and child facing us and the other parent and child on the next seats up facing forward. They were very nice kids, an occasional accidental kick in the knee for which they were told to apologize and they did.
Across the aisle , even with the seats in front of our section , was couple with 7 young kids, all appeared to be under 12, dragging along a grandmother in a wheelchair that looked like she had broke something and had a brace attached with pins to her leg. They had a set of 6 seats together (3 facing forward and 3 facing back), then they had grandma in the wheelchair in the area ahead of them with one kid next to her and then the other 2 back on our side of the train facing back our direction but fortunately not in our face but was facing the mother and daughter that were setting there.
The kids were out of control, getting up and down moving seats, poking each other, fighting with each other, very loud and the youngest let loose to crawl around when you were told to stay out of the aisle and most of the time they had their mask off. Mom was yelling occasionally but they just ignored her. The only good thing I can say is they at least waited until everyone got off our car before they started getting grandma off the train car. The return trip we swapped seats so the young couple with two girls could all sit together and we moved up to the row that was across from two of the other kids. They did a bunch of moving around and I guess we scared them as the two abandoned the seats facing us. The two adults and 5 kids set together in the 6 seat section and 2 of the kids moved up by grandma. Entire trip down consisted of mom yelling at the kids every 5 minutes about everything and how terrible they were and how she had to put up with them on the way up and she did not want to put up with it on the way down. One kid was sick from the motion of the train and she kept telling him it was his fault and he was making himself sick and did not have to be that way. Dad kept his mouth shut the whole time.
When we got off the train the young couple thanked us again for switching the seats so they could get away from the family and sit together.
Train has no air-conditioning so you ride with the windows down unless you get too cool. We left ours down the entire way. You did need a jacket when you got to the top. They warn you before you leave the station and they do a brisk business selling sweatshirts in the gift shop. They have a sign outside the shop showing you the weather for the day.
Below are pictures from Pikes Peak, we actually saw a bear near the top and I was able to get several pictures by bending backwards and turning in my seat with my arm over my head snapping shots out the window behind me. I was shocked I actually got several that turned out good.
There were a few buildings along the ride up and the conductor gave an overview of the history of the area and why there were the few building that we saw along the tracks. Of course it was somewhat hazy at the top, a little cool and a little harder to breath at first. We also got slight headaches and by the time we got back down Bruce had lost his voice. He was fine in the morning.