Monday May 19, 2014

Non-Travel Day

 

Today was a beautifully clear sunny morning, and we headed to the town of “Manitou Springs” and the “Pikes Peak Cog Railway” . After picking up our tickets we boarded the
train for our round trip ride from the depot to the summit of Pikes Peak, the ride
takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes each way with about 45 minutes at the top to
enjoy the views and the gift shop. The train travels to an elevation of 14,115 ft., well above the tree line and at this time of the year it is still snow covered. The temperature today at the top was 30 degrees, with a wind that made it feel much colder requiring winter coats. 
Some other facts about the train are: the track is 8.9 miles long, it is the highest cog railway in the world, it runs year round with the aid of a snow plow, at a speed of 8 to 10 MPH, the average grade is 12% and sometimes up to 24 %. From the top there is a fantastic
360 degree view of the surrounding mountains and the flatland to the east; and the views inspired the writing of a poem that was later put to music that we know as “America the Beautiful”. The rides up and down were fantastic with views of the forest, mountain sides and
valleys. From the top the view was unbelievably beautiful, and being a clear day we could see a fantastic distance, even though it was cold we stood there transfixed by the beauty. After returning to the depot we drove throughthe quant town of Manitou Springs, which is a thriving community of stores and restaurants. We then returned to thecamper. This was definitely a day to remember.