Day Eighteen - Vertigo

We had a good night’s sleep last night, with the exception of 3AM and 5AM wake-up calls courtesy of the nearby railroad… Finally on the road we headed south from Denver to Colorado Springs and the legendary Pike’s Peak.

For those of you that don’t know, Pike’s Peak towers over 14,000 feet (that’s almost three miles…) above sea level and is the site of annual hill-climb races which began in 1916. The drive up isn’t really for the faint of heart. The 19-mile drive to the summit includes dirt roads, sharp switchbacks, and a lack of guardrails. Couple this with the possibility of altitude sickness upon reaching the top, and you have my definition of a cool drive. Coming up to the toll gate we were informed that it was below 30*F at the summit, and that the road was only 90% passable due to snow at the top. The attendant also said there were storm clouds rolling in that could cause more of the road to be closed off. Undeterred we paid the toll and set off.

The transformation as you ascend the mountain is almost eerie. You start at 70* and sunny at the bottom of the mountain, and as you climb the temperature not only drops, but the vegetation changes, not to mention warning signs for various forms of wild life, and Bigfoot...

Passing the 12-mile mark we began to reach the tree-line, and the road and weather conditions were steadily degrading. The road was sloppy and muddy, and you could see a thick layer of clouds descending upon the mountain. Surprisingly, the road wasn’t closed and we marched onwards towards the top. Reaching the top you find a rest stop/gift store/café/railroad depot. Oh yeah, did I mention there’s also a cog railroad that you can take up to the top? I’ll stick to 4 wheels and 4wd...

While at the summit it began to snow/sleet and so we headed back down to find the road closed to up-hill traffic at roughly the half way point, so it was a good thing we got there when we did. Coming down to the bottom of the valley we stumbled onto yet another road-side attraction, Santa’s Workshop.

Leaving Colorado Springs, that little snowstorm that rolled into the top of the mountain was a raging thunderstorm at the bottom, so we headed east to out-flank it. The rest of Colorado and Kansas wasn’t really anything special, with the exception of a police-chase in front of the Goodland WalMart. Tonight we’re at the Wakeeney, KS KOA and just settling in for the night. Tomorrow we continue east, and somehow Lindy’s convinced me to take a detour to see the “World’s Largest Ball of Twine,” which I’m sure you all are dying to hear about…