Wandering Retirees

Pikes Peak and Housekeeping

On the Ridiculous and the Sublime.

Yesterday, the 26th, we got up early, had some breakfast, suited up and headed out to the Pikes Peak Scenic Highway to start an ascent to the top. It’s the last big item on our itinerary and we were very excited. We came prepped with an oxygen can, extra warm clothing and sunscreen.

Pikes Peak is not administered by the Nat’l Park Service, but by the City of Colorado Springs which puts a lot of resources into upkeep and improvements. Because it’s such a popular destination, the City can count an a lot of direct revenue which can be turned around quickly into maintenance. And we saw this immediately because the roads are well maintained, signage is good and there are plenty of amenities – read clean restrooms. It is a beautiful ride!

Early in our ascent, we noticed that reservoirs were really low for this time of year. There’s a picture that show boat launches stranded 20 feet from the low water mark. This makes us think of Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which help supply water and electricity to much of the South west.

We’re told that Denver demands a huge portion of available water, which stretches availability for other communities. It’s really concerning because there’s no snow pack and very little rain recently.

The road up to Pikes Peak is 19 miles long. The entrance station is at mile 7. We had made a timed entry reservation costs $2 online in advance, and paid the entrance fee. For us that meant $36 for the day. Then we were off and we had a blast!

We were met by a convocation of mountain goats who really couldn’t have cared less that they stopped traffic. Stopping for views became important, too.

It took us about an hour to make it to the top and park in a designated motorcycle area. Which of course got fellow riders talking and comparing notes. Our PA tags got some comments!

The Visitors Center is an impressive building built right into the mountain. We moved slowly at 14,130 feet to get to the canteen where coffee and world renowned donuts were to be had. There’s some special recipe they use that works well at that altitude. We think they’re worth the trip.

The cog train station is right outside and it transports a lot of people everyday. Quite a few were dressed in t-shirts, shorts and flip flops who were trying to look brave in a windy 45F environment. Connie and I looked like arctic travelers with our 30 layers and boots. We did have the satisfaction of our warmth. The beach goers probably wished they did.

We had lots of wonderful views on top and did the mutual I’ll-take-your-family-picture-if-you-take-ours thing. And we did take puffs from our oxygen bottle when we moved a lot. The O2 level at 14,000 feet is only 60% of sea level. We recommend you have one on hand, too.

The descent was fun and easy for the most part. We met some cars whose drivers seemed intimidated by the road. Pretty hard to argue with that. Until you gain confidence it can be downright scary. So we all took our time. No one pushed or hassled the cautious ones. Nice to see civility in action.

From the sublime to the mundane. Laundry. Clean socks and skivvies are important to unit morale. A couple of hours and morale was assured.

We had supper at the hotel bar and met a couple from Huntsville, AL who were on a kidless getaway. Kristin and John are delightful company. Especially considering we are 25 years older. We wound up talking for hours and enjoyed every minute. They turned in early because they were taking a group bike ride down Pikes Peak in the morning. Both are very fit so the physical challenge shouldn’t be too bad. But down hill on bicycles where there’s no engine breaking to be had?! We think they’re very brave. Hopefully we’ll see them later and find out how it went.

Today is relax day before the journey home. We’re celebrating our anniversary today and have plans for a nice dinner. Time to get dressed so it’s time to wrap up.

Connie will fly home tomorrow (Sunday) and I’ll start the ride back. Should be pretty hot most of the way so I’ll be starting earlier in the day to beat the heat. I plan to be in on Saturday next.

For my part, I’ll try to share some experiences along the way. It will depend on the weather and road conditions. So hopefully we’re not done yet.

As always, thanks for following along. Take care of you!