A Trip Up The Cog Railway

One of our stops in Colorado Springs was the Cog Railway which takes you to the top of Pikes Peak. Below (where you catch the “cog”) temps were in the mid-80’s. At the top it was freezing! I’m not sure what the temp actually was but it was COLD! Luckily I had thought to grab two lightweight jackets, but we sure could have had warmer ones!

Of course the main attraction at the top of Pikes Peak is a gift shop! Go figure! Did I mention that the elevation is 14,110’? The high altitude does affect you! Especially on the way down! You are allowed 30 to 40 minutes on the top of Pikes Peak. The reason for this is that most people begin to feel the effects of high altitude (slight nausea, headache) after about this amount of time. Most of the passengers on the way down also slept…another affect of the altitude!

Shae enjoyed his ride up (we rode up backwards) and down (facing forward but fighting gravity)! He had to wear Grandpa’s jacket at the top because it was so cold! We all had on shorts and we froze! Didn’t stay outside too long! If the temps weren’t enough…it’s mid-June and there was *s*n*o*w* on the ground! It was scattered, but there none the less!

It was pretty interesting seeing the scenery change as you rode up and down. Although we didn’t see any big horn sheep, we did see a few marmots!

Before we took our trip on the Railway, Don and Shae had gotten up early and went over to see the parachutists and gliders training on base! They both really enjoyed that! It was a fun day seeing the sites and spending the time with Shae!