We started out by visiting the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. This was a new and fun addition to our itinerary. They had a visitor center with Academy displays and a gift shop. And then a real cool church building. We had to hike about 1/3 mile to the church and then 1/3 mile back. It was refreshing and fun. The Cadet Chapel was built in 1962 and designed by Walter Netsch in a modernist style. The building has seventeen spires. The structure is a tubular steel frame of 100 identical tetrahedrons, each 75 feet long, weighing five tones, and enclosed with clear aluminum panels. The tetrahedrons are spaced a foot apart, creating gaps in the framework that are filled with 1-inch-thick colored glass. The tetrahedrons comprising the spires are filled by triangular clear aluminum panels, while the tetrahedrons between the spires are filled with a mosaic of colored glass in aluminum frame. The building contains multiple worship areas - a Protestant Chapel on the main floor; a Catholic Chapel on the lower level; and then also on the lower level a Jewish Chapel, a Buddhist Chapel, and an All-Faiths room. We were really enjoying ourselves and perhaps took a little too long at the Air Force Academy as we had a 12:00 train departure and our GPS said we'd get into Manitou Springs by 12:10.
We did not need to worry as Brian made up time on the freeway and we were able to pull into Manitou Springs with plenty of time to spare. We boarded the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and got ready for our adventure.
What is a Cog Railway? Conventional railroads use the friction of wheels upon the rails, called adhesion to provide locomotive power. A cog, or rack, railroad uses a gear, "cog wheel", meshing into a special rack rail (mounted in the middle between the outer rails) to climb much steeper grades than those possible with a standard adhesion railroad. Swiss were quick to make use of this technology and Switzerland is still the country where most rack railways are located. The Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway is, however, the highest rack railway in the world as well as the highest railway in North America.
A little history about the Pikes Peak Cog Railway: One of the tourists who visited the Pikes Peak region in the late-1880's was Zalmon Simmons, inventor and founder of the Simmons Beautyrest Mattress company. Mr. Simmons rode to the summit of Pike's Peak on a mule, partly to enjoy the view and partly to check upon one of his inventions: an insulator for the telegraph wires which ran to the Army Signal Station on the summit. The two day trip was arduous and he was determined to find a better way. He provided the capital needed to fund a railway to the top (idea given to him by the owner of a hotel in Manitou Springs). The first passenger train made it to the summit in June 1891.
About Pikes Peak: Pikes Peak is name for Zebulon Pike, an early explorer of the Southwest. The altitude of Pikes Peak has changed over the years (depending on who is measuring). It is either 14,110 feet or 14,115 feet. Pikes Peak is not the highest mountain in Colorado - it is actually 31st out of 54 mountains in the state that are over 14,000 feet.
The trip started at 6,000 feet (where the train depot is located) and went through four zones: The Foothills Zone (6-8,000 feet) - composed of small bushes and trees such as scrub oak, juniper, sagebrush and pinion pine and inhabited by raccoon, skunks, squirrels, deer. The Montane Zone (8-10,000 feet) has various wildflowers and large forests of pine, Douglas fir and aspen. Deer, elk, bear and mountain lions can be found at this altitude. The Subalpine Zone (10-11,5000 feet) is less hospitable. Englemann spruce, Douglas fir and bristlecone pine can be found here. In the Alpine Zone (11,500 feet and above), tundra composed of tiny flowers, mosses and lichen can be found in the short growing season. We were not able to get all the way to the top due to snow pack, but did get up to 12,500 feet. Cameron and I were very comfortable with a light jacket and the windows open (so we could see out), but Kathy bundled up considerably as we went up the mountain. We were able to see wildlife, waterfalls and gorgeous panoramic views. (This is where Katharine Lee Bates was inspired to write "America the Beautiful").
After our train ride we stopped at the Miramont Castle Museum. I described this to Audrey as a "crazy old house" that John and she would have enjoyed fixing up. The guidebook described it as "a 46 room national historic landmark - take a self guided tour through a Victorian museum featuring nine styles of architecture". It was definitely an eclectic museum and Brian and I were finding all sorts of things to move around and change. A little of the history explains that though. It was built in 1895 as a personal residence for a parish priest. It was purchased by the Sisters of Mercy in 1904 to be used as a sanitarium. They ran the sanitarium until 1927 when it was transitioned into a retreat and vacation home. In 1946 they sold the building and it was subdivided into nine apartments for returning soldiers from WW II. The castle changed hands eleven times over the 30-year apartment era and fell into disrepair. It was purchased in 1976 and saved from condemnation and they have been working on restoring it since. In addition to the museum, they also had a Manitou Springs Fire Department exhibit which was pretty interesting.
Next we headed downtown to Historic Manitou Springs. We had a fun time wandering through the downtown galleries and specialty shops. We enjoyed a snack of ice cream and fudge. I also purchased a bag of sesame seed cookies that they were sampling in the store. Rather addictive...
On our way back home we got take-out for the boys and then Brian, Kathy and I went out for dinner. We were going to try a couple of sit-down restaurants, but the waits were over an hour at each, so we went to Smashburger instead. A great choice! (Their burgers are smashed, seared and seasoned to order using fresh 100% Angus beef). I ordered the Classic (American cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, onion, pickles and smash sauce on an egg bun). Besides the burgers, we had sweet potato fries and milkshakes (Oreo and Chocolate). Yum!! Thanks for an awesome, fun-filled day!!
