Rocky Mountain High – Colorado – Colorado Springs that is. That’s where we are this week. We hit a new high of 7500 feet above sea level driving up from Albuquerque. Along the way we slip between two major storm cells and consider ourselves lucky. Unfortunately the Golden Eagle Campground where we are staying this week was not as lucky. The campground received a major gully washer and the campsites which are mainly dirt are now mud. The lady in the office at checkin warns us that we might prefer a standard site lower in the campground over our reserved premium site further up the hill. We take a look at both sites and decide to take the standard site which appears to be a bit more level. By the time we park the camper everything is covered in mud. This campground is outside Colorado City in the foothills not far from Cheyenne Mountain and Fort Carson. It’s a bit rustic for our (spoiled) tastes – no pool, spa, or concrete pads – but it is quiet and has trees for some shade.
For our introduction to Colorado Springs we take the Garden of the Gods/Foothills Jeep Tour with Adventures Out West. Since there are a total of six taking the tour and the jeeps only hold five, they decide to split us into two groups. Bill and I luck out and get our own jeep with Dutch as our guide.
We first head up into the foothills for a stop at Helen Hunt Falls in North Cheyenne Cañon Park. As we continue, Dutch stops at an overlook for a view of the Broadmoor Resort and surrounding area. Next we take a drive through the Garden of the Gods full of 300 foot high sandstone rock formations. Dutch gives us some pointers on the best viewing spots and times to visit. Aside from the Trading Post, he is not allowed to stop the jeep but that’s not a problem. We’ll come back on our own later. From the Garden of the Gods we head into Old Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs where Dutch tells us more about the history of the region and makes some suggestions of where to eat. All too soon it’s back to our starting point where we bid farewell to Dutch and our jeep.
The next day, Friday, we have reservations for the 1:20 p.m. Pike’s Peak Cog Railway train so we drive into Manitou Springs early to do some shopping and grab a snack. Manitou Springs is a delightful old west town full of bed and breakfasts, restaurants, and shopping – my kind of place! We spend as much time wandering the town as we can before heading to the Cog Railway to park and retrieve our tickets. Our assigned seats are in the lead car (Leadville) row 1, seats A and B. We’re front row!
The entire trip takes about 3 1/2 hours, covers 8.9 miles of track, and changes from about 6000 feet above sea level to over 14,000 feet at the summit of Pike’s Peak. Along the way we see various pines and aspen trees. At the “Big Hill” area our guide points out some bristlecone pines that are estimated to be over 2000 years old. We pass the timberline where trees no longer grow due to the permafrost and witness some marmots playing alongside the tracks.
At about 2:40 p.m. we reach the summit where we can disembark, walk around outside the visitor center to enjoy the views, and go inside the visitor center to warm up (it’s in the 20’s with wind chill up here) and buy food and souvenirs. We are warned that when the train whistle blows at 3:10 we should make our way back to the train as it will depart exactly at 3:20. It doesn’t take long for the high altitude effect to hit – my heart is racing as we walk around and take some photos. We’re bundled up in our heavy jackets with long pants and hiking boots but we see others in shorts and t-shirts – brrr. The visitor center is packed with fellow train riders plus those that have driven up to the summit so we don’t spend much time inside.
Suddenly we hear the train whistle so we scurry back onboard, shed our jackets, and take a couple of breaths from the small air canisters that we had purchased before starting the trip – ahh, that’s better. Since the train does not turn around our front row seats now become tail-end-charlie seats and we watch in dismay as the trains pulls out leaving two of our number behind. I guess they’re hikers now unless they can get on the next train or find some kind soul in the parking lot to give them a ride down. They were warned. At 4:30 p.m. we arrive back at the station where it is 90 degrees. If you haven’t done the Cog Railway be sure to add it to your bucket list – it’s fantastic!
Saturday we consider driving into Cañon City to look around until Bill discovers the Royal Gorge Route Railroad. We find that they are all booked up for Saturday but have availability for Sunday so we hang around the campsite and then go into Colorado Springs for dinner.
Sunday morning we drive 45 minutes into Cañon City. As we drive down Main Street we both comment that it looks like a 1950’s town. Few of the shops appear to be open so we continue on to the train station. Our reservation is for the Vista Dome car which has a glass top and booth style seating complete with food and drink service.
As we wait to board, we are greeted by Teddy Roosevelt. In 1905, President Roosevelt described this trip as “the trip that bankrupts the English language.” Soon we hear the “all aboard”. Since we booked late, our seats are on the “rock” side instead of the river side so we can’t see much of the Arkansas River. Water and menus are already on the table so we decide to place our food and drink order early to try and beat the rush. (Unfortunately that doesn’t work out very well as we’re the last folks in our car to receive our food. There’s only one working computer onboard today so the wait staff is handwriting orders. Getting the check and paying the bill are equally as frustrating for everyone concerned.) The ride is about two hours long round-trip. The train does not turn around so our rear-facing seats become forward-facing for the return trip. The trip through the gorge follows the Arkansas River and includes views of the sheer rock walls, river, and the Royal Gorge Bridge – one of the world’s highest suspension bridges 956 feet above the river. For the return trip Bill goes out on one of the open air cars to get some photos.
After the Royal Gorge, we decide to give Skyline Drive a try. This is literally a ridge road.
After taking care of some mundane stuff Monday morning we return to the Garden of the Gods in the afternoon.
Tuesday morning we walk around the campground and follow one of the trails to a mountain overlook site. Actually I stop where part of the trail has been washed out and wait while Bill proceeds to the overlook. He’s able to get some pretty good shots of the campground and surrounding area from there.
The campground is beginning to grow on us. It’s a peaceful natural setting with wildlife (especially rabbits) and flowers.
For our final evening here we decide to drive into downtown Colorado Springs for dinner and discover the Rabbit Hole. One can easily walk right by the entrance as this is an underground restaurant. The food is eclectic and very good. If you are in the area, give it a try.
That’s it for Colorado Springs. We’ll see you at our next destination.
This area has always been one of our favorites, excellent write up! We wish we were experiencing this with you guys!
Thanks. Wish you were here with us.