Happy Birthday, Mark

Not only is today Mark's birthday, but, it is also our last day here in Woodland Park.  So, we wanted today to be special for both reasons.  The choice was obvious...

We took for the drive

up Pike's Peak, America's Mountain.

We have been to the top of Pike's Peak many times, but the last several trips we took the

Cog train, so this time we decided to drive the 19 miles to the top.

We made our way to the

entrance and paid the fee.  Nothing left at this point except to make our way

up,

up, and

up.

We passed

lakes, drove

through construction, and

kept going up and around and around until we finally made it up to

the summit.

  The temperature was 50 degrees and while we were at the top a

 

dark cloud blew in bringing snow flakes with it, so...

time to head into the gift shop to browse around.  And, in lieu of a birthday cake, I treated Mark to the World Famous

high altitude donuts and a cup of coffee.

When at the top, you know why the words of America The Beautiful were penned from here in the late 1800's.   And, when we were content with soaking in all

of that beauty, we started our decent.

Going down is a lot quicker than going up...

We were cleared at

the the brake check to keep going and soon, we were almost

 

to the bottom.

We then made our way through Manitou and on into The Springs.  Our destination was the mall for a little birthday shopping.  Mark got 4 pairs of socks and I got a new pair of Oakley sunglasses.

Great birthday, great day!

Tomorrow, we will be traveling about 100 miles to Golden, Colorado.  We are looking forward to spending the weekend with my nephew and his little boy.  I am sure there will be an adventure or two to report from there.

And, by the way, to answer the comments from yesterday's post...the orange things on the grill were peaches and they were delicious!