Pikes Peak

Monday 8/4/08

On Monday, we had 9am reservations for the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. The train climbs to 14,110 feet above sea level to the summit of Pikes Peak. We had a pretty clear day so we were able to see the peaks of the Continental Divide, four states, Denver, Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs. There are times that the train is going up a 25% grade. Don’t put anything on the floor or you will lose it! At the top, the temperature was 46 degrees but we had been warned and had brought jackets. The ride was about 3 and ½ hours round trip. When we got back to the station, we were very glad we had an early morning ride because by now there were so many people at the station and the weather was turning cloudy.
After the train ride, we went to Focus on the Family. We were able to take a tour of the facility and saw a short film on the origins of Focus. Even though we didn’t have any children with us we went downstairs and visited Whit’s End and had some ice cream. We then spent some time in the very extensive bookstore. The whole complex is much larger than we expected. We then headed back to camp for dinner and preparations for leaving the next morning.