Hey didn’t you just hike Pikes Peak a week ago – 28 miles, right?

It was 6 days ago yes, but this time I brought family via the Pikes Peaks Cog Railroad from Manitou Springs.  July 4^th holiday week is the time my family has set aside annually to gather since 2008.  Christmas holiday can be a tough time to travel & if you’re married, there’s the added pressure of multiple in-laws to visit.  PLUS there’s so much to do during the summer, no matter who hosts ‘the Games’.  (That said, I argue there are super fun outdoor things to do during all 4 seasons in Colorado :))

Focused & hopeful, I put out feelers with my family in April & this year I got the nod to host our annual gathering – in beautiful Colorado!  So much to see & do – but with only 3 days of ‘game time’, I needed to bring it.

Goal:  Everyone goes home with a lasting Colorado memory.

Folks arrived at various times on the 4^th so our first ‘get-together’ happened in early evening.  Dinner, card games & fireworks. Late night.  Too bad, ‘cause ya’ll know I’m an early riser 🙂  Dropped Ro at Camp Bow Wow & hit the highway.  Destination: Colorado Springs.  No time to be late – we had reservations (& prepaid tickets) for the Cog Railway.

The Manitou and Pike’s Peak Railway (also known as the Pikes Peak Cog Railway) is an Abt rack system cog railway in Colorado, USA, climbing the well-known mountain Pikes Peak. The railway is the highest in North America by a considerable margin.  The railway was started by Zalmon G. Simmons, inventor and founder of the Simmons Beautyrest Mattress Company. The company was founded in 1889 and limited service to the Halfway House Hotel was started in 1890. The summit was reached the following year.

Ruxton Creek, Lake Moraine, Mount Almagre – above treeline: bristlecone pine, marmots & bighorn sheep.  BEAUTIFUL!

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. We recommend that you budget your time accordingly.

High-altitude donuts, quick walk thru the gift shop, group photo, then followed Ash & Tom to the ‘America the Beautiful’ monument (song was inspired/written here & I completely missed on last weekend’s hike).

Drama begins – I hear Ash say ‘are you serious?’  I grab my camera & catch 16 seconds of memory as Tom drops to one knee & pulls out a ring.  Will you marry me? – at 14,000 feet.  WOW!

Talk about setting the bar high on Day 1.  HA!

CONGRATS Ash & Tom!  You’ve changed the way I’ll look at Pikes Peak forever.

Pikes Peak proposal (video)