When we started to plan our trip to Colorado, a lot of people suggested taking the cograil train up to Pikes Peak. I was a little concerned, because it is 1 1/2 hours up, and back down again… that is a long time for Little Miss to sit still. Luckily, BOTH kids had halos above their heads after the trip! Here they are before we got onboard!
Have you ever seen so many humming birds eating at a feeder at one time? I was amazed!
On the way up the mountain, there were a lot of neat sites… we viewed a waterfall from above (not below), a residential house 60 miles away from town (and 17 miles away from their own mailbox!), lakes, etc. So beautiful! This photo shows a ‘park’ which is a flat area in the mountains.
Beautiful lake hidden in the mountains
Once we got to the top of Pikes Peak, we were at an elevation of 14,110 feet. It was so frigid at the top, the temperature was 35 with a windshield of 28! It was windy, too, the wind just whipped through you and I felt like I needed googles because dust kept blowing into my eyes. Oh, but the view was worth it!
View of our train from the top. There is also a little store at the top of Pikes Peak with some of the best doughnuts I’ve ever had… and, of course I had some hot chocolate!
A couple of views from the top
Isn’t this a little frightening? The end of the cograil!
After the cograil, it was lunch time… so we decided to head over to The Airplane Restaurant. I think this may have been Nathan’s FAVORITE part of the trip, because he keeps asking to go back there! Wait, no… I think the tricycles at the cottage were his favorite part of the trip, then this airplane restaurant. :o)
Here is the terminal part of the restaurant, and you can see the wing and part of the body of the plane that we would sit inside to eat.
Here is a view of the tables from inside the plane
So, of course while waiting for our food, Nathan wanted to explore the cockpit.
It didn’t take long for Sissy to follow in Big Bro’s footsteps
Lots and lots of controls
Sissy playing pilot
Then, after The Airplane Restaurant, we decided to head on over to the Airforce Academy for a quick view of the Cadet Chapel. It was neat, on our drive to the Visitor’s Center, they had stops along the way and I got a great picture of the academy.
They have a track, soccer fields, football, etc… you name it, they have it :o)-
This is one of the halls
It was neat watching the everyday life at the academy, we heard the marching band, saw them lining up in formation, etc.
Not sure what this building is, but I took a picture of it 🙂
Sculpture
We took a 1/3rd mile nature walk from the Visitors Center to the Cadet Chapel. Here is the front of the chapel.
The reflection of the hard edges of the chapel on the grass
Just some random shots of the chapel. Unfortunately, it was too late in the day so we weren’t able to see the chapel from the inside… however, I am just as happy with the outside view. :o) The chapel has different services on different days… I saw they have Protestant Christian, Buddhist Catholic Mass, etc.
