Pikes Peak or Bust

Yesterday Don and I went hiking on trails between South and North Catamount Lake, on the Pikes Peak Highway, then went on up to the top of the mountain (14,110 ft above sea level). And yes, today I am wearing my Got Oxygen/Pikes Peak 14,110 feet socks. When we got there (and may I remind you of the date, 8/3/08 yesterday) and it was sleeting and snowing and the mountain goats were glaring at all the passersby as if to say: "feed me or else".

I always get really amused at tourists, and we get lots of them. Yesterday my husband was really feeling his oats. When we got almost all the way to the top (and there are NO guard rails and the road is dirt, NOT paved) he said, "watch this". So he'd stop the car, wait for a car to come the other way and look at them a point up the mountain and say, "LOOK! LOOK! LOOK!" Everyone would stop, look, crane their necks and he'd drive off just laughing. I'm sure we got a lot of one finger salutes! But, I guess you had to be there, but it was TOO funny! Think about it! We're almost 14,000 feet above sea level on a road that isn't paved and, let me say it again, has NO GUARD RAILS! People were out of their cars, hanging over the edges, trying to find the mountain goats and taking pictures of anything that moved (or didn't). And my husband chooses that moment to say "isn't this where that old man drove over the edge last year?" I said, "you felt the need to remind me of that right NOW?!?!?"

And we were hot and sweaty from hiking, not really knowing how cold it was on the top of the mountain. IT WAS FREEZING, SNOWING, SLEETING and I was the ONLY one who was smart enough to have a winter coat in their car. (After all, we do live here.) Oh, and just so you know, it is perfectly acceptable in Colorado and a much sought after fashion statement to wear shorts, hiking boots, socks and a ski coat.

And why do people go to the top of Pikes Peak? No....the answer is NOT because it's there. It's because they have AWESOME DONUTS!

See you next time,
Hazel