Saturday, July 16, 2011

DAY 12: Pikes Peak or Bust........

DAY 12:  Pikes Peak, Colorado
TEMP:  43 Degrees at Peak


It's funny how what gives one person a magnificant buzz, gives another person some honking heebie-jeebies.......

Such was the case when Chuck and I eagerly decided our friends from home, Ken and Cynthia, positively without a doubt needed to see and experience the road to Pikes Peak today!

Little did we know we were the only excited ones in the car.......

We discovered on the way up the 14,100 foot climb that Ken and Cynthia didn't share the same "keenness" for heights and edges of mountains, steep grades and vertical altitudes that Chuck and I did.......they kept inching closer and closer to the middle of the back seat.....before we knew it, they were looking like two love-starved sweethearts practically sitting on each others laps in the middle of the back seat.   We then heard Cynthia tell Ken, "Take a picture out the window", and then we heard Ken say "I'm NOT looking out that window...YOU take the picture"......Chuck and I realized this just wasn't going quite the way we had pictured it in our heads.......

Although I kept trying to remind them that they are closer to God up here......and that they can see what it's like being a bird up here......by the time we got to the top, these two had had more than enough mountain and were concentrating on the trip back down.....Their hearts were beating fast and hard; their heads were dizzy and light, they were cold.....and all they wanted to do was GET DOWN off Pikes Peak!

I think it was around the 8,000 foot mark that they started breathing normal again......

I know they enjoyed being on the "top of the world", enjoying the magnificant view and drinking that hot cup of cocoa at the top; it was the trip UP and then DOWN that really caused the cold sweat to occur.

Check out the view tonight through the clouds.......

And the lady in the car next to us at the red light who was driving, smoking a cigarette and hooked up to oxygen (sorry you can't see much....I couldn't catch up to her....little speed demon)



9 comments:

Kathy said...

I would be on the floorboard and holding my breath! That is a hysterical photo of the lady with the cigarette. Too bad you couldn’t see the oxygen tank. You really should sell that to the American Cancer Society!! J Well, carry on in Paradise. It’s only going to be 180 degrees here today.
Love,
K

Kathy said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Mary Thompson said...

WOW!!! God is pretty awesome !!"

Cherie said...

I there the summer of 2001 or 02..can't really remember now...we took the "train" up..it was awesome and I got some really nice pics...I'll post them later...glad u enjoying it..sorry ur friends didn't!

Lulu Mae said...

I have unhealthy fear of heights an drop offs. i cant look out of those glass elevators"

margie Champlin said...

flatlanders.........

Cathy Larson said...

Me too but we're going to Colorado next summer and I'm going up Pikes Peak and back across The Millon Dollar Highway (550). Scared me to death the first time ten years ago but heard the road is much better on 550. Ma get a prescription for Valium before I leave...just in case! lol"

Melanie Wills said...

eautiful! I remember being at the top of Pikes Peak and running from the car to the souvenir shop...I thought I was going to die, felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest...I have never had a problem with altitude before.

Jan & Joe said...

One of our favorite spots - amazing views! Have you tried Big Bend? Wow!!!