We continued our time in Colorado with a four night stop in Colorado Springs.  At first the weather continued to be cool with gusty winds and afternoon thunderstorms.  After a couple days we had temperatures in the 90’s and the mosquitoes came out in force at dusk. We had very gusty winds in New Mexico and the winds followed us to Colorado.  We camped at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Colorado’s newest state park.  It is a very nice park with terraced campsites and full hookups.  Our campsite had a view of Colorado Springs which was especially pretty at night with the twinkling lights of the city shining below us.  Nearby is Fort Carson and in the evenings we could hear the sound of bugles as the flag was lowered.

We camped at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain, a very foreboding looking mountain.  Perhaps the history of the mountain makes it more mysterious.  The underground operations center for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was built in the early 1960’s during the Cold War to monitor the North American airspace for missile launches and Soviet military aircraft.  The command center is buried 2,000 feet underground in the granite mountain on five acres and was designed with a bunker to withstand bombing and fallout from a nuclear bomb.  Today it is still off limits but many of its functions were transfered in 2006 to Peterson Air Force Base nearby.  On top of Cheyenne Mountain is an antennae farm visible for miles around with transmitters for cell phones, radio, television and law enforcement.

We wanted to tour the Peterson Air and Space Museum located on the Peterson Air Force Base.  We read that for security reasons you had to go onto their website at least 24 hours in advance to request a visitor pass.  When we went online it said they were not accepting visitors at this time due to security precautions.

On our last day we rode the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, the longest and highest cog railway in the world.  The trip began in Manitou Springs (elevation 6,320) for an 8.9 mile, hour and a half ride through high plains with aspen groves and dense pine forests to an alpine tundra.  As we neared the top the snow was piled high along the tracks, higher than the windows.  When we reached the summit of Pike’s Peak we were at an elevation of 14,110 ft.  The snow was ten feet high and the temperature was 36 degrees with a wind chill of 28 degrees.  We had read that at 14,000 feet you may experience breathing problems and nausea.  The air at Pike’s Peak has 50% of the oxygen pressure compared to sea level.  Since we had both been suffering quite a bit with allergy problems this spring we invested in a little spray bottle of oxygen at the gift shop before getting on the train.  Bill used it a few times.  I didn’t have any problems until we reached the summit.  When I stood and walked off the train I suddenly felt very lightheaded and dizzy.  After several sprays of oxygen I felt better.  They do have Medic services at the summit for people who experience serious problems.

Bill had to climb over some slippery snow drifts to get some pictures, including a memorial to Katharine Lee Bates.  Her visit to Pike’s Peak in 1893 inspired her to write a poem which later became the lyrics of “America the Beautiful”.  Pike’s Peak is nicknamed ” America’s Mountain”.

We lucked out on the right time to visit Pike’s Peak.  Less than a week earlier the train had not yet been able to reach the summit of the mountain due to ice and snow on the tracks.   Besides taking the train you can reach the summit by car and hiking.  The driving road has still not yet opened for the season.  Pike’s Peak has the possibility of snow any day of the year!

Pike’s Peak is named after Lieutenant Zebulon Pike, an American explorer who was sent to the southwest in 1806 to explore the source of the Arkansas River.  He attempted, but never reached the summit, but they named the mountain after him anyway.

After grabbing a late lunch we drove to the nearby Garden of the God’s Park, a National Natural Landmark.  This beautiful city park was once owned by railroad magnate Charles Eliot Perkins.  In 1909 he bequeathed the land to the city of Colorado Springs with the stipulation that it remain open and free to the public.  It is obvious people love this park.  One of the nicest and most elaborate Visitors Centers we have visited is in the park, staffed by volunteers.  It has a first class nature center as well as over 30 interactive exhibits on the geology, ecology and history of the area.  It has the world’s only Theiophytalia kerri dinosaur fossil replica.  The dinosaur skull was discovered in the park in 1886.  The park has nature talks, guided walks and guided rock climbing opportunities.  There are beautiful views of Pike’s Peak from the observation deck of the visitors center.   There is a nice loop drive around the park which we decided to do since it was late in the day.  The red sandstone formations were beautiful.

We had mixed feelings about Colorado Springs.  I expected more breathtaking views of snow capped mountains and a funky, quirky little town with boutiques and an active downtown area with restaurants.  Instead the town came across as old and tired.  The roads were terrible with constant potholes which made driving around town feel like driving an obstacle course.  On the positive side I saw my first revolving McDonald’s sign!

Driving from the Albuquerque area we made the short drive to Springer, New Mexico for a one night stay.  Before heading to Colorado the next morning we drove to the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico.  Bill had been looking forward to visiting Philmont for a long time.  In 1938, an oil magnate who was very impressed with boy scouts who visited his ranch, donated 35,857 acres of land to the Boy Scouts of America.  Today the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch, whose name is derived from Waite Phillips who gave them the land, is a National High Adventure Base where Boy Scouts take part in backpacking expeditions and other outdoor activities.  It is one of the largest youth camps in the world in land with over 23,000 Scouts and adults leaders visiting each summer between the beginning of June and middle of August.  While we were there Bill toured their Philmont Museum and Seton Memorial Library.  The only documented Tyrannosaurus Rex track in the world was discovered within the camp’s boundaries in 1993. We noticed that the Santa Fe Trail ran thru the ranch.

On the way to Colorado we stopped in Raton, New Mexico at the NRA Whittington Center,  the largest and most complete shooting and hunting complex in the United States.  Bill was able to spend some time doing some pistol shooting practice.

As we passed through the end of the dusty plains of New Mexico into Colorado we were met with the green mountains to our west and the sight of even more snow capped mountains. We climbed and dropped in elevation until arriving at Trinidad Lake State Park (elevation 6300 ft) outside of Trinidad, Colorado.  The 800 acre Trinidad Lake was created in 1978 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a dam.  The Trinidad Lake State Park is a very popular area for fishermen.

While there we drove into the small town of Trinidad and did a bit of sightseeing.  We visited a statue of Christopher (Kit) Carson an American frontiersman and found a geocache nearby.  We drove a dirt road to the top of Simpson’s Rest, a sandstone bluff on a mountain with great views of Trinidad, Purgatoire Valley and the Sangre De Cristo Mountain Range, part of the Rocky Mountains.  It was amazing to see the combination of rolling prairies, hills and mountains.  Across those prairies the pioneers and traders traveled along the Santa Fe Trail.  This trail wound through what is now downtown Trinidad and across the mountainous Raton Pass which we crossed over on the way to Trinidad.  On the top is a Trinidad sign which lights up at night as well as the grave marker of George S. Simpson.  Simpson was a famous trail blazer, scout, trader and explorer in the area.  Legend says that in 1867 Simpson was confronted by warring Ute Indians.  He fled up the sandstone bluff and hid for three days.  He was thankful for the sandstone bluff that saved his life and requested to be buried there.  Simpson is credited with the first discovery of gold in Colorado which led to the famous 1859 Rush to the Rockies.

We stopped by the town’s Mount San Rafael Hospital to see a 28 by 12 foot ceramic mural designed and created by a nun, Sister Augusta Zimmer.  The history of Trinidad is depicted in the beautiful mural.

We enjoyed our time in Trinidad and it is always fascinating to see the history found in these small towns in America!