October 23, 2019. Confrontation with Terror, Pikes Peak.

October 23, 2019.  Confrontation with Terror, Pikes Peak.  Pikes Peak was, of course, discovered by Zebulon Pike, although he failed to reach the summit.  Its highest point is 14,115 feet above sea level.  It is the highest mountain in the southern front range and the highest mountain in the United States east of its longitude.  

The information above comes from Wikipedia.  I noticed that there, Pikes is without an apostrophe.  Why, I wondered?  Since it was named after Pike, it is his mountain.  Pikes should be possessive.  Puzzled, I asked Google.  Google said, "The prevailing rule is that the possessive apostrophe is not permitted in place names."  Another example is Harpers Ferry - no apostrophe.  There.  Never let it be said this blog is an empty vessel.  You can actually learn stuff here.  

Annie was not eager to drive the fourteener.  The last time we did it, the road to the top was dirt.  We were both surprised to find that, today, it has an asphalt surface.  Annie is a trooper.  She does not like looking to the side of the road and seeing an unguarded 2000 foot vertical drop-off.  I got a lot of the hand motions where she extends her left arm, palm down, and raises and lowers her hand.  I think that means slow down.  Had I been going slower, the bicyclist we met along the way would have passed me, riding uphill. 

The road to the top starts at Santa's North Pole.  We have pictures of our first two daughters taken with Santa there in 1976.  The drive to the peak is 19 miles from the Ranger Station.  It didn't help Annie's nerves when the ranger told us they had snow plowed the top six miles that morning.  It took about 45 minutes to get to the top.  There was very little snow.  It is the easiest fourteener I have ever summited. 

The Park Service is building a new summit house at the top.  There was heavy equipment moving rock and preparing the foundation for the new building.  One of the "things to do" at the top is to eat one of the donuts from the kitchen.  We were advised to eat it at the top because its molecular structure changes if you take it back down the mountain.  If we had it to do over again, we'd have taken it down the mountain.  Its changed molecular structure might have tasted better than it did at the top.  

It was cold and windy at 14115 feet up.  The wind howled at 30-40  miles per hour.  That's the reason you can see only half my face in the photos above.  I had my hat pulled down over my ears so it wouldn't blow away.  Annie Farkley had her hood pulled so tightly there were times I had to lead her around.  Only her nose protruded from her hood.     

Annie posed with a big horn sheep for Emory's enjoyment.  I posed with Big Foot.  He is the one with the hat on.  

I got more of the hand movement on the way down.  I tried to get Annie to relax and enjoy the scenery out her window.  Her eyes were glued on the road ahead with only an occasional fearful glance out the side window.  I don't think she enjoyed the trip nearly as much as I did.  Maybe she was looking out the windshield because she thought one of us should.  

I will do one more blog, tomorrow and we'll head home Friday.  Tomorrow's blog will deal with our car problems.  After our second repair stop on this trip, our friend, Fred, advised that I "trade it in."  I am beginning to think Fred is right.  Although, I will have spent a lot of money making it right.  Once I get it all fixed up, I hate to give it to someone else - know what I mean? 

More tomorrow.

Goodnight.