Pikes Peak COG Railway

 

Our first adventure on our Labor Day Weekend trip to Colorado Springs was a trip up Pikes Peak.  We took the Cog Railway--which is a much less scary trip up the mountain.  Plus, you have a conductor to tell you the history and point out all the sights along the way.   That is much better than driving it yourself.  The altitude still effects your body no matter how you get to the top.  :)  I think we were all (except maybe Eric) feeling a little bit of altitude sickness and ready to head back down.  I think even Azure was happy to be back down.  :)  

Ready to ride up the mountain

I've never gotten to ride a train that required tickets before (I don't think).  Anyway, it was fun to have the conductor walk up and down the aisle collecting tickets and telling us the history of the mountain and bad jokes all the way up to the top.  I did not expect the top of the mountain to be quite to crowded.  The gift shop was so full of people we could hardly walk around.  I got a little bit claustrophobic and was much more comfortable when we were back on the train.  Both kids thought it was a bit freaky.  Our daughter said it was fun on the way up and scary on the way down.  I still think traveling by car would have been even scarier.  :)

This was more of a  cultural experience than I expected.  I never thought I would get on a train in the middle of the USA and be surrounded by so many other languages.  I totally forgot that Pikes Peak is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world.  So, although we only travelled a few hours by car--many of our fellow passengers had traveled halfway across the world.  Watching the experience of others was almost as amazing as watching the beautiful scenery around us.

The Pikes Peak Cog Railway is the highest in the world

We, of course, looked for wildlife all along our trip.  Our conductor was quick to point out that these are "wildlife" and do not always come out when we want them to.  We did get to see an American eagle and a yellow-bellied marmot.  We had to wait until after the family reunion later in the day to see a herd of elk by the road near Eric's uncles house.  :)

yellow-bellied marmot

The views on the way up the mountain as well as on top are absolutely breathtaking.  And, I'm so glad we decided to take the railway instead of drive.  However, I was certainly glad to be back down.  I told Eric now I can cross that off my bucket list and never have to go up to the top of Pike's Peak again

I would totally rather take the train than drive up the mountain

The best souvenirs of the trip were the blankets the kiddos bought at the top of the mountain.  They definitely made the trip back down the mountain warmer.  I think the combined warmth of the blankets and atmosphere made for some sleepy kids as we headed back down the mountain.  I know our daughter said it was scary going down, but I'm not sure exactly how much she saw anyway.

What was your final adventure of the summer?

Have you ever been to somewhere close by your home to be surprised by its international appeal?

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Why Write?

"For me the most rewarding thing about writing is making things come out the way I want them to; making sense of the things that were in my life when I was a child as well as the things that I care about now that I am an adult.  As a writer I have the power to set things down and make them right, that same power that I don't always have in life."--Patricia MacLachlan
                                           

Suprise Adventure

I have no pictures for this post because it was a spur of the moment, last minute adventure, and the camera did not make the trip.  Saturday was a grey, dreary day, so we decided to get in the vehicle and head on an adventure.  We had no idea where we were going--we were just going together and to enjoy the day.  Our daughter had great plans on where to head--but they included driving far enough we would only have time at our location for 1 hour and then would have to head back home.  We decided that would be crazy and took off with no destination in mind.

We got to the interstate and had the kiddos pick east or west.  They chose west and off we went.  We drove until it was time for lunch--stopped to eat and checked with the visitor center on where we should end up.  Well, it was a little difficult to find somewhere we hadn't been during our Kansas adventures.  http://kansas150th-150thingstodoinkansas.blogspot.com/  So, they did recommend Burlington, CO.  Our daughter likes to remind us she had mentioned stopping there and we didn't just take her word for it.  :)

So, off we went on our adventure.  :)

First stop is Old Town Museum.  What a fun experience to get to walk through the museum and the 21-fully restored buildings.  It was great to walk through a town and get to experience a historical village.  It really reminded us of our trips to Cowtown  in Wichita  http://kansas150th-150thingstodoinkansas.blogspot.com/2011/09/133-old-cowtown-museum.html and Old Prairie Town in Topeka  http://kansas150th-150thingstodoinkansas.blogspot.com/2011/05/62-old-prairie-town.html.  We had seen similar museums in our previous adventures, but we had not had an experience like the one at the Saloon before.  We got to see the Can-Can girls do their show and they took a liking to our son.  They would sit at our table and sing directly to him.  A couple of them were even fighting over him.  :)  Azure got a little nervous with the arguing happening around him.    It was certainly embarrassing for an 8 year old to have girls fighting over him, but he responded so perfectly that the other guests thought we were a "plant" and supposed to be part of the show.  :)  Because it is still summer--our last summer adventure before school starts--we were able to get ice cream.  Unfortunately it had to be in the museum and not out at the soda fountain, but it still tasted good.

Our next stop in Burlington was the Kit-Carson County Carousel.  The kiddos had gotten to visit this when they were on their grandparent/grandchild tour to Denver this summer.  It was a highlight and one they wanted to experience again.  We first got to hear all about the history of the Carousel built in 1905 and still has original hand carved animals which have been restored and have most of their original paint.  Then we got to ride it and even Azure and I managed to get on to take a ride.  That was an adventure in itself.  He did great and immediately got on and laid down.  When it got going fast, he turned around and laid his head under the bench (maybe he was as dizzy as I was).  Getting up on it and back off at the end was an adventure in itself for me--especially with my cast/boot on.  The carousel goes fast enough that I got a little dizzy and had to close my eyes.  Check it out for yourselves.  I think they told us it went 12 miles/hour.  That's faster than any carousel I've ever been on.

Finally our adventure took us on a search for Flat Stanley.  The kiddos each got a Flat Stanley to take with them on our adventures from Old Town Museum.  We found out there was a "larger than life" Flat Stanley behind the Burlington Library.  So, off we went on a hunt.  We did find it and our son was so excited to get his picture by cell phone with it.  (Who needs a camera?)  Flat Stanley is pretty popular at our house.  I think our son and I have read almost every Flat Stanley book available.  We're working our way through Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures right now.  Our son had a hard time picking a favorite, but finally settled on Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventure in Japan: The Japanese Ninja Surprise

http://www.burlingtoncolo.com/old-town-museum.htm

Have you ever been on a spur-of-the-moment adventure?
How did it turn out?
Where did you end up?
What do you think of the Flat Stanley books?
What was your favorite book to read when you were 8?

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Making Good Decisions

A wise friend told me recently that you shouldn't make decisions when emotional.  The decision making process should include allowing yourself time to unemotionally look at the situation, pray about it, and make the right decision God has for your life.  This has been a summer of events that have led to me needing to take time, slow down, trust God to help me make the right decision, and then making decisions.  This is increasingly difficult for someone with a traumatic brain injury.  I have learned that the rational part of my brain tends to shut down when faced with an emotional situation.  Fortunately, I have learned that in the past, so I have also learned not to make snap decisions and give myself a day or two to calm down and pray about it.  This latest decision has taken longer than a couple of days, but I think we're on the upswing.  The bad news for all of you is that with my traumatic brain injury when I have a emotional situation to deal with, I only barely have enough brain power to get through the necessary items each day.  There is no brain power left for thinking about blog posts.  Hopefully I am on the upswing and there will be more posts here.  No promises, but we'll see.

"Worry retards reaction and makes clear-cut decisions impossible."
                                                             --Amelia Earhart

"Mercies in Disguise"

Teach by Example

“It is difficult to bring people to goodness with lessons, but it is easy to do so by example.” -Seneca

Oklahoma City Science Museum

The first stop on our vacation was at Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.  It's been long enough since our trip that you aren't going to get a lot of memories.  So,  enjoy the pictures.  :)

I think they made this room just for us.  :)

I wondered why the Kansas wildlife weren't featured . . .
then I remembered--This is Oklahoma
Guess I forgot we weren't still adventuring Kansas
http://kansas150th-150thingstodoinkansas.blogspot.com/

We happened to walk by "Science Live" theater right as a
show was starting.  It was my favorite part of the day.
Definitely make it a priority if you visit.

Our son says this hurts!!!
I don't want to find out!

Fire tornado

 I think watching this kid stack blocks was
our favorite part of the day.  :)
He was a visitor-not a professional.

Our daughter has had her fill of museums over our travels in the past couple of years.  But, even she was impressed with this one.  She now says the only museums she like are interactive science museums.  This was definitely worth the visit and you should make it a part of your trip if you are ever in Oklahoma City.  It is very child friendly--even though steps up to make things child height make parts non wheelchair accessible.  Also, if you have time and are physically able, check out the Segway track.  Doesn't everyone want to ride a Segway???

What are your favorite museums we should check out?

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