pikespeak

Here is Pikes Peak with snow just beginning to accumulate on it in mid-October. Although we started the day under

mostly sunny skies, as you can see, by the time we began our ascent on the Pikes Peak Highway, the weather was

turning downright wintery. By the time we reached the top, it was windy; it was snowy; and it was below freezing!

During my many trips to Colorado over the years, I have never gone to Pikes Peak, so this time I really wanted to do that.

Matthew, Rosie, and I not only went to the summit, but instead of taking the cog railway, we took the car and drove the

same road that is used for the famous "Pikes Peak Hill Climb" auto race; we HAD to...it is the only road that goes to the summit.

Below is a photo gallery of our drive up the mountain. Clicking on any of the small pictures enlarges it. So, you can go from page to page by clicking on the numbers in the upper left, then enlarging individual photos, OR, you can click and enlarge the first photo; the gallery takes about 80 seconds to fully load, but when it does so, you will see navigation arrows appear below the first picture. The two smaller arrows take you forward or back through all of the shots at you own pace, just click when you are ready to go on; the larger arrow starts an automatic slideshow of the entire gallery, pausing for 10 seconds on each shot before proceeding to the next. When you are finished viewing, just click on the round button with an X in it to exit the photo gallery.

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Before we got to the top, we had a long drive. It starts out amid thick trees and mountain lakes.

It doesn't take very long before the scenery begins to change, and it becomes apparent that the woods are thinning, and you are starting to look down on the tops of the trees.

The vista quickly expands.

Suddenly, you look out and realize that you really are seeing beautiful spacious skies, and purple mountain majesties, and even some amber waves of grain.

And as you continue, it becomes apparent that you are getting above the lower mountain peaks.

A little further along the winding road, and we are beginning to rise above the tree line.

This is one of my favorite shots of the trip.

Above the tree line, the landscape, with its sometimes extraordinary rock formations, changes drastically.

Just before we reached the summit, we began to see little pockets of snow.

And, as if on cue, just as we arrived at the top, the wind began driving hard; brief snow flurries were whipping horizontally; and the temperature was 13 degrees!

…as the sign says, "Welcome to the Summit of Pikes Peak!!" Don't Rosie and Matt look like they're enjoying the experience?!

However, for some, the experience was a treat. With squeals of delight, this teenage girl from Florida was thrilled to finally see and touch real snow, and to make a snowball for the first time in her life. Her mom recorded the event on her smartphone.

I took just a couple photos from the summit. It was so cold that my hands froze after holding the camera for three shots.

The view from the top.

This monument commemorates the day in 1893, when Katharine Lee Bates, after viewing the mountains and western plains from the summit, was inspired to write the anthem, "America the Beautiful."

Matthew on the summit.

Bob on the summit: "Okay, we've gotten obligatory photos on the summit, now let's get back in the car and get warm!"