Pikes Peak

Tuesday morning we drove up Pikes Peak. It was the girls' second fourteener, and the adults' fifth! We saw marmots, an elk, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats on our drive. The peak was clear, but was above the clouds, so we never got a great view of the ground from the peak, or vice versa. It was still awesome!

Marmot:


Awesome drive:


I think this is the peak:


Bighorn sheep:


View from the peak:


Above the clouds!


Wandering around on the peak:


America the Beautiful was penned/conceived on Pikes Peak:


Mountain goats:


Stop for a snack:


Hike thru alpine tundra. Meg kept snapping pictures of the tiny flowers!





Drive down:





We stopped for a picnic lunch in a beautiful wooded pull off.


Crystal Reservoir, Colorado Springs' drinking water. We hiked around a bit.






We drove through the little town of Manitou Springs and stopped to get ice cream. We also sampled three of the mineral springs. This is what the girls thought of the taste:



Then we drove thru Garden of the Gods again, and decided to stop for one last hike. It was a great one, away from all the crowds. We only saw one other family the whole time. The girls were great little climbers and scramblers.


















Then we went back to our hotel for swimming, hot tubbing outside, laundry, and a pizza party in the hotel lobby. We all slept well last night! Today we're off to Denver to finally see family! We can't wait!

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