Day 57 - Highest yet!

This morning we took advantage of the free shuttle service here in Manitou Springs. We went to the town center to walk around a bit before heading to the cog railway ride to the top of Pikes Peak. The town was much bigger than we expected. It has a mountain town vibe with lots of stores and restaurants. They have a number of springs like Saratoga Springs. They say that the water here is the best you can find because it comes from the top of the mountains filtered through layer upon layer of rock.

We then took another shuttle to the cog railway. The train left at noon and slowly ascended the mountain ending up at 14,114 feet. Pike's Peak Railway is the world's fifth-highest railway by highest elevation. Also, Pikes Peak is the 2nd most visited mountain in the world behind Mt. Fuji in Japan.

At the top we could see for miles. They said that on a clear day you can see for 30 miles. The air was quite thin and it didn't take much exertion to feel breathless. On the recommendation of our neighbor, we bought the “World’s Famous Donuts.” Apparently, they developed a “secret” recipe for making this donut at such a high altitude. It was very moist and light.

The view was fantastic. In fact, this view inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write “America the Beautiful” on July 22, 1893 in Colorado Springs after visiting Pikes Peak that day. There us a plaque commemorating the centennial of this anthem.

After we returned from the peak, we went to Mass at Corpus Christi in Colorado Springs. Very nice service. From there we enjoyed a Margarita Pizza at Savelli’s right across the street from our campground. Delicious.