[The events of this post occurred Tuesday, July 2, 2013.]
We finally woke up in the morning after a late night. Well, two of us had a late night. And slight hangovers. And possibly the munchies. Apparently you can get a contact high by being around the locals in Colorado these days.
Old-school hotel keys at an old school hotel.Conveniently located right next to the Manitou Springs Police Department.
We checked out of the hotel in Manitou Springs and headed up to Pike’s Peak on Pikes Peak Highway. Driving. To the top. The Husbear has developed an odd fear of going off the edge of roads as of late. I’m not sure why.
The view from Pike’s Peak.Dwayne at the top. Or is. I always get those two mixed up. 😉The view from Pike’s Peak.A gaggle of gays!The view from Pike’s Peak.The clouds rolling in…The view through the clouds…This is as close as the Husbear would get to the edge. I think he may be troubled.The view from Pike’s Peak.More of Dwayne on Pike’s Peak.I feel like we just took this picture. Wait. We did. Eight months or so before when we were here.Thew view coming down from the summit.Thew view coming down from the summit.Thew view coming down from the summit.The Husbear wouldn’t get out of the car for some reason.Thew view coming down from the summit.Thew view coming down from the summit.Thew view coming down from the summit.Thew view coming down from the summit.Pretty.Sappy smooching picture.Why am I so gray?Thew view coming down from the summit.
After Pike’s Peak, we headed west on Highway 24. Somewhere along the way, the Husbear decided we should turn north on Elkhorn Road. Road. Dirt. Road. Which we took all the way north to Highway 285.
The brief time on Highway 285 didn’t last long. Where quickly turned north on Boreas Pass Road. Another dirt road. Which brought us into Arapaho National Forest. Which we took all the way to Highway 9 in Breckenridge.
Somewhere in Arapaho National Forest, I think.A house out in the middle of nowhere.Somewhere in Arapaho National Forest, I think. Again.Somewhere in Arapaho National Forest.We spied a snow bank.Flowers.Snow! And the Husbear.Dwayne being all mountain-ey…Somewhere in Arapaho National Forest.Somewhere in Arapaho National Forest.Another flower.Somewhere in Arapaho National Forest.Boreas PassSomewhere in Arapaho National Forest.One of the many “barely a road” roads we traveled.
We took Highway 9 up to Frisco to meet I70 for a quick jump back over to Highway 9 in Silverthorne. Which we took up to Ute Pass Road/Country Road 3 all the way until it merged into Highway 40 near Parshall. Near Granby we headed north on Highway 34 up to Grand Lake.
We arrived in Grand Lake at the foot of Rocky Mountain National Park and decided to get a room and call it a day. Or a night, as it were.
We like to wander, don’t we?
We traveled 215 miles over a 9-hour period. Our minimum altitude was 7,415 feet and our maximum was 14,140 feet.
The scariest time I have ever spent in a car was driving up Pikes Peak in the clouds. Visibility was so bad I could not see past the hood of the car on that switchback road with no guard rails. By the time we got to the top my arms were twitching from white-knuckling the wheel so long while driving 3 mph.
Then a breeze picked up and the drive down was absolutely beautiful.
The scariest time I have ever spent in a car was driving up Pikes Peak in the clouds. Visibility was so bad I could not see past the hood of the car on that switchback road with no guard rails. By the time we got to the top my arms were twitching from white-knuckling the wheel so long while driving 3 mph.
Then a breeze picked up and the drive down was absolutely beautiful.
I was hoping for some clouds on the ride up, but alas it was not meant to be. Then again, I like that kind of… adventure.