The Top of the World (sort of)

IT'S COLD UP HERE!

Since Kirk's dad was in town, we decided to take him somewhere we've never been before. The Pike's Peak Cog train ride. It was really cool. Well, at least that's what I've heard. I was too busy wrangling a baby to see much on the way up. The train took us to the top of Pike's Peak, 14, 110 feet above sea level. It was COLD up there. I'm glad Kirk had done some research, and we all had jackets with us. From the top, you can see Kansas and New Mexico. Kansas looks very flat and boring! We saw all kinds of critters...yellow bellied marmots, deer, and big horn sheep. On the way down, we had to stop, and wait for the sheep to cross the tracks. The girls thought that was awesome because the sheep were so close to the train. It's a long train ride (1 1/2 hours up, and 1 hour down) so, on the way down, Olivia fell asleep. At that point, I was able to see a few things. Kirk and I thought the most interesting thing was the remains of a fur traders' cabin. It was tiny, and we can't imagine walking around those mountains, with no trails, and living somewhere half-way up. It must have been a hard life, even if he only stayed there in the summer. Once Olivia woke up, she and Monique decided it would be fun to stick their heads out the window, until some trees just about smacked them in the face. Not so fun anymore. After the train ride, (and after the girls had swindled grandpa out of some more money for toys) we went into Colorado Springs to eat at Solo's Restaurant. We love this place, because they have good food, and you get to sit inside a huge bomber airplane. We always ask to sit close to the cock pit, because the girls love to go up and pretend they are flying the plane. It's a great place to eat, and keeps the kids entertained. Overall, it was a fantastic, tiring, day!