Colorado Day 6: Alamosa to Manitou Springs via the Air Force Academy and Pikes Peak

 We slept in!!! Woo hoo! Then we headed three hours east to Colorado Springs and stopped at Chick Fil-A before heading to the Air Force Academy. They didn’t have official tours set up at this time of year, so we planned a self-guided tour that started at the impressive new visitor center. Edison is considering applying for the USAFA, so we decided to check it out while we were in the area. We were greeted by really friendly and informative people at the visitor center including a newly graduated 2nd Lieutenant who was waiting for his tour at Space Force to start in a few months. Edison was able to ask him questions and learn more about cadet life. We drove around the base and saw historic aircraft, the sports fields and throwing area, the cadet area, and the stadium. The base, nestled under the mountains, is humongous and even has its own school district. The visit confirmed for Edison that he is interested in applying. 

After that we decided to drive up Pikes Peak - the second highest place that is possible to drive to in the U.S. It is a private 20-mile road on forest service land. There were thunderstorms in the area, but we looked at the radar and thought they’d clear by the time we were heading up. Sadly, we got about halfway up and they closed the road for thunderstorms. We waited at a little log cabin gift shop for a half hour and got to see some enormous hail come down. Finally the weather cleared and we drove the remaining way up, crossing our fingers that the SUV would be able to make it up and not overdo the engine. We made it. There were so many switchbacks and we gained 6000’ on the drive. Everything at the top is really well done: viewing platforms, trails, signage, and a new visitor center featuring a cafeteria whose specialty is donuts (we tried them - maybe they are better earlier in the day). It is confirmed that I do not do well at high elevation. The oxygen at this elevation of 14,115’ is only 60% of what it is at sea level. My low iron self just doesn’t do well with that lack of oxygen and it was noticeable. So I just meandered around and took it all in. It was cool to see the cloud formations and rain even with us at the summit. We also arrived as the railway train was departing and that was fun to see. They recommend going in first or second gear on the way down, so that is what we did. Halfway they do a brake check and actually check the temperature of each car’s brakes. I am happy to report we passed with flying colors since we had been taking it easy and using a low gear. 

We then headed to our hotel in nearby Manitou Springs. This is a small resort town built around their natural spring water starting in the late 1800s. There are multiple springs in close proximity to each other and each one features a different blend of minerals and carbonation based on the rock layers it passes through to reach the surface. The town has special decorative taps that look like sculptures where passersby and fill a cup and take in the waters. We tried this and went to three springs after dinner at the Hell’s Kitchen Pizza Shop while we were walking around downtown. I thought a couple tasted nice and basically like plain seltzer water. The boys didn’t like any of them and took turns spitting them out with great flair. On our way home we saw the sky light up repeatedly with lightening strikes across the valley which was impressive and something we just about never see in western Washington.