Days 27, 28, 29 Colorado Springs

We traveled through the Colorado Rockies to Colorado Springs.  We saw our first bit of snow and the aspen groves were turning bright yellow.  Did you know that aspen trees have a powder on the bark that can be used as a sunscreen?   The bark of an aspen tree also contains the main ingredient in Aspirin -- salicin.

We spent three days hanging out in Colorado Springs.  We stayed with the Schrocks (Brian's parents) and we had such fun! They were wonderful hosts -- sharing their space, their food, and their coupons!  We had a special meal called Mount Fuji which is a mound of rice covered in toppings (raisins, peanuts, coconut, onions, cheese) and topped with chicken and gravy.  Yummy!  But we also discovered that Ed is a card-carrying member of Rizutos Ice Cream so we enjoyed a visit there!

The highlight of our visit was a trip on the Cog Railway to Pike's Peak.  The summit is 14,110 feet high and the train travels on a 25% grade !!  The cog in the middle of the track "links" to the train like a gear.  Regular adhesion trains can only do 9% grade.  It was a wild ride!

And once we arrived at the summit we felt quite dizzy -- really!  The air is so thin up there we were lacking oxygen.  We also walked in 6 inches of snow up there.  It was minus 12 degrees Celsius -- the coldest temperature we have experienced in several years.

We also visited another "natural wonder"!   The Garden of the Gods is a park of red sandstone structures.  We walked among the unusual and steep rock formations with fossils that you can see and touch.  There is also a towering rock called the Balanced Rock which is the most photographed structure in the park.