Pikes Peak and Manitou Springs

When Thomas and I first planned this trip we had decided to come a day early for the main purpose of driving the Pikes Peak Highway. Then the Waldo Canyon Fire happened and then I found out that there was the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb happening on Sunday, July 8th - the same day that we had available to drive Pikes Peak. The Fire ended up postponing the Hill Climb which allowed our original plans to work out.

So this morning we were up around 6:30am and gathered our things and headed out. We stopped for breakfast first and then headed for the mountain. The weather was overcast and we noticed some clouds hanging out at the top of Pikes Peak but we decided we would drive up there anyway. We arrived at the tollgate, paid our fees and got a map and audio driving tour CD. The man at the tollgate told us there were clouds at the top that were obstructing views there but along the way we would have great views. He also suggested that we go straight to the top and then stop where ever we wanted on the way down. With all that information we began our ascent. At this point the temperature was somewhere in the high 50's.

Big Foot Crossing

There were different places I wanted to stop at to see and take pictures and then of course there were letterboxes. We played the CD and learned lots about Pikes Peak and the Highway - I really enjoyed listening to it while driving up the mountain. Just past Mile Marker 3 is a pullout with a 'Big Foot Crossing Sign'. So we stopped to take a picture then drove about .1 miles past the sign to another pullout and parked here to go for a short hike to find Big Foot X-ing letterbox. You can read about the sign and Big Foot at Fun Facts about Pikes Peak. We left our car at the pullout and crossed the road, went around a brown gate blocking an old service road and walked for about a quarter mile. We easily found the letterbox and stamped in. After returning the box to its hiding spot we spent some time enjoying the views and the area - I could see Big Foot living in this forest. Once back in the car we continued our drive to the summit. We didn't stop again until we arrived at the top. the drive was terrific and the views were wonderful. There were times where the clouds obscured the views but mostly it was clear until right at the summit.

Summit View

At the summit, we got out of the car and realized it was very cold. I was wearing shorts and Thomas had jeans - luckily we had brought caps and jackets. This helped but it was still cold - we found out the temperature at the summit was around 38 degrees when we arrived. We walked around the area taking in the views (what views we had through the clouds) and then walked through the Summit House. We ended up spending about 40 minutes at the top before heading back down. As we descended we stop at different pullouts to take in the views and take some pictures. We also stopped for some letterboxes.

Our first stop on the way down was at the Glen Cove Inn. I found Sitting on Sunshine up a little hill just down from the Inn. I stamped in while sitting in a secluded little wooded area - it was so peaceful. I returned to the car and we continued our drive. The next stop was at Crystal Reservoir. There were two letterboxes here to find and the total hike was between one and two miles. along the way we had great views of the Reservoir. We first found Pikes Peak. We had a little trouble with the clues but in the end it worked out. I stamped in and rehid the box. Before we left that area we decided to read the other clues and see if we were Win the right area or not. We figured out we still had a little distance to cover before getting to the next box. That box was Pikes Hike. We followed the clues and as I approached the hiding spot I noticed the box out in the open.

The Long and Winding Road

Then I saw that the box was open and the lid was about a foot away from the bottom of the box. We searched around the area and found a baggie for the logbook but we didn't find the logbook or the stamp - what a bummer, especially since this happened recently - there was a find logged on the box on June 3, 2012. So we returned to the Visitors Center and looked around a little before continuing our drive.

We made one last stop at Crowe Gulch Picnic Area. I had clues for two boxes in this area. We started looking for Pikes Peak Gnome and we had trouble following the clues but after some discussion we found a needed landmark and eventually the box. After stamping in and putting the box back in place we looked for the next box - Crowe's Gulch. We didn't have any trouble following these clues but we never did find the box. We think we were in the right area but we came up empty handed and headed back to the car. In no time we were back at the tollgate and leaving America's Mountain behind us. This drive is something Thomas and I have wanted to do for a long time and we loved it - I am glad we made time for it today.

Manitou Springs

We returned to Hwy 24 and headed back east toward Colorado Springs and decided to stop in Manitou Springs to check it out. There was also a letterbox that I was looking for. As we headed into town we noticed lots of people and cars and we had trouble finding a parking spot in the downtown area. So we headed up a hill to some back streets and found a parking spot about four blocks away. We left the car and went in search of the box. It is a mystery box and has some pictures for the clues. I had figured out most of it at home using Google maps but the last little bit took us a little time to work out. But we persisted and found the box. Once we had stamped in we headed to the main street to walk around. We grabbed a milk shake at Patsy's Candies and walked the street visiting the shops. About an hour later we decided we were hungry and we stopped and had pizza at Hell's Kitchen. This place was great. The staff was very friendly and the cook even added extra ingredients to our pizza and gave us a large instead of the small we ordered. And the pizza was great. After eating we made our way back to the car and decided to try for one more letterbox before heading to the hotel for some rest. We looked for and found National Treasure: The President's Book of Secrets. I won't tell you where we went because you do have to figure out some things from the clues but I can say that I figured everything out at home and went straight to the box when we arrived at the location.

We had a great day and enjoyed Pikes Peak and Manitou Springs. I am hoping for some good sleep tonight as tomorrow will be another day packed with things to do.