This morning we woke up to beautiful Pike’s Peak which was the inspiration of the “America, America” song. Gorgeous isn’t it!
We all woke up early and got ready for the day and left by 7:45 so we could catch my 9:00 Passport appointment in Aurora……except that I didn’t double-check my appointment time and my appointment was actually at 8, even though I remembered it being at 9. Whoops! I felt bad and stressed because I already have very little time to pull off getting my India Visa after I get my passport, but it was what it was, and I scheduled for a new appointment tomorrow morning.
That gave us a whole day to spend as a family. Lily, as always, was our amazing guide for what to do. She promptly bought us tickets to the Pike’s Peak Cog train. A Cog train has a gear going down the center of the track to help it go up and down the really steep grades (over 20% in places).
While sitting in the train, they announced that it would be 28 degrees at the top of the mountain and suggested last stops for sweat shirts for underprepared families. I also saw the windows were open on the train and I panicked (I didn’t not realize the windows would all close towards the top to help the train stay cool). I ran quickly to the gift shop and bought 4 extra sweatshirts for the family, not being totally sure what I was buying because I was hurrying so fast.
The trip up the mountain was absolutely STUNNING and we loved our conductor who shared so much interesting information and made funny jokes.
At the top, I wanted to explore, but everyone else was very cold and wanted to stay inside the visitor’s center.
While wandering around, I got some good pictures and videos to capture the grandeur of the view and terrain. I also had time to commune with God and myself, and find peace and balance. It was a peace inducing experience for me.
I was delighted to find the trail that could take one down the mountain. It really reminded me of the landscape for the last bit of the King’s Peak climb in Utah.
The way down was equally gorgeous and we played fun games like thumb-wars.
Here are some video links to capture some of the downward journey.
https://youtube.com/shorts/xSEtTFQ3jBA?feature=share
After our train ride, we went to have lunch in Manitou Springs. It was fun to research mountains over lunch. We learned that the top 100 tallest mountains in the world are all in the Himalayas (by a long shot), the top tallest mountains in the US are in Alaska, and none of the top peaks are East of Colorado etc.
Another Spring! Ammon made a funny joke yesterday when he said, “no don’t drink the water, we will all live forever! Just kidding.” It was a funny nod to Tuck Everlasting when we were trying one of the Springs.
After lunch, Lydia went shopping with mom while I took Mary, Ammon and Clarissa to the arcade. I think we were all happy with our respective choices.
It was so fun for me to introduce all the kids to pinball for the first time. Lydia met up with us after shopping and even played a little pinball too.
After the arcade, we went to the Olympic and Para-Olympic training center in Colorado Springs. I had no idea that the US Headquarters for the Olympic and Para-Olympic Committee was in Colorado Springs. The campus used to be an Air Force campus, and when the Air Force shut it down, Colorado Springs gave it to the Olympic and Para-Olympic Committee for $1 because Colorado Springs really wanted the Committee to make their headquarters there. The plan work!
We did not visit the headquarters building or the museum, but we visited the training facility for the Olympics and Para-Olympics. World-class athletes 18 and older can live and/or train here if they desire.
We got super fortunate to see some men’s gymnastics. They were competing here to see who would qualify for the men’s gymnastics team to join the national team in the upcoming world competition in London. They were amazing!!!
Then we went back to Manitou Springs (which we have fallen in love with) to walk around it again and eat dinner. Then the most unexpected and tragic thing happened. Lily was driving (because I was feeling tired) and as we pulled up to a crosswalk at the other side of an intersection, we saw a lady crossing the street get hit by an e-biker going very fast. A car had stopped for the pedestrian and the e-biker went around the car to keep going and accidentally slammed right into the pedestrian. The pedestrian amazingly only fell to the ground with relatively minor bumps and got right up. The e-biker however lost control and flew off his bike. He was not wearing a helmet and his head hit the ground hard. I ran out the car and tried to remember everything I could from my days as a first aid instructor, which unfortunately was not much. I knelt down and kept calling to him, and he wouldn’t respond. I kept telling him he would be ok and help was on the way. He wasn’t moving or responding, and I knew that moving him could further injure him so I just stayed there with him while people called for help. He was face down in the asphalt and his head was badly bleeding. When help arrived, I talked with the pedestrian who was shook up, but O-K. I then gave a witness statement and headed back to Lily. Lily was very traumatized and we spent time reflecting on how her trauma and sympathy for the person most badly hurt changed the details in her mind to suggest that the woman was on a bike and she was the one being careless and caused the accident. We both felt new appreciation for how people can experience things in ways that were not objectively true especially when trauma is involved.
While I was at the injury scene, Lily was talking to bystanders and the kids were playing in the park.
Ammon had fun burying his gold medal (he and Clarissa each got one as a gift at the tour from the tour guide). It got less fun when Ammon couldn’t find his gold medal that he buried. We tried helping him to find it for a few minutes, and then gave up. We wondered if someone else found it and left with it. Ammon was crying and so so sad about it. To make it up to him, we let him choose the prize for our arcade tickets later in the night. He cashed them out for candy.
Our group was a bit shook up by what we had witnessed, and my heart aches for that man who was in very bad shape. I’m encouraged by the fact that he eventually came to and was shouting to the paramedics “I will sue your a@#!”. He definitely still had some life in him. Lily and I took the moment to tell our kids to always always always wear their helmet and to always be careful when riding a bike. I believe if this man would have been wearing a helmet, he would have fared way way way better and maybe even gotten up and been able to walk off.
After cashing in our arcade tickets, we saw another spring. It was not working, but we used our imaginations and pretended to drink the water.
We ate at a Tibetan restaurant and it was delicious!
Afterwards, the family got ice cream and I got chocolate goodies.
When we got home, we all played ping-pong and foose-ball for about an hour. It was so fun to just cut loose and play those games with my kids. I love my family so much!
Today was a wonderful day, with the exception of our heartache for the man who got in an accident. They had to take him away in an ambulance and he was clearly hurt very badly. I pray he recovers ok.