Pikes Peak

This is our 3rd trip up to Pikes Peak. The first time was many years ago before we bought our motor home. It was cloudy and we drove up in a van. Joni's son Chris was with us. Joni was not a happy camper back then. The road up to the top was very narrow, dirt, and had no guard rails. Joni doesn't like ledges and height.


The second time we took the train and again, it was a cloudy day, so we didn't see anything. That was about 3 years ago and we were only in Colorado Springs for 2 or 3 days.



This time we made sure we were going to see the beautiful view from 14,000 feet elevation.
Earlier in the week, Colorado Springs had a early snow. There was a dusting of snow on the ground, but the top of Pikes Peak got about 6 to 8 inches of snow with 10 foot drifts. The train could not get to the top and had to return part way up. Our trip up was the first day that the train was able to get to the top and as you can see there was still plenty of snow up there.

This time we picked a day that was perfect. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature was warm. Of coarse, it wasn't warm when we got to the top.

We felt like we went from summer to winter and back to summer in a matter of a few hours. It was interesting to see how the terrain changed as we passed the tree line.

The view was beautiful. The train ride up gave us lots to see and once at the top we could see all of Colorado Springs.

Joni on a Motorcycle???

While we were in Colorado, Joni visited her Mom in New Hampshire. Delton stayed in Salida at our friends house (Dana and Karen), while Joni flew to see Mom. It's always good to see Mom doing well. She lives in a beautiful independent living facility in Durham.

Joni's brother Rich and his wife, Adele, invited Joni on a Harley ride. They both have beautiful new Harleys. Joni isn't a motorcyle fan, but decided to take a leap of faith. So with Delton's blessings, she went.

Adele loaned Joni a leather jacket and motorcycle boots. She was part of the gang! See Joni sitting on Adele's bike during a rest stop. I will post more motorcycle pictures as soon as I can.

The ride consisted of about 20 bikes. We all met at a Harley dealership and rode about 2 1/2 hours, had lunch and then came back.

Joni rode double with Rich. He's a very safe driver, so Joni gradually calmed down and felt comfortable. There are a lot of safety rules to riding in a group and it ended up being a lot of fun.