We didn't miss the train....

What a day this has been. It started this morning by taking the Pike's Peak Cog Railway to the top summit of Pike's Peak. The Lane family was in very close quarters, as we had three seats on one side of the aisle, facing three seats on the same side of that aisle. Elbow to elbow, cheek to cheek....for a train ride straight up for an hour. We climbed from 7,000 feet above sea level to over 14,000 feet above sea level. We saw little critters called "Marmots" running all around the tundra above the tree line. And the view was beyond beautiful. Julie, Marissa and Hannah all got "light headed and dizzy" at the summit. They had to sit down. Of course, Will, Ansley and I had no problems at all. (Or at least, we never admitted to having a problem!) Coming back down the mountain, everyone on the train was pretty "oxygen deprived", and many people fell asleep. Arriving back at the station, we huffed and puffed our way back to the car. Even people in great shape were struggling! Of course, we are worn out when we get back to the car, and Julie realized she didn't have her camera. Fortunately, and elderly couple parked next to us said they had found one, and left it on the handrail back at the depot. Julie and Marissa marched back down the hill and found it. We then went back to the "Focus on the Family" campus, and visited their visitor's center and book store. There is a huge slide on the inside of the welcome center, three stories high.....and of course, Will went down it several times. Julie saw the downstairs and how it is totally built and geared toward children, and she simply salivated!
From there, we came back to the hotel and sorted laundry. Julie went to the laundry mat down the street, while I went searching for rolls of quarters. This wasn't the easiest thing to find, as it took me 2 stores and 1 bank to find two rolls. Then, while Julie was washing clothes, I took Marissa and Ansley to a "Tattoo and Body Piercing" Parlor so that Marissa and Ansley could get........no, not a tattoo! Their ear pierced with a little hoop up kinda high on their right ear, like Hannah has. Then, I took Hannah and Darcy to "Wag and Wash", a funky dog store, dog wash parlor. Darcy got a good shampoo, and some new dog biscuits. We then picked up Julie and the folded clothes, got dressed and went to Outback Steakhouse. Our waitress was from Charlotte, NC. Following dinner, we went to the Garden of the Gods, and it was marvelous. We saw over 15 deer wandering around, and many photos were taken. Then we drove around the old city and came back to the hotel. Tomorrow morning we leave Colorado Springs, and I think all of us are sad to see this visit end. We loved the place. We could spend several more days here, but we must move on. There is a hole in the ground waiting for us to look at. Tomorrow we travel to Mesa Verde National Park to see the Cliff Dwellers archeological site. We are staying at the lodge there, and I don't know if we have internet access. If not, it may be a couple of days before we can communicate again. We are loving hearing from you, and hope you are enjoying our little blog.
Gotta get some sleep...the road awaits.
---WJLsr