OT pikes peak

[fordman]

i was out there when i was a kid. we were at a camp ground there someplace near it. it was summer. i don't remember if i got to go to pike peak but i do remember my parents got to go there while we were asleep one morning.

[westernkansas]

i was there as a kid also think it was in 79or 80. but stayed in a hotel I remember the royal gorge and the peak and visiting the north pole. now that the wife and I both quit smoking, in our first week, we decided all the money we would spend on smokes will go into savings and use it to take our two kids there

[FLATBEDFORD]

I was there in '98. I was passing through on my way to New Mexico. It was awesome! For a guy from the Northeast, the trip out there was amazing! I thought that if I stood in the back of my F250, I would be able to see all of Kansas! Then, out on the horizon, where the Rocky Mountains. I took hours to get to them. I had never seen something so far away before. Out here in the East, if you can see 5 or 10 miles it is "a view". At Pike's Peak I was seeing hundreds of miles! I didn't stay the night there though.

[fordman]

wew were there probably in the late 60's early 70's i think we were at a koa campground right off the mina road. i cant remember i was pretty young then. i do remember this girl i liked that was there but she wanted me to be friend with her goofy brother. but i just wanted to be interested in her. even at that age. less than 10 years old i think.

[cdeal28078]

I went to the Peak will at Colorado Springs during a 2 week Air National Guard deployment. Had a great time. Word of warning. We drove up to the top and when I got out of the car and walked across the parking area to the building I almost passed out from the lack of O2. I was in pretty good shape back then but I guess being from NC and not used to that elevation it really took it out of me. We had been in the area a week or more and living in tents so I was acclimated a bit to the area.
While on the way up we saw two trucks that had JUST run off the road on a switchback and was laying in the road so drive carefully. It was probably.93-94 since I was there so I imagine the roads are a lot better know.
Have a great time. It is really beautiful country. Don't forget the bad land area also. I think there is something also in the area called 100 falls or something like that. Real beautiful water fall.
clint

[FLATBEDFORD]

I was there in October. It was mid 70s at the bottom and mid 20's with fresh snow on top! Oh yeah the low O2 is tough. I think I have a better idea of what John Denver meant in the song Rocky Mountain High. I went from the Plains of Kansas to the 14,000 ft in just a few hours.

[foghorn]

Make sure that the brakes are in tip top shape they do have a check point where they check temp of the brakes. even if they say its ok to go i would still stop for 30min-1hr. The trip down takes it toll on the brakes. Even i thought i was in decent shape and still almost passed out my self. If you can afford the train ride i would take it to the top. If i remember right we stayed in a camp ground about 30min drive to the west.




foggy

[binder56jd]

if you come in to co spgs on co 24 from limon--you should find some wood supply places along the road and there used to be several budget minded campgrounds in that area--east sprgs area---the close in you get = higher prices and bigger crowds--don' forget the ripleys tower museum in Genoa(on i-70)

mind your speed limit--most of those little towns have a s s hole bandits that run a good speed trap--marker lite--tail lights tag lite--whatever you got wrong that gives them a chance at ya

enjoy the hills--watch out for the site seers--lol---the zoo is way above average---garden of the gods---cripple creek is worth the trip--gold mine tour- i have driven and been drove up the peak-the drive--which is tame compared to some of the passes--will make a flatlander pucker---use those brake cooling areas--they are there for a very good reason---the tram is a cool ride


have a safe trip---former Oberlin,ks/hugo,denver,vail,edwards,minturn,avon,eagle, co resident

[FLATBEDFORD]

When I was up there in my F250 I kept it in low range 4x4 the whole way down. It was a 5 speed so I could really use the gears to keep the speed under control. At the brake check point, the guy was amazed that my brakes were cold!

[westernkansas]

these are all helpful tips thanks everyone.