Early this week we finally walked up to Iron Springs Geyser near the Pikes Peak Cog Railway station. The distance turned out to be much shorter than the 1.5 mile walk that I had estimated earlier.
Along the way we passed by Miramont Castle, built in the late 1890’s. The castle can be toured and they also serve afternoon tea. There is a nice little garden on the side and a bastion along the back.
Iron Springs, located under a pavilion, used to be a geyser that shot up into the air every 20 minutes. The taste is vile due to the high iron content. 
The springs is not very nice to look at but we discovered that there is an entrance to part of the Intemann trail system at this location so we walked a little way along it on the creek.
Because the walk had not been very far we went farther up to see where Barr Trail, which goes to the top of Pikes Peak, begins. As you can see from the sign, it is an 8 hour brisk walk to the top. There is a website that has the record times among the different age groups for the Pikes Peak Ascent and the Marathon held each year in August. I see that someone made the ascent in 5 hours and 30 minutes and was in the 85-89 age group!
We walked a little way up very steep Barr Trail only to be passed by people who were running up. I used to have a neighbor in Woodland Park that was in her late 50’s or early 60’s. She had severe arthritis which began when she was only two years old and over the years had surgery multiple times on her joints. When I first met her she was in a leg cast but walked every day anyway. Her doctors had told her years before that she should be in a wheelchair. Several years after I met her she climbed Pikes Peak. I always thought her story should have made national news.
Ute Chief Spring is looking a little neglected due to being the farthest west in town to which few people walk. 
Navajo Geyser is located in a covered outdoor eating area of the Manitou Outpost. 
My family regularly complains that there are rarely pictures of me on this website. This is a reflection of yours truly, Steve, and Molly in Fountain Creek. Note that Steve is standing sideways so that he will look slimmer than me.
Month: October 2011
Chairway To Heaven
The event that got us us out of bed early Sunday morning was the Manitou Chair Project. Several organizers including the Manitou Business Art Center arranged to have citizens of our town donate the use of 1000 chairs to be lined up the center of Manitou Avenue for over 1/2 mile. 
No vehicles or people were allowed on the avenue from 7:00-8:30 am except for official photographers and videographers. They should have gotten great pictures of a very white Pikes Peak in the background early on. By 7:30 it had disappeared behind clouds.
Every single side street was blocked well back from the avenue. I really wanted to get at least one picture of the chairs before the public was allowed on the street. So we walked down the hill to this alley that runs along the creek between our street and Manitou Avenue.
We followed the creek to just beyond the barricades on Manitou Ave and then crossed over behind the photographers.
Then we walked one block uphill and passed this church which has wonderful bells that can be heard throughout town. The white line going up the mountain is where the old Manitou Incline used to be. Now fitness enthusiasts hike or run up to the top here.
Now look again at the very first picture at the top. This was taken from the town’s only hair salon which has high wild flowers by their front door. I went behind the flowers and took the picture plus a few more.
At 8:30 an opera singer began singing and that was the cue that the public could go out on the street. Many had been waiting in the coffee shops and restaurants. Since I took too many pictures to post here I decided to make a little video. I had promised this post to be up yesterday but our Verizon internet wouldn’t stay connected long enough for the video to upload to YouTube. Be sure to have your sound turned on.
http://www.youtube.com/user/emcsquare2
Cripple Creek, Colorado
It’s the peak of Aspen watching season and many people are taking a drive to Cripple Creek to see the changing colors along the way.
Yesterday, five of us piled into my brothers’ car and drove to Cripple Creek. It’s about a 40 mile drive but the scenery is so pretty and changes constantly the entire drive. This is my mom and sister-in-law.
Cripple Creek is at an elevation of 9494 feet (2894 meters) and is just below tree line. When gold was discovered here in 1890 the population went from 500 to 10,000 by 1893. The underground mines are exhausted but open pit mining has operated since 1994 east of town. It won’t be long and the mountains in the background will be all white, making them look bigger.
Prior to legalized gambling that began in October 1991, many of the historic buildings were vacant and had been vandalized. Now casino’s occupy many of the old buildings and the town is once again a busy place. We had a nice lunch (my mother always has a supply of free coupons) and did a little gambling. I came home to the good and Steve was even because he doesn’t gamble.
My brother asked me how Cripple Creek got it’s name. I don’t know if it’s true but an old story says that when miners panned for gold they left holes in the creek. Cattle would accidentally step into the holes and break their legs.
One of these days I want to see the inside of the catholic church. I used to have a house in Woodland Park, half way between Cripple Creek and Colorado Springs, that an old family friend from Cripple Creek remodeled for me. He took out my dark paneling and installed it in the vestibule of the church above.
Wanderlets 