Manitou Springs is just into the Rockies from Colorado Springs.  The plains rise slowly up to the "front range" of the Rockies,  so the ascent across Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado was easy and ever so gradual.  Our campground was at 6600 feet, which we definitely felt -- we all got winded a bit more easily than normal.

With military aircraft buzzing about high in the stratosphere, we set up camp and watched the continuing TV coverage from the RV park offices.

The next day, we took the "Cog Railroad" up to the summit of Pikes Peak, at 14,110 feet.  At the station at the base, we were much surprised to find some Santa Barbara friends there, waiting for the same train we were.  Carol Castagnon and her son Gabe, homeschooling friends living in Ojai, happened to be staying in Colorado Springs and decided to visit the summit also.  We were all really pleasantly surprised -- seeing someone from home somehow made being away from Joya and Santa Barbara a bit easier.

Below are the 5 of us at the summit, after the 90 minute ride to the top.

At a brief stop on the way up, we saw many of these yellow-tailed marmots begging for food.  They lived above the treeline in a rather harsh environment, so we really did not blame them much for their panhandling efforts.

The ladies at the top.

The railroad conductor told us that on a clear day, one could see 5 states from here.  We believed him.

We made plans with Carol and Gabe to visit another Manitou Springs sight -- the "Garden of the Gods" -- immediately after we returned to the base of the mountain.  Carol had a car, and offered to give us a ride there, which we accepted.  We had taken the free city shuttle from our campground.

The Garden was a gift to the city from a private individual, as you can see from the below.

Here is one the the main rocks in the Garden -- or perhaps I should say here is one of the main gods.  This spot was very popular with climbers -- if you have sharp eyes you can spot one at the lower right of this large rock, just starting up the face.

Gabe demonstrated his climbing abilities as well, flaunting the possibility of the $500 fine the city imposed on unregistered climbers.  Really.

This was a large park, closed to hunting, so deer hung out here and fed, quite comfortable with the proximity of people with digital cameras.

Jordan appears to be running along the path, trying to catch bugs in her mouth.  You can see the "garden" aspect of this park in the photo below.  It was really quite a magical place.

We all had a nice visit, chatting about this and that, watching the climbers, and walking about the lovely paths.  Around sunset, Carol dropped us off near our RV park, where we got hugs all around and promises to see each other soon back in Santa Barbara.

The next day, on our way out of town, we visited an Anasazi site: The Manitou Cliff Dwellings, which were billed as the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the world.

They were indeed well-preserved.  The main reason we went there, after having seen a number of Anasazi ruins already, was that we could actually walk around in these.  The reason for this was that they were privately owned.  I am not sure how one comes to own a 700 year old archeological treasure, but there you have it, and we did indeed tromp around within it.

Below you can see the ladies reading one of the grammatically-challenged placards which were placed about the cliff, informing us of various Anasazi factoids.

And here is a detail shot.

This is the pueblo structure that was built below the cliff dwellings.  Begun in the 1800s, this pueblo was inhabited by Native Americans until the late 1900s.  Sadly, it is now a gigantic multi-level gift shop.

And here is our little van and trailer, way up in the Rockies, in the parking space for the cliff dwelling.

September 14 - Glenwood Springs