Mark Twain said it best that “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” I love traveling; the excitement of visiting new places, experiencing local culture and meeting new people is feeling mutually shared by all travelers. And I have been blessed to have an extended family that is scattered all over the country which has enabled me to undertake trips to some of the best places on earth and yet avail myself the familiar mundane comforts that are not offered to a regular traveler.
This year I made a trip down to Colorado as part of a family getaway. And I was treated to some of the most incredible sights nature had to offer, in addition to a boatload of memorable adventures. Till my next trip, this is going to remain the best 72 hours of fun I've ever had.
The first leg of my trip took me to Denver, the "mile-high" city. There was an initial period of acclimatization at my cousin's place where I constantly kept reminding myself to drink lots of fluids and breathe more frequently (That's right, and you'll realize what I'm talking about when you make it to a high-altitude region!). Our first trip was to "Royal Gorge" bridge and park in Canon City. The canyon is about 1300 ft deep surrounded by steep cliffs and a suspension bridge across the Arkansas River.
An Aerial Tram (claimed to be the world's longest single-span Aerial Tram) took us across the canyon during which we had a 360 degree view of the canyon, the peaks and the river. Across on the other side came my first adventure: a ride on the Sky-Coaster. The Sky-Coaster hooks you on to a rope and swings you across the canyon in what could be described as one of the most intense rush of adrenaline anyone could experience.
Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it! A walk across the bridge itself was followed by a trolley ride to the bottom of the canyon and brought the visit to a conclusion.
The second leg was a sojourn into the Rocky Mountain National Park. The trip took us first to the city of Estes Park, which typically serves as a staging area into the mountains.
This was followed by a winding drive where every mile we moved forward seemed to add a couple of hundred feet to the elevation. The park had scenic stops which gave us stunning vistas for our photo-ops. However, we could not reach our destination on our first day as the mountain pass (Trail Ridge Road) was closed due to weather and road repairs. So we turned back and headed to our accommodation at the YMCA of the Rockies near Estes Park. This place was voted the "Best Place to Travel With a Family" and offers a variety of activities along with affordable accommodation in an old fashioned log-cabin.
The place serves as a gateway of sorts for hikers, sports persons undergoing endurance training and the like, in addition to being a quality family retreat. We rested for the night and for once I felt like I was a one of the old frontiersmen living a life on the edge. As luck would have it, we got notification the next morning that the mountain pass had been temporarily reopened for just that one day and we pressed forward. Our journey took us through the heart of the Rockies to a peak elevation of nearly 13,000 feet. A small note: be wary about your dressing when going into high altitude regions even in summer.
As enjoyable the backdrop was, we could not afford to remain outside for extended periods because, there was still a snow cover about 8 ft high with winds blowing in swirls at 60 mph. Nevertheless, we made it safely through the pass (without catching frostbite) and reached Grand Lake, which is one of the headwaters of the Colorado River and the largest natural lake in the state.
This was our last stop on the second leg.
Our third leg was a journey to one of the most famous landmarks of Colorado: Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs. Although the drive to the top, situated at an elevation of about 12,000 ft, was supposedly more thrilling, we opted to take the historic "Cog-Railway" ride up to the summit. It is the highest cog railroad in the world, and has been in continuous operation since 1891. With vertical inclines approaching 40% coupled and vertical drops of several thousand feet on one side of the rail-line, the ride is a pure pleasure. Atop the summit is an observation deck/family restaurant/memorabilia shop. (Guess what is the first thing everybody does as soon as they get-off...answer the call of mother nature!). Although the lack of oxygen and extreme temperature make it physically challenging, the trip to Pikes Peak provided some unforgettable panoramas and is an absolute must on every itinerary.
That concluded my excursions into the mountains of the Centennial State. I have always had a deep aversion to snow, but I came back convinced that I would love to live in the mountains and not mind the snow at all. Let us see how it turns out.
