Went to the visitor center there and set out on our drive atop the Pike's Peak at 14,115 ft. It is the US's easternmost 14000+foot peak. It is the US's highest unpaved road. Little did we know what we were in for :). The Pike's peak is the most visited mountain in the US and the second most visited in the world behind Mount Fuji. It is a 19 mile drive one way to the top, part of the road being paved. It takes around 3-4 hours to complete the 38 mile drive. There is also a Pike's peak cog railway that takes passengers to the top and back - I am sure the train ride is marvelous.
So we started our drive - and it is an experience in itself. Its all good until we reach around 9000ft. The whole journey is at a sharp incline with sharp corners - it is a very narrow road - with no fence, the mountain on one side and a sheer sheer drop on the other. Its a scary ride, as you can't see anything in the front because of the sharp turns, except the clouds and the sky. I thought this was more a literal translation of "Road to the Sun" than yesterday's drive to Longs Peak.
When we reached around 10,000 ft - it started getting really scary. I am not a person that scares easily, have done crazier stuff in my life - but I started freaking out big time. I was yelling, shouting - both mil and me were like lets just turn the car and go back - we do not want to make it to the top. Looking back, I can't help but laugh at the way I was freaking. It was like sitting at the roller coaster, when it slowly approaching the top when you cannot see anything on the ground - and you just see the sky, super super scary. Thankfully Sushant did not heed to me shouting and did take us to the top. I was all shaky when my feet touched terra firma. The views were spectacular from the top - indescribable. The whole drive, the journey was an experience - one of the scariest I have taken, but I can safely say it was worth it.
Once we reached the top, we took quite a few pictures and visited the visitor center there. Spent some time and ate some of their "world's best fudge dipped donuts" - not sure whether they were the best in the world, but they were pretty darn tasty.
The journey back was uneventful and scenic - not as scary as going up. We went to Colorado Springs and ate a hearty lunch at Qdoba gril and ate a delectable ice cream from I don't remember the name of the ice cream store.
The journey back to chicago was another story altogether - we were very late to the airport, we were sure we were going to miss our flight but luckily the flight was delayed and instead of taking off at 7:40 pm it took off at 12:30 am and we reached Chicago at 4:00am.
Another adventure came to an end - it was a great fun trip full of great moments. Looking forward to our next adventure.
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