But I was determined not to stop until we made it all the
way. So, we kept driving…mile by snowy
mile. The temperature dropped 25 degrees
along the ascent. When we finally made
it, I had to unpack my winter gear from my suitcase so I could walk
around. Unfortunately, my wife got
altitude sickness and was forced to remain in the car, so I explored the summit
alone. The wind was unbelievably strong,
and I thought for sure they were going to close the road. But it didn’t matter, because we had made it.
The trek down didn’t take nearly as long, as my wife channeled
her inner Mario Andretti, and we raced down the road taking switchbacks on two
wheels. All-in-all, we spent about two
and half hours on the mountain. We
headed to Manitou Springs for lunch, stopping at Marilyn’s Pizza for a couple
of greasy, gigantic slices of pizza.
While there, we chatted with the teenagers working in the restaurant. One of them was telling us that the
population of Colorado had increased dramatically over the last couple of
years. The rise in people was due to the
legalization of marijuana. Ironically,
the crime rate in Colorado was on the decline during that same period. When my wife inquired as to why, one of the
guys replied, “I guess it’s because everyone is chillin’ now.” I guess that makes sense.
After that, we headed back to Denver to meet J, R,
and E for dinner at 3 Margaritas. It
was a nice evening of visiting, reminiscing, and enjoying our friends…topped by
a tour of R and E’s new house.
