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| Me and the Boys at 14,000 Feet |
It’s funny how traveling together prompts the birth of new phrases in the family lexicon. I’m sure you have them in your family, too. It’s those funny things you say that only your family understands because they are the ones who were there when it happened. Traveling to the top of Pike’s Peak added another such phrase to our family history books.
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| A View from the Cog Railway |
Gary wanted to drive to the top of Pike’s Peak in our old van, but there were not enough ways to say no for me to disagree with that idea. Somehow, the idea of driving an old van with questionable transmission around hairpin curves at an altitude of 14,000 feet was not my idea of fun. At all. Instead, we took the Pike’s Peak Cog Railway to top, which was both educational (happy mom) and safe.
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| The Cog Railroad |
The trip to the top was slow and peaceful, although because it was the first trip out and early in the morning, we were the only family on the train surrounded by a tour group of Senior Citizens. That always makes me nervous because sometimes older people love babies and children and sometimes they don’t. I don’t blame them really. It’s always up in the air whether my kids are going to be well behaved or candidates for Supernanny. Anyway, I was nervous and I could feel the eyes on me and the parade behind me as we boarded the train.
Luckily, the sun shining through the windows lulled the boys into a sleepy silence, so we didn’t completely embarrass ourselves or ruin anyone’s morning trip. Of course, I would love it if my kids were well behaved all the time, but I am especially hyper cautious to encourage good behavior when we are traveling. It’s not fun to ruin anyone’s trip with a screaming baby or tantruming toddler. I wish I had a three step method for great traveling behavior, but mostly I rely on crossed fingers, a healthy dose or prayer, and bribery when necessary.
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| A little bit of bribery for each hand |
That day one of those things worked because the kids were great on the way up the mountain. The highlight of the trip was seeing the oldest living thing, a bristlecone pine tree that is thought to be 4000 years old.
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| Bristlecone Pine |
At the top, we were able to leave the train and explore for a while. Our first stop was the restaurant where we were encouraged to try the donuts that were fried at 14,000 feet. We all agreed that altitude donuts taste pretty much like regular donuts. We were all sitting in the restaurant waiting for the donuts when we heard Evan say in a distant voice, “I’m feeling a little chirpy.” What does that mean, you are wondering? Apparently, Evan was feeling the effects of altitude sickness and his head was swimming, like that of a cartoon character that has been hit on the head and has birds flying around and chirping. We all laughed until we got a little chirpy and a new family phrase was born.
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| At the Top |
