Another 14er

Pikes Peak is another 14er that you can drive to the top.  It is not far from Colorado Springs...just 30 minutes south of Castle Rock. 
It was a very steep 19 mile drive up the mountain. The only lakes around were a couple 3 reservoirs...and they were small in comparison to the ones we have seen when driving over Snoqualmie Pass.

It is still a trip to go above the tree line and see these massive rock sculptures and huge boulders all around. The very top made us think of the moon...a lot of big rocks laying around.
This is Sean...not much bigger than some of the rocks! But once his little feet hit the ground, he wanted to explore on his own!

Joel, Sadie and Sean LOVED climbing on the rocks and of course tried to jump from one rock to another. I so remember doing things like this at Mount Rainier National park. It was about 65 degrees F or so up there and there were some clouds in the sky, with the very common dark thunder-burst cloud creeping up to the south west of the summit.  Whenever anyone hikes tall mountains around here, you MUST be aware of the weather, lightening is very dangerous and it is not uncommon to have it strike the top of these giants.

Before we left, Kameron, Keno, Kaleb and Joel had to take a run around the  parking area.  It is such a crazy feeling, I guess...I opted out this time.  Kam said by the time you get half way around your legs have no energy.  I would have thought his lungs would have been burning, but no...there is no oxygen to go to the legs...so no energy.


                                                                                                                   


Here is the latest picture of Sean.  We still think he is the sweetest thing since cotton candy.  His new phrase, when he doesn't want someone or something to go away is, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"  We are certain he said Kameron's name the other night and his new favorite item is the dog or better heard as "gog". 

I thought the lichen on this rock was just beautiful against the red rock, complimented with sea-foam green and black.  Not that I'd decorate my house in these colors, but nature has a great eye for putting things together.