June 2nd 2013 = Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak, Colorado.

A beautiful morning in Colorado Springs, Colorado.... but nothing prepared me for the news I was about to hear.
The El Reno, Oklahoma tornado that we were in on Friday took the lives of veteran storm chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras and Carl Young. You may remember them from the Discovery Channel show Storm Chasers, they were team Twistex. 0
Tim was a pioneer in the storm chasing industry. His understanding of storms was second to none and his goal was to save lives from mother natures intense fury. Unfortunately the El Reno tornado caught him and many others off guard as it made a quick turn and overtook those in it's path.
Tim will always be remember as the best of the best. RIP Tim and Paul Samaras & Carl Young.

Today was a down day once again in terms of weather so a little sight seeing was in store around the area. The first stop was the Garden of the Gods just outside of Colorado Springs.
What an incredibly beautiful place with amazing rock formations all over. Take a look....

Such a beautiful place to visit and a BUSY place. Being Sunday, the place was packed.

Our next stop was Pikes Peak.
Now this was an experience to be had. There are hills and small mountains to drive up, but never have I gone up 14,110 feet by car.
Roads were steep with numerous hairpin turns. We stopped, at what I thought was the end, but it was only a rest stop before taking the final journey up to the summit.
Absolutely gorgeous scenery.....

After leaving the rest stop, we began a very steep climb to the summit.
I gotta tell ya, it was a little nerve racking as these roads did not have any guard rails on the side. It was a straight drop down in many cases.
Once at the summit.... 14,110 feet up, the view was incredible. You could see for miles.

 

 

 

Even though I felt like I was on top of the world, elevation started to take it's toll. The reduced oxygen at this height was enough to start making me dizzy and feel a bit faint. The key was to take long deep breaths and walk very slowly. It was also a tad chilly at the summit. Coming from 27° below the summit to only 5° at the summit with gusty winds. Skies were clear with a few overhead cirrus clouds which seemed only a stones throw away.

 

 

 

 

 

That was pretty much the adventure for Sunday. We are headed towards Kansas for Monday as an increased area of severe weather is expected towards the Oklahoma Panhandle.