Tourist First: Colorado: Pikes Peak Experience

Monday, May 2, 2022

Colorado: Pikes Peak Experience

Pikes Peak, as seeen from the Garden of the Gods visitor center.

Pikes Peak, which is marketed as "America's Favorite Mountain," can be visited as a day trip out of Denver. Jane and I, though, stayed two nights in Manitou Springs, at the foot of the mountain and the lower terminus of the cog railway that takes visitors up grades as steep as 25 percent to the very top of Pikes Peak.

Manitou Springs reminded me of tourist towns in coastal Maine in which retailers and restaurants have only a few warm months in which to make enough money to support themselves for a year. Nearby Colorado Springs, a few miles away, is probably more of a year-round destination thanks to the U.S. Air Force Academy and the town's role as a hub for rightwing organizations. We didn't go to Colorado Springs, though we did visit the nearby Garden of the Gods, a park focused on hoodoos and other stone formations,

Here are some photos from this corner of Colorado:

Garden of the Gods has been a public
park for more than a century.

Registered and experinced climbers (not sure that these are either) can
climb the challenging formations at Garden of the Gods.

An exhibit in Manitou Springs shows how
the wheels and rail mesh on the cog
railway to allow it to travel steep grades.

You can't say you haven't been warned about the altitude.
Other warnings involve the lack of toilets on the train.

The recently and expensively refurbished cog railway at its terminus in Manitou Springs.

A waterfall is visible from the train.

As the train nears the tree line, it almost seems that you can see the earth's curvature.

At the summit, which can also be reached by car, though
during our visit the last three miles of the road were closed.

The visitors center at the summit.

View from the visitors center.

The Cliff House hotel, where we
stayed in Manitou Springs.

The Manitou Incline hiking trail (it can also be thought of as a very
long stairway) is visible from the cog railway station. Another trail, the Barr Trail
out of Manitou Springs, is the main hiking route to the top of Pikes Peak,
and experinced hikers need seven to ten hours for the ascent, Once at the top,
you can get a one-way ticket down on the railroad. Two snowshoe-equipped
hikers did just that on our train down.

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Argentine Patagonia

They are called what they look like: Mexican hats. They occur naturally in the highlands above the town of El Calafate. The water in the distance is glacier-fed Lago Argentino. An hour's drive east of El Calafate, near the headwaters of the lake, visitors can hike on the Perito Moreno glacier and take a boat ride among icebergs that have fallen off the several glaciers in the Parque Nacional des Glaciares. El Calafate is basically a summer (Nov. to Feb.) tourist town, and there are a number of hotels at all price points. We stayed at Esplendor El Calafate, a very stylish hotel with a full restaurant and bar. The South American picker-upper drink mate is available at breakfast. The hotel is an uphill walk from the commercial area, but that's not much of a drawback. Click on the photo to visit the Esplendor online.

Dominica

Probably the greenest island in the Caribbean, in terms of color and ecological awareness, is Dominica, just north of Martinique. It was named by Columbus, who sailed past it on a Sunday. The island nation is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, but it is rich in friendly people and natural attractions, including a boiling lake, hot and cold waterfalls, a parrot jungle and hill after hill of dense green jungle. There is also a cable-car ride through the jungle canopy (http://www.natureisland.com/AerialTram.html). I wrote about Dominica years ago, and much of that article is still relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/travel/winter-in-the-sun-an-island-where-less-is-more.html?scp=2&sq= Unfortunately, one of the hotels I mentioned, Petit Coulibri, has since closed. Fortunately, there's still a wonderful eco-resort called Papillote Wilderness Retreat http://www.papillote.dm/), four acres of lush gardens, hot-spring-heated soaking pools and modest cottage rooms.

Palm Springs

Palm Springs, Calif., is a great destination for nature lovers -- Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wonderful gondola ride (shown above -- click on it to visit its website) away, and Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive away. It's also a great destination for naturists; there are several major clothing optional resorts in the area -- and for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture. For a dose of mid-century style, stay at the Orbit In (http://www.orbitin.com/), which does ask that you keep your clothes on.

Pompeii

If you're driving from Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't want to visit the Amalfi Coast, you should plan to spend a night in the modern city of Pompei, adjacent to the ancient city of Pompeii. Above are the murals depicting an unknown ritual in what's called the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. If you can, devote most of a full day to exploring the site. Afterward, you'll want a good hotel. Click on the image for info about Hotel Amleto, a small and friendly hotel in the heart of the new town and an easy walk from the ruins.

St. Vincent

This is one of the "rooms" at Petit Byahaut, an isolated (access by boat only) eco-resort on St. Vincent, the largest island in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bequia, mentioned above in this column, is one of the Grenadines. The photo above is of the living deck and doesn't show a relatively enclosed area that had a real bed. Did you notice I said "had"? That's because the place has closed. To read about the property in its heyday, click on the image for a New York Times article I wrote. The article has a link to a slide show with more images of the resort.