I'm as excited as a five year old today. This will be my third attempt to climb Pikes Peak. I was snowed out on the first two.

It's not looking too good for this try either.

So far, so good!

They are running a special at the North Pole today

Seniors get in free.

This guy was running a special too. I didn't bite on any of them.

If you wanna play, you gots to pay.

For no extra charge he came out and took my picture. He said I could go as far as I felt comfortable. I told him I was going to the top.......a little slush wouldn't stop me.

This lake is about a third of the way up.

a few people were fishing

Making sure you got something for your $12 entry in case you didn't make it to the top.

about a half hours ride from here.

Some cool peeks along the way. Pun intended. 

The temperature has dropped about 30* so far.

I made it, but no one will believe me with this shot

Some nice folks offered to take a couple of pics.

Still no proof!

You can almost read it now.

The clouds are moving across the top of this mountain so fast that just when you snap the pic, the fog moves in for a blur job.

Finally, proof!

It was cold up here so I decided to go in........

Yes, that's the sign I was looking for.

There is a cog railway that runs up here from the town below.

It would be best to time your ascent to not coincide with the trains

It is hard getting a good shot with the clouds

So why not a selfie? Whoa, I'm looking rough!

Same shot, looks better without me. :)

One without clouds

Did I say it was cold up here?

Hey, a little hole in the Sky

Wow! a Barbara Streisand view

Awesome

There were two of these long lakes down there

She gets lonely, but I had to leave her in the parking lot

It's hard to believe, but she sits in the same place as she is in the last pic.

Did I mention it was cold up here?

They are headed down now.

They move real slow too

The snow on the side is still deep. That piece with the crack calved off while I was taking this picture.

Trying to show the twisty road

I'm actually standing on the road just above the first one you see. The switch backs are just about as tight as you could make them.

Another view of the lake. Finally, my fingers are starting to thaw!

With the light air at 14,000' you tend to feel a little unstable.

So I kept my speed down to between 40 and 50 MPH

Even so, an officer told me to slow it down as the speed limit was only 25mph. I told her I thought that was only on the way up!

One last peek at the peak

Okay, one more

Posers, every one of them! They haul them bikes up to the top on the van. Then they coast down. How dumb is that. Not dumb at all.......I say!

I rode Hwy 24 through Leadville and then on thru Minturn to I-70.

The scenery was beautiful

The Eagle River flowed alongside of the Hwy for quite a ways. If you squint, you can see a raft up near those trees as the river appears from around the bend.

These guys and gals were having a good ole time

Non stop action

The guy noticed me taking pictures and gave me a paddle high five.

This is part of I-70 west bound from Hwy 24. I think it is in the top three most beautiful expressways in America. At 85 mph it is also a blast to navigate!

Stopped at a rest area. This creek was making it's way to......

........the mighty Colorado

Do you see the scar on the hillside above the building on the left? It is caused by an underground coal fire that continues to this day. Even snow won't stick there.

I saw this nice Bar and Grill in New Casell and decided to eat there.

Look who showed up to join me. We had a great meal and nice visit.

Lacy brought her toy wanting me to play with her.

When I didn't react, she would move it so I could see it better.

She never gave up, but was pretty disappointed in my lack of energy.