A visit to this area wouldn't be complete without a trip to the summit of Pikes Peak. We opted to drive to the top.

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This beautiful lake/reservoir about 1/4 of the way to the top was an incredible backdrop for the changing aspens with Pikes Peak in the background.

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This photo, taken from Crystal Creek Reservoir, gave us an indication of the kind of hairpin turns we would be negotiating after we reached the tree line.

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The summit of Pikes Peak is at 14,110 feet above sea level. It was cold and windy and the air was thin so we didn't stay outside too long!

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In 1893, the view from the peak inspired poet Katherine Lee Bates to write "America the Beautiful". This young lady, who was dressed in period costume, had driven to the top to greet a group from a convention by singing Bates' song...

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...as they got off the cog railroad. When I said I wished I had been there to hear her, she gave us our own personal concert!

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About 6 miles down from the summit, there was a ranger stop where they tested the heat of our brakes. Continuing down, we pulled off for a view of Ute pass. The Colorado Ute Indians made a yearly trek down this pass to visit the springs in Manitou and hunt buffalo on the plains.

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We couldn't resist a stop at the North Pole where we rode a few rides and visited Santa!

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We decided to explore Phantom Canyon Trail, a dirt road that follows the route of the old Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad. The railroad hauled rich gold ore from the mines near Cripple Creek and Victor to processing mills in Florence from 1894 - 1912.

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Coming around a curve we encountered a group of antique cars doing the same run we were doing. What year is this anyway!!

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This tunnel, which was blasted out of solid granite in 1895, has no timbers supporting it. How cool it was to follow this Model T through the tunnel.

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The aspens along the trail are not only a beautiful color but make a very relaxing rustling sound.

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Phantom Canyon Trail led us to Victor, the city of mines. Brick foundations and grand hoists are the remains of a gold mining empire that built Victor.

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Between Victor and Cripple Creek are the remnants of historic mines as well as an operating modern gold mine. In the 1890's, over 500 mines produced 21 million ounces of gold, surpassing the production of the California and Alaska gold rushes combined. Today, Cripple Creek is one of three towns in Colorado with legalized gambling.

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Sitting at the foot of Pikes Peak, Manitou Springs is best known for the iron and soda springs that bubble from the earth. It is a town of quaint houses, narrow lanes that clamber up steep hillsides, old Victorians, like the Barker House, and lots of galleries.

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Today we took the Rampart Range Trail from Garden of the Gods to a community 30 miles away called Woodland Park. The views were breathtaking at every turn and...

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...aspen groves wearing their beautiful fall colors greeted us along the way.

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We walked through the Cave of the Winds and saw chambers containing stalactites, stalagmites, helictites and other natural formations. Though not a cave with huge formations, it was an interesting half-mile walk through rooms and up and down some 200 stairs.

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It was interesting to learn that all stalactites begin as a hollow soda straw formation.

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