Homeschooling on the Road–Colorado
Jun 17th, 2009 | By Jessica Parnell | Category: Featured Articles, Homeschooling Road Trip 2009
Day One–Colorado Springs
We started out with a plan to tackle Pike’s Peak the easy way—via train. But, when we arrived to discover that the next available train would not leave for 2 hours, we decided to take a hike—straight up!
View from part way up the incline trail
At Pike’s Peak, you can choose to hike to the summit via the Barr Trail (which is a beautiful winding trail up the mountain) or take a shorter hike straight up the mountain using railroad tie “steps.” Preferring a more scenic route, I suggested the Barr Trail, but my husband overruled me in the interest of conquering the incline trail – a 2000 foot incline trail that looked to be quite a challenge.
And it was!
But imagine the sense of satisfaction we had when we successfully met our goal!
Thankfully, once we conquered the ascent, we shifted over to the Barr Trail for the return trip and it was gorgeous! Of course three of us crashed and burned coming down that easier trail so we reached the bottom bruised and bloody but feeling unstoppable and ready to do it again.
After the hike, we did board the train and were thrilled with the breathtaking views from the top of Pike’s Peak (the picture does not do it justice). The kids were intrigued to learn about the history of Pike’s Peak–the communities that used to be established right on the mountain, the development of the railroad, the industry that was there. Most of it gone now–but evidence still left behind.
We talked about Kathy Lee Bates and saw the trail that she would have traveled as ascended the mountain and we understood the inspiration that she found at the top when she penned America the Beautiful.
We too were inspired and wanted to write our own poem about God’s incredible creation.
Once we have them finalized I will post them with pride!
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Additional homeschooling posts:
Homeschooling on the Road-Vision
Day Three-Catching the Vision
Today we returned to Focus on the Family to take a tour of the administrative buildings (which we were unable to do yesterday) and we were inspired by their vision and by how God has blessed their ministry.
What Every Homeschooler Needs
Just read this post and thought it was a great list of the supplies every homeschooler needs.
As a homeschooling dad here in Colorado, looking at Pikes Peak has always given me a little reminder about how powerful God is and how He’s blessed us.
Did you know that the incline trail you hiked was actually an incline railroad grade? My parents, brother and sister rode to the top in an incline car of the Mt. Manitou Scenic Incline Railway. Since 1990, the rails have been long gone and the public has forcibly co-opted the path as a hiking trail, even though it’s on private land. Folks are working on getting it made into a park so that it will be legal to climb it.
Glad you’re getting out and enjoying the beauty of the Front Range! The cog route is the best way to view the mountain, IMHO. It’s an engineering marvel as well. Visit http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=4753 to view the engineering used to make the trip possible.
Have a great time and enjoy Colorado. I do!
Thanks, Steve! We too have been seeing God’s power and magnificence in everything around us! Thank-you too for the tip on the video–what an amazing feat! And to watch it after riding the train made it that much more intriguing.