My wife and I are lucky to have had as many opportunities for travel as we have; mostly work-related, but some for pleasure. We have been all across this country -- from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine; San Francisco to St. Augustine, FL; Albuquerque, New Mexico to Asheville, North Carolina; New York to Key West, FL; and many places in-between.
Each place we have visited has had their own local charms, and I have written about many of them already, with more yet to come.
One of the most interesting places we have seen, as a side trip to Denver, Colorado, some years back, was Pike’s Peak. Yes – THAT Pike’s Peak! The tallest mountain (I think) in the Rocky Mountain chain, about a two-hour drive south of Denver.
I well remember reading in grammar school US History about those gold prospectors in the late 1900’s, who headed west seeking their fortunes amid rumors of gold mines everywhere producing fantastic riches, and hearing the slogan many of them adopted: “Pike’s Peak or Bust!”
Sadly, most of those folks had no idea of what they were trying to do, or how difficult it would be just to get to Pike’s Peak, let alone cross over it. But, “slogans” often have a way of capturing public imagination, and reducing to simplicity a complicated set of circumstances that cannot be so easily explained.
“Sin in haste, repent at leisure,” as the old saying goes. Applicable in many ways!
Our country is experiencing a resurgence of this very truth at the current time; and millions of folks will be hurt, badly, before Reality rears its ugly head and dashes Truth on those who thought so little of it before.
As has happened a few times before, my wife and I happened to have back-to- back conferences in the same city, a year apart. It happened in Denver, Miami, and New Orleans. The good part was, we each got to see the city on our own time (as well as our own dime), while the other was in classes. (We only had to pay for our own airfare and meals, as the hotel expense was already paid for, when we went along to the other’s business conferences, so that helped a lot.) The first time we went to Denver, it was for my conference; we were on the north side of town, and I didn’t get to see much, as I was in class all the time. The next year, we were on the south side; my wife had a conference there, so I got to explore the area a little bit while she was in class. Both visits were in spring or summer months, so we weren’t dealing with their winter weather, thankfully!
That second trip, we were able to take two extra days and travel to a small town just south of Colorado Springs (home to the US Air Force Academy), that was home to the train depot that went up to Pike’s Peak, Manitou Springs.
The Pike’s Peak Railway was a carefully engineered set of rails that went to the top of the mountain, and back down again. It was a “cog railway” instead of the “smooth rails” we have here on flat-land. That is, the rails had horizontal rail ties that would interface with large gears (“cogs”) underneath the engines; that kept the engine from slipping, in icy-cold weather.
Because it took four hours (at something like 12 mph) for these trains to get to the top of the mountain, the railway built a circular bypass in the middle of the ascent. That way, a train going up could take the right-hand path, at the middle of the roundabout, while a descending train could take the opposite track, going down. That way, the railway only had to build one set of tracks going up that ~8000 feet of the mountain, instead of parallel tracks. (Smart!) hat that did mean, however, was that the ascending and descending trains had to hit that roundabout in the middle at the same time, in order to pass each other; which meant that the arrival and departure schedules had to be strictly adhered to.
So when the arriving train got to the depot at the top of the mountain, the warning given was both strict and clear: We had exactly 45 minutes before the return train would head back; and if one missed that train, it would be four hours before the next one would arrive.
Very clear warning! Next up: What we found on that train ride.
Rafe Semmes is a proud graduate of (“the original”) Savannah High School and the University of Georgia. He and his wife live in eastern Liberty County, and are long-time Rotarians. He writes on a variety of topics, and may be reached at rafe_semmes@yahoo.com.