By Ken Paul Mink

Perhaps a million people or more have braved the 19-mile drive to the 14,110-foot top of Pikes Peak at Colorado Springs, Colo., but they could have made it a lot easier on their nerves and enjoyed a lot more scenery by taking the cog train up the mountain.
Pikes Peak is one of many attractions in the Colorado Springs area (Garden of the Gods, Air Force Academy, Manitou Indian cliff dwellings, Royal Gorge bridge, Cave of the Winds, Seven Falls, etc.) but undoubtedly is the most visited.
The cog train (also called racks, and so named for its system of diesel engine propulsion using grid-like rail cogs) gives visitors a chance to relax and enjoy vistas and wildlife in a smooth flow up the mountain in rail cars featuring large sliding windows and comfortable seating.
There is a continuous panorama, practically a moving postcard, as the train wends its way through forests of pine and aspen -- punctuated by whitewater creeks and giant granite boulders -- in its ascent.
Riders get spectacular views of several lakes (reservoirs) which lie in swales on the mountain, with an occasional glimpse of deer, moose, elk -- even bears -- along the way.
The rail cars often push their way through low-lying clouds to emerge in bright sunshine at the top. However, snow may fall at any time of the year at the crest (there were several instances of 5-6 inch snowfalls in June-July 2004) and the temperature on the top is often 30 or more degrees cooler than at the rail starting point in Manitou. Winds can also be gusty, creating an uncomfortable chill factor. Visitors at the summit can also view a plaque honoring Zebulon Pike, the explorer for whom the mountain is named.
The mountaintop features an extensive gift shop, rest rooms and restaurant. The top is relatively flat and visitors can roam for hundreds of yards in surveying the various snow-capped mountain vistas (on clear days you can see all the way to Denver, 75 miles away).
While Pikes Peak is a tall mountain, few may know that it actually only ranks 28th among Colorado's 42 mountains of 10,000 feet or more elevation. The mountain is known as "America's Mountain" and served as the inspiration for Katharine Lee Bates to pen the words to "America the Beautiful."
The Pikes Peak cog railway is one of about 55 such mountain railways in the world (most are in the Alps of Switzerland) and is the highest anywhere, with an average grade of 15 percent. And it is one of the safest in the world, never having an accident with injuries.
The trains can carry up to 200 people per trip, with eight trips (80 minutes apart) daily between 8 a.m. and 5:20 p.m. The railway is open from late April through December, seven days a week. Regular rates are $27 for adults, $15 for children age 3-11 (children under 2 free if sitting on lap of adult entire trip). Those who choose to drive up the mountain pay $35 per carload or $10 per adult ($5 for children age 6-15). For information about the cog railway visit the Internet site at http://www.cograilway.com/. For driving information (Highway 24 from Colorado Springs) or more information about Pikes Peak call 800-318-9505 or visit http://www.pikespeakcolorado.com/.
Colorado Springs' many attractions has made it a much-visited region, with many hotel and motel accomodations available, including the classy Cheyenne Mountain Resort, set on 217 lush acres in the shadow of Pikes Peak.
Cheyenne Mountain features 316 guest rooms and suites (each with a private balcony), two restaurants (including an all-buffet), lounge (featuring billiards, chess and backgammon), pub, 40,000-square feet of meeting and event space, five swimming pools, 18 tennis courts, squash and racquetball courts, health and fitness center, 35-acre recreational lake (including a sand beach), 18-hole Pete Dye-designed championship golf course (Country Club of Colorado, featuring outstanding PGA Senior championship golfer Bill Majure as director of golf) and a new $1 million 6,000-square-foot Aquatics Center.
Most guest rooms include two queen-size beds, walk-in closet, two desks, high-speed Internet access and much more. A full summer camp for kids is offered, with extensive programming.
The resort, set in a 6,000-foot high valley, has undergone $6.65 million in renovations and improvements in the past two years and with its design elements of native moss rock, massive beams and rough-hewn siding and cedar shakes now ranks as one of the most complete and beautiful resorts in Colorado. For information, call 800-428-8886 or visit the web site at http://www.cheyennemountain.com/.
Among the other most popular tourist attractions in the Colorado Springs area is the Garden of the Gods, a spectacular mountaintop massive red rock formation area covering hundreds of acres. The rocks are reportedly some 300 million years old and served as sacred grounds for Indian tribes. Visitors may drive through the rock formations or take part in guided horse rides offered by several services (including the Academy Riding Stables on El Paso Boulevard at the edge of Manitou Springs, toll-free 888-700-0410, $33 for one hour, $50 for two hours).
Among other significant attractions is the Seven Falls of South Cheyenne Canon (http://www.sevenfalls.com), / which includes a river making seven distinct fall breaks down a large mountain, with spectacular colored lightning at night and native American dancers), the historic Manitou Indian cliff dwellings and the Cave of the Winds (http://www.caveofthewinds.com/), including some rooms as big as football fields.
Visitors are welcome to take their own walking tour of much of the extensive Air Force Academy grounds, with the colorful and unique design (perhaps jet planes flying straight up?) chapel one of the highlights.

This story was published on 24 Jul 2004.