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OPINION
I get interesting questions at the paper now and then, but nothing like some of the silly ones I get on the train ride. I often get asked about what it that? “Is that Cheyenne Mountainas they point to the west, or “What are those streets?” as they point to the airport. From the top some of Fort Carson looks like a giant Banana laid out cut in half lengthwise. “Does anyone live on Pike’s Peak?” Years ago the workers on the mountain’s Summit House and at Glen Cove used to live there and only come down occasionally. When I first started on the train, many of the workers had been some of my Fountain students. Now the workers come down every day. Their trips up the mountain this year have been real challenging. Yes, they have been going up regularly since January, mainly on weekends, but now every day! This has been a season of wild trips. That mountain has had a lot of snow on it this winter. Also, Colorado Springs had caretakers living on all four slopes for many years. I believe only one caretaker’s house is till up there, Ruxton Park. There was even a Summit caretaker. That house, I understand, was moved, and was quite an adventure. One of the stranger question is concerning Woodland Park. I have been asked if it was Denver, or even Cripple Creek. It is fun when someone from Woodland figures out the streets, and locates their house. One fellow, who evidently needed glasses, wondered if those were flag poles down there. Nope, streets in Woodland Park. Back in the heat of the Hayman fire, Pike’s Peak generally had a good view. In the winter, now you really see the scope of the burn, covered in white. The smoke generally blew toward Denver and hid the flames. After the fire the first winter gave you a strange feeling, but this winter the snow cover has been amazing. Even out to the east, sometimes it seemed whiter than to the west. My favorite question of all can happen any day. “Is it always like this up here?” On a sunny, warm day in July, I love to say,”You ought to see it in February.” This year many made the trip, but they still asked the same question. My answer, “You ought to see it in July.” |
