Time for some civilization-spots that are more touristy but interesting and pretty just the same. We camped at a private RV park: Pikes Peak in Manitou Springs. The Campground was squeezed in amongst businesses on a busy street and we were very close to the next RV but we did have a pretty creek running behind us.
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| Cheyenne Spring |
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| Stratton Spring |
Manitou (meaning "great spirt") Springs has 8 naturally carbonated mineral drinking fountains throughout the Historic District. Unlike most other mineralized springs, these waters are cool and pleasant to drink. Each of these artesian fountains has a slightly different taste, depending on their mineral content. Artesian-meaning they rise to the surface under natural pressure. Since the early natives discovered these springs, they have been believed to have health & healing benefits. By 1900 Manitou Springs had become one of America's premier health destinations. TB patients flocked here-Health Resorts popped up and the mineral water became so popular bottling was attempted early on but the natural carbonation was so intense that the bottles regularly exploded. These sparkling mineral springs are derived from deep-seated waters rising up through faults and mixing underground with the meteoric waters of the Canyons & watershed. These geologic faults are also the origin of the carbon dioxide gas which adds the effervescence.
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| 7 Minute Spring |
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| Wheeler Spring |
Doug & I hopped on our bikes, map of springs in hand and we found 7 of the 8 Springs and drank out of all 7. They truly all do taste different and have varying amounts of carbonization. Finding each spring was like a scavenger hunt, not only do they taste different, the design of each fountain is unique and blends into the environment. A pamphlet helped us know what minerals each spring contained and I made Doug drink more from the ones that contained minerals with cardiovascular benefits. We saw one person filling a Culligan 5 gallon water bottle from one of the springs. One of the springs was obviously located in an area with many young adults who love the free water and legal marijuana.
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| Shoshone Spring |
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| Navajo Spring |
Some of the minerals heavy in the springs are: Calcium, Chloride, Copper, Iron, Lithium, Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium, Sulfate & Zinc. Touted for a wide range of benefits from bone health, treating heart arrhythmias, improving digestion, strengthening muscles & immune systems, treating hypertension and aiding in cancer prevention. With all that, who needs doctors? Yet these fountains are basically hidden unless you know where to look. A good example is Navajo Spring, one of the fountains that is located at the back of a popcorn & candy store. The springs run constantly, some with so much pressure, one knocked my cup out of my hand.
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| At the Summit, 14,115 feet up |
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| The Cog & rail example |
At the other end of town is the famous Pikes Peak Mountain which is one of Colorado's 14er's-exactly 14,115 feet in elevation. Pikes Peak is said to be the second most visited mountain in the world, Mt Fuji in Japan being the first. The best way to get to the top, we decided, is to take the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. This railway was built in 1891 solely for tourism. It is the highest railway in North America. The average grade is 16% with the highest grade at 25%. So what is a Cog Railway, you may ask. The train is propelled by a diesel driven toothed drive wheel on the exterior of the railcar, located in the center that engages with a toothed rail fixed to the railroad ties. The scenery was gorgeous with some of the Aspen leaves beginning to turn a bright gold. We passed a working Gold mine up near the summit. Another piece of trivia is Katherine Lee Bates was so inspired by the view after visiting the Pikes Peak summit, she wrote "America the Beautiful" in the late 1800's. We saw marmots and a mule deer on our way up. Once on the summit, we saw many people and snow. There had been a blizzard the week before that had closed the Railway for 2 days.
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| The Cog rail |
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| Pikes Peak |
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| the climb up, above the treelike |
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| Lake Moraine |
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| Cathedral Valley |
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| Kissing Camels |
If we are going to act like tourists, we need to do it all, so the next day we drove through Garden of the Gods. We first attempted to bike it but it was too much elevation for us and we were walking our bikes in the first half mile of the park. We also tried hiking but they allow horses on the trails and there was a lot of horse sh** on the narrow paths with the temperature close to 90, so we gave up on that also. The RV was the best solution. This free city park, located between Manitou & Colorado Springs has 19 famous red sandstone formations. Many of these are over 300 million years old.
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| Pikes Peak in the distance |
We had time to stop in a winery right downtown, Manitou Springs and then we splurged and went to
Mona Lisa, a fondue restaurant for dinner. It was delicious and we were sooo full, we suffered the rest of the night, but it was worth it!
Located in the southern Appalachian forest, The Great Smoky Mountains are blanketed in lush forests and shrouded by mist. "These Mountains are among the highest peaks in the Appalachian mountain range, yet they are rounder and lower in elevation than younger mountain chains such as the Rocky Mountains".
The Cades Cove Loop Road is an 11 mile, one way road that we reached by bike from the campground. We saw Elk and deer and missed seeing bear by minutes, according to other tourists. We camped in the National Park for 2 nights, not the nicest place we've stayed. We hiked to a waterfall along a babbling creek, the scenery was pretty but no wildlife was visible. 
We left the NP and drove about 30 miles to Gatlinburg. The drive in the park was fun: curvy roads with deep woods and a pretty river following us along the road. We camped @ Camp Le Conte, a luxury resort. Time to Glamp. We hopped a trolley and checked out the touristy town-lots of tourist traps like Guinness Book of World Records in lots of categories, Ripleys, Dick's Last Resort and 5 Old Tyme Photo Shops. Fudge & Candy stores galore-no wonder we've seen so many large folks around town.
Our camp resort: Camp Le Conte was very nice complete with not only RVs but Safari tents and tree houses too. Owned and run by a young energetic couple who live in a house on site.
