OK guys you are getting your fill today!!! We took the Thruway connection from Denver to the Springs (its the greyhound long distance bus) Man they have all the weirdos and crazy people all together on them things. Once we had checked into our motel in Old Colorado City we had a little of the afternoon left to play with and decided we needed to unwind so found a cool little bar which we sat in called Meadow Muffins this place was unbelievable it had draft beer at $2 (1 pound a pint) and wine at $1.50,thats 75p to you folks,Mum you would have loved it as much as Mel who was collapsed over the bar by 9pm with her eyes going in different directions!!!!!! This place had the fans that were used in Casablanca as well as 2 carts from Gone with the Wind hanging from the ceiling. We were up at 7am on Sunday morning(harper we are turning into you) and took the bus to a little town called Manitou Springs so we could ride the Cog Railway to the top of Pikes Peak (14,110ft) We had a little panic as we were put on standby as the train was full although we eventually got a ticket and set off on the 1 hour climb to the top. We started and passed through the forest and alpines and up to 9,000ft then kept climbing up to 12,000ft and the trees disappeared and the snow caps arrived we could see the marmots playing in the snow but still we kept going I was feeling a little light headed as the air is a lot thinner up here. We got to the top and the views were amazing we could see Kansas City, downtown Denver and the mountain ranges in New Mexico. The clouds were floating by and we had 40 minutes to get our photos before we started descending. It was another hour back down then time for a walk around the town it was really pretty and there were lots of shops to pick up souvenirs etc... The good thing about the motel was the indoor swimming pool which we took advantage of in the early evening before booking more trains and hostels. Had another night in the cheap bar before retiring to bed.