Real Men Don't Need Guardrails

     They say as an adult, you're not able to remember much before the age of four. For me, that's true. I can't really recall much of anything from those early years of my life. My family moved to Missouri when I was three years old. I remember nothing about that move, or my life before it. My very first memory that I have, is from the first family vacation we took after the move. That summer, my parents loaded my sister and I up in our Datsun station wagon and drove us to Colorado. As my Dad tells it, they had no idea how far a drive it really was. Before the internet, people looked at maps. And, on a map, it was only one state away. To their east coast mentality, that was nothing. Just one state. So, we crammed into the car, and twelve brutal hours later, we arrived in Colorado. That part of the trip I can't remember. 

The most visited mountain in America

While in the Rocky Mountain state, my parents decided to take a drive up to the top of Pike's Peak. Once again no internet, and a lack of planning would leave us ill prepared for the voyage. The drive up to the summit of this mountain is 19 miles long, and takes you up to 14,000 feet. The switchback roads are super curvy as you ascend the peak. At certain points along the drive, there are sheer drops, straight down. No guardrails. Just a steep edge. This I remember vividly. I recall being totally frightened as my sister and I sat in the back of the Datsun. “Surely my Dad is going to just drive off one of these cliffs.”... “We're all going to die.” These are the thoughts that somehow ingrained into my long term memory bank. My earliest memories are ones of pure terror. Finally, after somehow dodging death multiple times, we made it to the top. 

I remember being cold.

We got out at the summit, and it was freezing arctic cold. Frigid. Polar. It was summer, and we were ill-prepared. No coats. No mittens. No hats. Just freezing ass cold. Again, this I remember very well. I remember the cold.

When looking for things to do on our current adventures, I wanted to take that drive up Pike's Peak again. This time, as an adult, it would be different. It wouldn't be as scary. We would be ready. This drive would be fun and exciting for everyone. Perhaps our four year old would make a memory to last her a lifetime.
      We headed out first thing in the morning and began the ascent. First stop was the admission gate. “The road is only open for 15 of the 19 miles. There's too much ice and snow on the roads right now,” we were told by the park ranger. “We're hoping the road to the top will be open in a couple hours.” she added. “That's OK,” we thought. “Fifteen miles is still pretty good. Ice and snow on the roads? Hmmm....”

 The first few miles were relatively peaceful. Some reservoirs. Plenty of pretty views of the mountain. No ice or snow, yet. The girls were enjoying the sights. Nadia was even coping with her car sickness so far. The pamphlet they gave us at the gate said it was best to drive to the top first, then do all the stopping on the way down. It would be easier on the car that way. So, that's what we did. Onward we pushed. No stopping. Past the gift shop, and past the halfway point. A little bit of snow lined the side of the road now. The girls couldn't wait to go play in it. Nadia wanted to eat it.  

Suddenly at around mile 12, the roads got curvier. Steeper. Windier. The side of the road dropped straight down. No guardrails. 
I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Poppa, look at that nice view over there.” Nope. My eyes were glued on the road ahead. Right about then, Nadia started feeling bad as well. My palms grew sweaty. My heart rate raced. Suddenly I was four years old again. This time I was the one who was gonna drive off the edge of the mountain, killing us all. Onward.



Finally, we reached the point where the roads were too icy to go any further. Somewhere around mile 17. We got out. We were ready. Coats. Hats. Gloves. Lots of layers. It was frigid. Windy. Brutal. The wind was surely going to blow us off the mountain. A couple of quick photos later, and we jumped back in the car. Frostbite was surely about to set in. We had gone far enough. We started our descent. 

Brrrrrrrrrr

After a couple miles down, the rangers informed us they were finally opening the road all the way to the top. We could turn around, and head back up. Nadia was miserable by now. “Nope. We're good.” Downward. The big girls got to stop and play in the snow, and even eat some. Nadia had reached her limit, however, and was now drifting in an out of motion sickness induced sleep. I guess that means as an adult she won't remember this part of the trip at all.  


I'm OK with that.