Colorado Springs Loop - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 419

tude. The uphill journey passes firs, pines, and aspens that are interspersed with flowery
alpine meadows. Near the 12,000-foot mark, the trees begin to grow stunted, then farther
on disappear, as craggy rocks—for the most part Pikes Peak granite—dominate the land-
scape all the way to the broad, level summit.
High in the sky, the crest remains chilly most of the year. Yet its alpine tundra manages
to support an array of vibrant wildflowers that bloom in the summer. Although the grow-
ing season is brief, the views seem to go on forever. On clear days you can see the suburbs
outside Denver, the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo ranges rumpling toward New Mexico,
and the immense sea of grass that comprises the Great Plains.
Such grandeur, it seems, is deserving of an equally sublime response, and Katharine
Lee Bates, a college professor and poet, rose to the occasion. After visiting the summit in
1893, she recorded her impressions in a poem, including a lyrical passage that praised the
“purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.” Her verses, set to music in 1913, be-
came America the Beautiful, the cherished unofficial national anthem.
3. Mueller State Park and Wildlife Area
Long before man built highways, nature provided a path of its own through the mountains:
Ute Pass, where ancient earthquakes cleared a route between the peaks. By the time white
men arrived, Indians had worn a trail along the boulder-strewn fault, which Rte. 24 skirts
up ahead.
At the town of Divide, Rte. 67 turns due south to Mueller State Park and Wildlife
Area. Once a hunting ground of the Ute Indians, the park contains 12,100 acres of varied
terrain—rounded outcrops, dense forests, and grassy meadows. Some 85 miles of hiking
trails crisscross the preserve, where you might spot elk, mule deer, and big-horn sheep.
One trail, short but steep near the top, climbs to Grouse Mountain, the loftiest point in the
park and one of the best places to glimpse hawks, golden eagles, and—looming as large as
ever—Pikes Peak.