Head for the Mountains

I should probably update on a trip I took a couple of weekends ago to Colorado Springs. I went with a group of Wash U people for a schizophrenia conference that was taking place there. Overall, I was really blown away by the whole landscape. Even before I arrived, the scenery from the plane was pretty spectacular. From the air, you can see these absolutely perfect circles in the fields, which at first I thought might have been put there by aliens. I was later told that farmers use these watering machines that rotate around a central point, thus making a perfect circle. I like my aliens theory better.

On the ground, the scenery is even more spectacular, partly because it's just always there. No matter where you look or what you're doing, you have a view of a freakin' huge mountain. I think that just tends to put things in perspective and give you a different feel when you're surrounded by mountains all the time. It's also possible that you start to ignore them if you've lived there long enough, but for someone coming from the flatest place on the planet, it was a welcome change.

As such, a group of us decided to pursue mountain viewing a little closer. So one of the days we took a trip to the top of Pike's Peak. To get to the top, you take a slow-moving train from the base (about 6,000 feet elevation) to the peak (about 14,000 feet elevation). Along the way, you see some great scenery, usually some snow, and sometimes animals. You also (if you're like me) get lightheaded and have to actually think about breathing. Amazing what elevation will do to you. Unfortunately, conditions at the top were not great, so we couldn't go all the way up. But it was worth the trip, no doubt.

On the whole mountain topic, there was one that I saw directly in front of me as I waited outside everyday for the shuttle to take me to the conference. It was beautiful. It was huge. It was...right behind a Target store. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera so I was unable to take a picture of it. Fortunately, someone else did. I thought it was funny/ironic/sad that a Target had to obscure the view of this mountain. What I didn't know, however, was that this mountain (Cheyenne Mountain) serves as the command center for NORAD, among other things. And, as this guy points out, having a Target right in front of this place is just too funny to pass up on.

Colorado Springs also had its share of interesting characters. The cab drivers alone were an adventure. You just never knew what you were going to get. The guy taking us from the airport to the hotel, for example, told me that in order to pass my licensing exam, I should fail it. Sound logic there. I had another guy come up to me (or, more accurately, stumble), apologize for bothering me, and ask if he could give me a dollar. Could he give me a dollar. I think I was too surprised or unprepared for something like that, so I had to refuse.

Oh, and the conference was really great too. Lots of good schizophrenia research going on, got to talk to people I had read, all in all a very good trip.