Day 1 of our vacation

On Sunday, July 20th, we went to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb where cars race up Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak is by Colorado Springs, Colorado. This is where we vacationed last year and decided then to watch the race in 2008. We had to be in our "place" before 8:00 a.m. So, we left our hotel around 5:00 a.m. There were a lot of people on the mountain by the time we arrived.

Below, is the first picture I took that morning. It is the start line of the race.

Next is a view of our "place" where we camped for the rest of the day. What a view! At one point, we had a deer peek her head up from the other side of the road and decided it was too risky to run across the road. I was hoping she wasn't planning to run, instead she left!

And they are off! Only 1 car started at a time and the officials would make sure the car was at the summit before starting another car. The cars were trying to break the record of 10 minutes and 1 second up the mountain. When we drove up the mountain last year, it took us 1 hour! I can't imagine going up in only 10 minutes. For the racers the officials knew were going to be fast up the mountain, they had a helicopter follow to make sure the drivers didn't get into any problems.

Last year was when the record of 10.1 was made. The man was trying to break his own record this year, but came up short. His time was 10 minutes and 17 seconds.

Here are a few vintage cars that were racing.