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American Morning
Pikes Peak Remains Popular Tourist Spot
Aired July 04, 2001 - 09:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We have been taking you all across the country this morning for various views of the U.S. on this Independence Day and our next stop is simply majestic.
CNN's Gina London is live at Pikes Peak, Colorado. Gina, if you have to work the holiday, I think that you have a good gig.
GINA LONDON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think you are right, Daryn. Well, interestingly enough, this is the Crystal Reservoir, about halfway up to that massive mountain behind me, actually, and the Indians, the Native Americans here years ago, used to call this place Sun Mountain. The Spaniards called it El Capitan, but of course, we call it today Pikes Peak.
Now, it is named, incidentally, for a guy who never even got to the top.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LONDON (voice-over): This magnificent mountain: Inspiring and daunting. In 1806, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike tried to climb it and failed. He claimed no one would ever reach its summit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK now, We're off.
LONDON: But today, more than half a million people every year ascend the 14,110 feet of Pikes Peak, hiking, driving or riding.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are the world's highest cog railway, built originally for tourism, and the first trip went up on June 30, 1891.
LONDON: It was this breathtaking landscape that moved a young poet named Katharine Lee Bates in 1893.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She looked out. It's a huge view of the valley. It's absolutely gorgeous. Some say you can see Kansas from it. She was so inspired, she sat down to write this poem.
LONDON: The poem became a song, and like the mountain, is inspiring, even if you may not remember all the words and don't quite sing on key.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singer): Oh beautiful, for spacious skies...
LONDON (on camera): You ever heard of that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): ... for amber waves of grain...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): ... for purple mountain's majesties...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): ... above the fruited plain...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): ... America, America -- God shed his grace on thee...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): ... and crown thy good with motherhood ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): ... from sea to shining sea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONDON: Needless to say, you can see why so many people come here every year, and now I am authorized, Daryn, to give visitors official advice because I want you to see I have been made a junior park ranger here. If you do come to Pikes Peak, bring sun screen and something very warm because even yesterday, the real rangers tell me that they had to shut down the summit for nearly an hour because of snow.
KAGAN: Okay. We've got that. Ranger London, thank you so much, reporting from Pikes Peak. We appreciate it.
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