February 13
I have talked Colorado to death. We’ve been there a bazillion times since I started this blog and very little changes from visit to visit.
As a direct result of that, I am shifting how I structure my blog posts. Instead of an overarching trip overview, I will pick out the specific adventures we go on while on these trips. That way, I don’t have to tell you that we went shopping in Crested Butte and Gunnison again or that we ate crack fries at Secret Stash again.
So, for this inaugural blog post in this style, I present to you, The Royal Gorge Bridge & Park in Canon City, CO
I think in this new format, I might dive a little more into the history of whatever attraction I am discussing, so without further ado, here is a brief history of Royal Gorge Bridge & Park.
History
About 3 million years ago as the Rockies started to rise up out of the surrounding plains…
Oh, wait, is that too far back?
OK, let’s fast forward a couple million years.
The gorge is a canyon of the Arkansas River located just west of Canon City. It reaches a maximum depth of over 1,200 feet while only 50 feet wide at its base, and 300 feet wide at the rim making it a very deep, yet narrow canyon.
Before the Europeans arrived to settle North America, the Native Americans of the Ute people used Royal Gorge as protection from the wind and cold during the winters. Comanche, Kiowa, Sioux and Cheyenne used the gorge as an access point to nearby mountain meadows.
In 1806, Zebulon Pike and the Pike Expedition arrived, building crude shelters in the gorge, having descended on horseback on the frozen river.
In 1860, Canon City was founded in an effort to mine possible minerals in the area and when silver was discovered in nearby Leadville in 1877, construction of rail lines to the area began.
As the canyon is so narrow at its base, there was not enough room for the two major players in the area’s railroad industry, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, to each build lines through the canyon, thus began the Royal Gorge Railroad War, the D&RGW eventually winning and completing their line through the floor of the canyon.
Passenger routes ran the lines from the 1890s until discontinued in 1967. Now, the Royal Gorge Route Railroad uses the tracks for sightseeing tours.
Meanwhile, in 1929, the Royal Gorge Bridge was built 955 feet above the river which would hold the mark as the highest bridge in the world until 2001. Eventually, the area expanded into a full amusement park with rides and other attractions. The park is owned by the city of Canon City but leased and managed by Dallas-based Royal Gorge Bridge Company.
And that brings us to…
Our Visit
While on a two week visit to the area, we waited until our last full day to go visit the Gorge.
The first two weeks of our stay saw pleasant, warm, sunny days with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s and even touching 70° a couple of times.
As the days passed, the weather started cooling and but Friday, the 13th, the temps had cooled and the day was gray and dreary.
On a previous visit to the area, we tried visiting but it was Labor Day weekend so was entirely too crowded for our tastes.
This time, however, after making the 20 minute drive from our AirBnB to the park, we arrived to the sight of maybe half a dozen cars in the parking lot.
Perfect.
We went in and paid our admission, $35 per person, that granted us access to the bridge, the gondolas, the Plaza Theater, and the Children’s Playland. We were only interested in the first two.
We passed through the doors and immediately headed to the red gondolas, traveling in groups of three cars. We got to the loading area and the front car was occupied so we took the rear car. Shortly, the doors closed and we took off.
The cars slowly made their way off of the rails meant to stabilize them for boarding. As soon as they escaped their confinement, the car swayed a bit. Nothing too dramatic but it was noticable.
The walls of the cars are mostly window so we got terrific views of the gorge on both sides.
The trip across only took a few minutes. We docked and disembarked from the car and made our way down toward the bridge.
Along the way, we came across a family of bighorn sheep grazing on a grassy patch near the road.
We continued on and we came across a koi pond where a mass of large fish swam through the murky water.
Further along still, we happened upon the Children’s Playland which houses a small carousel under a gazebo at the top of a hill. I trekked up to snap some pictures of it and found a worker working on the mechanics.
“Is it OK if I take some pictures?” I asked.
“You’re not from OSHA, are you?” he replied jokingly.
I assured him I was not, took my pictures and headed back down to where Brandy was waiting for me.
Finally, we got to the bridge and started across.
I have historically had a pretty severe fear of heights. Flying was never my favorite thing, high bridges always made my knees shake, but something as of late has eased those fears. I have flown many times lately with no issues and while crossing the bridge on an ATV in Cabo in September, I didn’t even think twice about it.
Walking across this bridge was no different.
I was right up at the railing taking pictures of the massive crack in the earth and my biggest fear was dropping my phone 1,000 feet into the abyss.
Thankfully, I didn’t, but at no point was I ever concerned about the height at which I found myself.
A thousand feet below is, the Arkansas River flowed, taking no notice of us. The tiny Royal Gorge Railroad running alongside the moving water.
Along the rails are signs with the names of the 50 states in the union, apparently, they usually put the states’ flags up on the bridge, but I’m guessing that’s a seasonal thing and mid-February isn’t the season for that.
On the other side of the bridge were a couple of additional lookouts that provided wonderful views of the canyon. I took advantage of those, snapping pics along the way.
They also had a segment of the original cable anchor set in solid granite found tangled within the new cables as they stretch out and up to the sky.
Bridges in general always tickle my fancy, for some reason, whether huge suspension bridges like this or the Rio Grande Gorge bridge in Taos, or small foot bridges found on hikes through the Jemez, or the Sandias.
This was no exception. I was thrilled to finally be able to cross the famous Royal Gorge Bridge.
We made our way through the gift shop making our requisite purchases of a shotglass, a magnet, stickers and other ephemera then headed back to the AirBnB where I packed up for our return trip the next day.
Conclusion
After a previous attempt at visiting Royal Gorge, I’m happy to have finally made it. I would like to go back once when the flags are flying, it’s not quite so cold, and it’s a LITTLE busier (but not TOO busy…) I would love to see the carousel going and hear some of the crowd chatter that was obviously missing from this visit. Not to say this was a bad visit, on the contrary, I think it was perfect for a first visit, but would like to try again in “peak” conditions. It was a perfect way to end the two week trip to Canon City.
Photos from that adventure as well as the rest of the trip can be found you-know-where.
Up next
The next for-sure adventure we have planned is a trip to St. Louis in May for a Dodger game. A work trip to Verona, WI, might disrupt that a bit but I’m not sure if that is happening for sure yet.
Beyond that, we have nothing else set in stone until our trip to Portugal in June for the Blue October getaway. We’ll have to dust off our passports once more and book some flights. I am terrifically excited to visit Europe. Never in a million years did I think I would make it across the ocean to a whole other continent, yet here we are.
Following that, nothing is set in stone again until our return to Cabo in late September which will likely closely follow my annual trip to New Mexico for green chile, then I am in the process of working out my birthday trip to Fall River, MA, home of the Lizzie Borden house, and Sleepy Hollow, NY, no explanation needed, I think. That portion of the trip will include a solo trip into the Big Apple-proper (Brandy has expressed a marked disinclination for a trip to the big city. She is welcome to join me if she wants, but it’s highly unlikely.)
Anyway, I’m thinking of an early-October trip for that, dangerous, I know, going in October to two of the “spookiest” places in the US but I figure those will pale in comparison to other places like Salem or New Orleans.
We will see how that trip planning goes.
Anyway, thanks for coming with me on the Royal Gorge Bridge. I will be posting one other post that has zero to do with Wandering, but want to get it out there, just cuz I want to…
Stick around for that!
-Phil