Hold Your Breath!!

It's funny how sometimes height bothers me .. like the Jeep on that narrow ridgeback, or the really high narrow freeway overpass.  Maybe because I was walking, the bridge didn't seem to bother me at all.  It's very stable and wide.  

I have to admit thought, it did make me very nervous to hang my camera out over the edge to take a picture.  The railing is about four feet high.  To take a picture looking down, I had a death grip on it, especially when I took this picture of the cantilever (?) section of train track being suspended out over the river at the narrowest point.  You'll see this later (and closer) after the train ride.

I have to admit, it's a  L  O  N  G  way down!!!  I caught myself holding my breath.

 

 

I'm standing in the middle of the bridge here.  My tip is to take the gondola across first, walk down the long steep hill to the bridge, then take the level bridge across the canyon.  Otherwise you will be out of breath in the first twenty steps going UP the steep hill to ride the gondola back.

 

 

 

Along the bridge are signs denoting fantastic happenings ... like bungi jumping.  They don't tell you about the guy who tried that flying wing suit thing.  He died when he misjudged the distance and hit a cable, falling to a ledge far below.

 

 

 

This guy was smarter.  He rappelled down to the bottom.  That must have been a VERY long rope.

 

 

 

This picture is looking back the other direction towards Canon City.  Another thing they do a lot of on this river is rafting.  The water is very low at this time of year, so they are scrambling over and around rocks.  Now THAT looked like fun.  We watched as a group went through the canyon, as well as the train.

 

 

 

Here's where all those cables are attached.  The original, barely visible in the middle, was all held together by concrete.  On the outside is the new system of steel drilled into bedrock.  The two main cables holding it all up are about twelve inches in diameter.  Is that enough?  Who knows.  I was glad I went early when there were not a lot of people on the bridge!!

 

 

 

On the way out, I stopped to take a picture of #499 who spent 68 years pulling cars through the canyon and the surrounding area.  She was retired in 1970.  Sadly when the fire hit, she lost her pristine caboose.  What a beauty!!

 

 

 

I also met Lula ... an English Bull Terrier.  What a sweetheart SHE was!!  I got lots of licks and tail waggles.  First time I've ever seen one in person.  Her Dad said she is the best dog he's ever had.

 

 

 

Lastly, just because this tree was standing alone on the hill, I took it's picture.  I think I saw it smile.

 

 

 

Coming up next, the Royal Gorge Route train through the canyon.  I advise you walk the bridge first, because when you see just how high that thing really is from the train in the bottom of the canyon, you won't want to go there!!

Royal Gorge Zip Lining

Wouldn't you know, the day I go to the longest and tallest suspension bridge in the U.S. (least I think it is only surpassed by two bridges in China) the wind blew in the smoke from surrounding states.  There's nothing worse for photos.  You may want to double click on the pictures to get the best perspective.

I started out early, hopefully to miss the crowds and my plan worked very well.  I was in the third parking spot.  Since everything is uphill here, I figured I would survive the hike at over 6300 feet with very thin air.  First up, ride the gondolas across the gorge.  If the wind comes up later, they are shut down. 

The bridge was built in 1929 at a cost of $350,000 only being $100,000 over budget.  That's $20 million in today's money.   The Royal Gorge Bridge and Amusement Company of San Antonio had a 20 year lease with Canon City who owned the surrounding land.  That line near the top is actually the bridge.

In 1931, an incline railroad was built to the bottom.  In 1969, the arial tram was built and they have added things like zip lining and rock climbing since.  Of course I checked out the rock climbing, but they were closed down.  Later I spotted their route, but they had huge steel bars you climbed instead of real rocks.  

 

 

 

The zip line was something like $50 for a 90 second trip while seated in a chair sling.  The entrance fee for this day was only $29, quite a discount due to Covid.  Zip lining, rock climbing and the sky coaster all had extra costs.  

After crossing the gorge on the gondola and hiking up the highest hill, completely breathless at the top, I got this picture from a lookout.

 

Further down the hill you can feed the fish and hang out on the merry-go-round with your kids.

 At one time there was a small gauge railroad that ran along the rim.  It no longer exists.

 The Royal Rush Sky Coaster was built in 2003.  I suppose there's nothing like the rush of flying through the air, but that won't be a feeling I try out.  I watched these guys while taking all of three seconds to say NO to this one.

What is really amazing is the cable bridge itself.  It's fascinating to see all the spliced wires running together.  Makes you wonder how in the world they built it.

 

 

 

In 2013 there was a  huge man-made fire that devastated the park.  All of the buildings were burned to the ground, but the bridge remained intact.  The aerial tram was destroyed, as was the incline railway to the bottom. 

 

 

 

In May of 2015, the park was reopened after $30 million in repairs.  Although there was a wildlife park (none of the animals were injured in the fire), they were moved to another location.  Here's the view from the bridge.  Hang on tight to your camera when you take these.

 

I have more pictures, but will post them later so as not to overload you.  To the right of the river are the train tracks that we will cruise along soon.   Did I really ride the zip line?  No ... I'm too cheap for a one way 60 second ride.  Now if they went back and forth a couple of times, I would have been first in line.

Besides, I found a QUILT SHOP in town!!

 

Skyline Drive ... A Heart Attack Road

I'm still at the top of Skyline Drive, originally built in the early 1900's by prison labor.  We will be visiting the prison later this week.  It's a long fall if you drive over the edge ... about 800 feet down.  At the very tippy top is a hiking trail that I'm sure has some spectacular views.  

This one cloud hanging out was rather interesting ... it dropped a little rain in about a 50 foot circle.

 The geology is amazing.  In this section you can see all the layers of flaky rock stacked up.  That's why I should have paid a little more attention in that college geology class I had to take.

Now comes the good part where you cannot turn around ... believe me, I looked to see if there was a spot wide enough.  You have no choice but to drive the very top of the hogback to the end.  It's probably two miles or so.  

 

 

By the time I got to the two mile mark, my heart was racing and I was going VERY slowly.   The drop off on both sides is absolutely breathtaking! 

 

The views are pretty amazing also, but there was not enough room to get OUT of the Jeep for pictures and there were two other crazy people driving the same road behind me.  At long last, you come to a wide spot where you can stop and smell the roses, or at least the town of Canon City.

 As you can see, I didn't get very close to the edge.  The road continues with a very sharp switchback that I'm not sure big pickups will be able to navigate.  It leads sharply downhill to one more switchback, and then into town.

If I get up enough nerve, I might just drive it again so I can enjoy the views this time and not be thinking about whether or not my seatbelt is tight enough to save me.

Somehow I ended up in charge of breakfast this morning.  The Hosts have a brand spanking new Tiffin Phaeton that has had nothing but troubles.  Apparently I've been exceedingly lucky with mine.  Anyway, they have to drive to Colorado Springs this morning for repairs.

That leaves me to cut and hack up breakfast, set up toasters and feed the crew of 17.  From there, I'm going for more heartbeat therapy by walking across the Royal Gorge Bridge.  At 6,350 feet, I could use a little more oxygen in my blood.

What? No Guard Rails?

After a completely exhausting day on the road, I was lucky enough to see the very tiny sign that said RV park 2.7 miles outside of Canon City Colorado.  I pulled in and took a big breath.  MADE IT!!  After unhooking, I was backed in to this beautiful Premium site.  Things are rated here ... Deluxe or Premium.  It's a five star park in my book, but the extra three feet of concrete patio on a premium site cost a LOT more.  I'm paying $300 for 5 days in case you wanted to know.  Being centrally located is a plus.

 First thing yesterday, I sat and waited two hours for them to move me to my deluxe site.  At long last I was settled in ... until that 50 yard move resulted in NO TV.  Big sigh.  What now?  After an hour on the phone with Dish, we got about 1/3 of my channels working.  I can deal with that ... it's better than nothing!

 

THAT however was the cause of the trip I made to town.  After all this, I could use a nice alcoholic beverage.  Like maybe a margarita.  Yes, that's it!!  So sad, too bad, Safeway does not carry alcoholic beverages, except beer.  Even a little bottle of wine would have been nice, but I couldn't find any.  Pepsi will have to do.

On the way back, I decided to take the short drive up Skyline Drive just outside of Canon City.  It says it's one way ... no problem, how bad can it be?

 

Well ....... at least there are a few pullouts on the side going to the very top.  This is an upturned Dakota sandstone hogback where you can see all the layers making up the ridge.  Pretty cool to see so many colors of rock.  Above this section is the Morrison Formation where you can see dinosaur tracks.  This picture is the easy part.

 

This road was built in 1905 by prison labor from the big prison right in the middle of town (still in use today).  They got ten days off their sentence for every 30 days they worked on the project.  It's not as spectacular as it was in the early 1900's, as the buildings no longer remain, just the 15 foot wide trail.

 

Those sun-highlighted pillows of rock sticking out are dinosaur tracks from eons ago, the outside layer having eroded away to make these visible.  The layers of rock are amazing.  I should have been a geologist.

 

I do have to say one thing about Colorado.  There are no guard rails.  As many of you know, in California you can't go anywhere that there are not steel guard rails keeping you locked in tight.  Sometimes I think that's a challenge for people to crawl through and then fall off the cliff.  Here in Colorado ..... no guard rails.

 

Pretty fabulous day at 80 degrees with a slight breeze.  In the interest of keeping this short, the rest of this adventure will come tomorrow.  I'm not really afraid of heights, but this one got my heart racing.  You're not going to believe the road, and honestly, it looks MUCH better in pictures than it really was in person.

In the meantime, the rally group will be arriving today, so I'm resting up.  On the schedule, the Royal Gorge Bridge, the train, a prison tour (won't that be fun) and Hiking with Cocoa. 

 

 

 

Across New Mexico and Into Colorado

What a day ... what a day.  I'm doing my very best to be upbeat, but yesterday was a bummer.  It started out with the usual nervousness ... getting fuel.  In spite of their name LOVES, they are not so friendly to RVers.  No problem however, I'm off into the smog filled valley of Albuquerque. 

 

 

I was hunting down Hwy 25 heading North.  FOUND IT!!  Feeling pretty good about this drive, I was surprised when I hit all the construction work.  Might I say New Mexico isn't the best at road construction.  There were so many big grooves in the highway to go along with the three inch high gobs of asphalt, that it was difficult driving. 

When my tires got stuck in those grooves, I had a hard time getting it out JUST as that big truck tried to pass me.  Yup ... right into his lane.  The corresponding OH CRAP almost wiped out my Jeep on the concrete wall on the right.  INSTANT migraine.

It's okay, I'll just hit the next rest stop to pry my shoulders down from my ears and take some aspirin.  Trouble is, there ARE no rest stops in New Mexico.  I finally pulled over in a wide spot and tried to relax.  There were lots of ups and downs crossing the gullies, with lots of gear shifting.  That was a good thing because it kept me awake. 

 

Pretty soon I was seeing pronghorn antelope on both sides of the freeway, but I couldn't get a single picture.  My camera doesn't seem to want to focus.   I've no idea if I'm in Colorado or New Mexico because I never saw a sign.

I'm looking for an RV Park in Raton.  Too bad I read that review just as I was leaving Albuquerque.  It wasn't good.  Neither was the RV Park as I drove by.  What to do, what to do.  I definitely need fuel, so that was my first priority.

 At long last there were blue skies with a few clouds.  MUST be Colorado.  Still there was no place to pull over and come up with a game plan.  Trying to navigate while driving is difficult at best.  I finally told my phone to call my final RV park destination to see if I could get in.  YES!!  I have a spot.

 

 

But first ... back to fuel.  At long last in a short pull-out, as my phone died a horrible death, I found a station in Trinidad.  Trouble was I had just passed it before stopping.  RATS!!  Next up ... Walsenburg.  There were two exits.  When I didn't see the fuel station at the first one, I took the second.  WRONG!

I ended up pulling into someones circle drive to turn around.  There was just no place to go.  By now I'm exhausted after driving six hours, but back on the freeway I went and what should I see but three MORE exits!  YAY!!  Fuel ... at a very small station with very nice people.

At last I was on the final leg.  Sadly, it was another hour of driving before hitting Hwy 50 West that has a stop light every mile.  Eventually I landed in Canon City, but had no idea where the RV Park was.  With my phone dead as a doornail and my shoulders back up around my ears, I just kept driving. 

Lucky for me, I saw a tiny sign on the side of the road ... 2.7 miles.  I pulled in at 5:30, having been driving with no rest for 8-1/2 hours.  The Painters, who set up this rally, met me at the front door.  In less then ten minutes I was backed into a spot for the night.

A dinner invitation followed ... barbecued pork chops.  How could I turn THAT down!!  It was the perfect ending to a rather crappy day.  At this point, I'm parked close to the road, so sleep has escaped me for the third night in a row.  

They are moving me to my "premium" spot this morning, located down the hill.  I can't wait.  Pictures will follow tomorrow after three naps I have planned for today!!

 

 

One End To The Other

Sunday was a good day for driving.  The nice neighbors from Florida pulled out at 9:30, leaving me plenty of time to get packed up and on the road, missing the huge mud puddle.  I did have to hoochy-goo around a little, and stopped three times before my GPS would pick me up.  At last I was headed out on highway 26 to Hatch New Mexico. 

There's nothing like driving from one end of the State to another.  I have to say there's not much in the way of people out this direction, but Hatch's sense of humor made up for it.  I wish I could have stopped at one of the many chili stands, but alas, there was no room for big RV's.

 

 

 

There's nothing like driving clear across an entire state and I'm pretty sure my camera needs to be replaced.  Maybe it's just focusing on the drab gray skies.  It looked like this the entire trip as I continued my uphill journey.  Uphill means not so great fuel mileage and constantly fiddling with the gears to keep the engine cool, but at least it kept me awake.

 

 

Eventually the skies turned a little blue and the mountains made for some pretty scenery as I crossed huge gully after gully.  As you can see, traffic was at a minimum.

 This brought back memories of Idaho, where the gullies are three miles deep.  The signs warn you of wind gusts that can knock you right off the road.  This one is very deep and you can see the road (sort of) climbing up the other side.  Other than this, not much to see here.

 

 

There was this one huge solar farm for the biggest dairy I've ever seen.  Each of these panels is probably twenty times your normal solar panel.  As I headed North, I began to see small fields of green alfalfa.
 

 

 

About that time, I ran into this guy coming up behind me.   No biggie until I discovered he was TOWING the truck behind him with a strap.  I'm a relaxed driver, keeping it at about 60.  They passed me like I was standing still until they hit that big hill ahead.

I had to pass them, but it was just at the top of the hill.  Instead of letting me pull back over into my lane, they tried to pass me on the right.  Seriously?  I ended up going over 70 mph just to get around them before they passed me again going probably 80 mph ... TOWING!  Of course at the next hill, they were back down to 50.  Not a Trooper in sight, nor did I see one the entire five hours of driving.

 

 

 

Finally I headed into Albuquerque with a mass of traffic over the highest overpass there is.  I have to admit, looking over the edge of what felt like 100 feet made me queasy.  Thankfully my exit wasn't too far off and I made it to the Enchanted Trails RV Park where I'm staying for $35.

 

 

They aren't full to the brim, but there's a lot of people parked here.  Who should pull in about an hour later but the nice couple from Florida in that black truck, very far right.  Are you following me?  We had a nice long chat before I crashed in the rig.   I gave them some suggestions of things to see here before they head off to Alabama.

After stuffing every pillow and quilt I could find into the windows to alleviate some of the traffic noise, I hit the sack with the puppies.  This morning came too early.  It's going to be another five hour driving day as I head further North.   This next RV park is an "iffy" one.  One comment said mostly older permanent dumpy rigs right next to the highway.  The alternative is an eight hour driving day, so hopefully I fit right in.

 

 

Racing Trains Over The Continental Divide

That was some HUGE javelina, was it not?  Definitely operator error there.  I've no clue how THAT image got on the blog because I definitely clicked on JAVELINA.  I'm happy to report however that the new SD card is working.  I'll plug those images in later.

I was OFF after double and triple checking everything in the house.  I had a heck of a time getting the Jeep hooked up however.  I didn't pull the motorhome up far enough, leaving zero space to turn the Jeep around.  Luckily I didn't hit anything before finally getting it together and heading out the driveway with a BIG deep breath.

The weather couldn't have been better, but it was overcast the entire way.  I'm not sure if this is smoke or clouds, but it was grayish with no sign of the sun.

 

 

Here's my favorite Indian hiding place ... Texas Canyon.  You've got to love the rock formations.
 

More gray skies as I headed off on roads I've never traveled before.  The sign said Continental Divide, but I wasn't fast enough to get a picture.  Now I know where all those trains that pass by me are going.  I raced them up the Divide, winning every time.  There were lots of cars parked on sidings.  It seems they only take short loads over the top.

 

Here's a beautiful picture, right?  Two things happened here.  I got hit by a swarm of bees.  I don't know why that always happens to me, but it was a splattery mess.  THEN two jets strafed me, sounding like deafening rockets right overhead as they made 90 degrees turns and headed off down the mountain.  I really thought I captured one in this photo, but alas, it's just bug guts. 

At last I arrived in Deming New Mexico.  By the way, there is no one at the border stopping you or asking where you came from or telling you to quarantine.  I drove right to the Little Vineyard RV Resort.  As you can tell, it's pretty spacious with all gravel parking.  Not exactly a resort but it was only $35.  The people were very nice and almost every restaurant in town will deliver to you for free.

Unfortunately for me, they had a big rain, making for lots of deep mud right in front of my rig.  I do not look forward to driving through this mess, so I made acquaintance with my neighbors.  If he moves his truck, I may be able to skinny out without getting too muddy.  

We had a nice long talk ... they are from Florida and have the cutest little Yorkie puppy.  We are both heading to Albuquerque today, so I'm hoping they leave before me. 
 

The only disadvantage of this park is the noise.  Between the very close train tracks and the screaming highway truck noise, I didn't sleep a wink, in spite of my Advil PM.  Maybe I should have taken TWO!!

And so we are again OFF on another unfamiliar road to Albuquerque!  Here's to sunny days!!