the wandering chick
...The Royal Gorge and Bridge
Think deep

Colorado undoubtedly has some beautiful sights, and this has to be right up at the top of the list. The Royal Gorge Bridge and Park has a few "mottos of their own:" "Think Deep"'; "Goodbye Earth, Hello Sky" and "Everywhere else seems to shallow."

The Royal Bridge is the world's highest suspension bridge, sitting at 1200 feet above the Arkansas River. The views looking out over the bridge are simply sublime.

I had heard that if you get to the bridge - it's actually a theme park - before the main attractions open at 10, you can purchase a ticket and browse around the park. So, I got there at 7:30 in the morning and honest to goodness had the complete park to myself.

There were no other tourists. I walked across the 1/4-mile bridge, took pictures, walked over to the wildlife, up to Point Sublime, which is a lookout over the gorge to view the aerial tram (which wasn't running yet). Then I walked back and drove the car over to see if I had missed anything.

By 9, I had seen everything I could. Since my ticket was good for all day, I was able to go back later in the day and do the rides and attractions I wanted to do. Since the park is more like a theme park, there's something for everyone and a lot for the kids, such as a petting zoo, burro rides, a carousel and shows. The magic show was pretty cool!

The Royal Gorge is located a few miles north of Cañon City. In the town, there is a separate train - the Royal Gorge Train - that takes you on a two-hour ride through the gorge and along side the swift Arkansas River.

the bridge
the world's highest suspension bridge
the bridge
the view from the bridge
the bridge
the bridge cables
I felt safe enough after seeing these cables. This was just some of them.
the view from the bridge
the bridge
The park's entrance clock
the view from the bridge
The incline railway descends to the foot of the gorge, more than 1500 feet below. At a 45-degree angle, it is one of the steepest in the world. It takes 5.5 minutes to reach the bottom.
view of bridge
the incline railway
The incline railway
A nice view of the bridge and gorge can be gotten from Point Sublime.
The incline railway
the aerial tram
the aerial tram
the aerial tram
The aerial tram - or, in my words, the little red box - takes you and 34 other passengers 2200 feet across the gorge and 1178 feet above the river. Two miles of cable are used in the system's tracks.
The Arkansas River
bighorn sheep
the Arkansas River snakes its way through the gorge.
the Royal Train from Canon City
The Royal Train Tour out of Cañon City offers a two-hour ride through the gorge.
the eye of an elk
In addition to a petting zoo, there's another area of western wildlife that included bighorn sheep (above and below), bison and elk. They cannot be petted.
The eye of an elk
bighorn sheep
skycoaster
skycoaster
skycoaster

In 2003 the park opened a new ride called the Royal Rush Skycoaster. It must take nerves of steel to ride. It goes like this: Up to three people are put in a body harness, from foot to shoulder, belly down. They are then suspended by cable backwards, much like one might aim a slingshot. Next, the cable is released, and the people go flying out at 50mph 1200 feet above the gorge floor.

It's the scariest dang thing you've ever seen. There are said to be 87 such rides in the world.

skycoaster
Another view of the skycoaster as the riders fly out over the gorge.
bighorn sheep
royal gorge train ride
royal gorge train ride
The Royal Gorge Train starts its journey in Cañon City. It takes you on a two-hour ride along the Arkansas River and into the gorge.
royal bridge from the train ride
Royal Gorge Train ride
Passengers on the train get their first glimpse of the bridge 1200 feet above.
the bridge from Royal Gorge Train ride
the bridge from the Royal Gorge Train ride
rafters waving at train
rainbow
A couple of days after going to the Royal Gorge Park, we got a heavy rainstorm. From the RV park I was staying in, you can see the Royal Bridge. It so happened that the rainbow ended just over the bridge. That's something I'll keep in my memory bank!
rainbow
rainbow
rainbow

If you'd like to see more pictures of my summer in Colorado, please return to the Colorado home page.

 

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