8-8

Royal Gorge, Skyline Drive & Pueblo Riverwalk

We began our adventure at the Royal Gorge Visitor Center where we purchased our tickets. 

 

There is a cafe, gift shop, picnic area and restrooms at the Visitor Center. 

 

Included with the admission are unlimited rides on the aerial gondolas that glide 2,400 feet across the Royal Gorge, more than 1,000 feet above the Arkansas River.

 

For an additional fee visitors can fly through the air on the Cloudscraper By Ziprider.  At more than 1,200 feet above the Arkansas River, it is the highest zip line in America.  Monte had just decided to do the zipline when the decision was made to close the zipline and gondolas because of the high winds. 

The Royal Gorge Bridge, built in 1929, sits 956 feet above the Arkansas River.  The wind was so fierce as we walked across the bridge that I had difficulty catching my breath.  I was actually too nervous to walk near the rail and I feared my glasses were going to blow away.

 

After lunch we walked back across the bridge to the Plaza Theater where we watched a short film and then listened to a band playing oldies.

The wind had died down considerably when we made the last trip across the bridge.

 

 

 

I was able to look down and see some rafters and a train filled with passengers.

 

 

After leaving the Gorge Monte noticed a sign for Skyline Drive. 

 

 

 

It turned out that we had stumbled upon one of Colorado’s hidden gems. 

 

 

Constructed by local prison labor in 1903, Skyline Drive begins its gradual ascent halfway up the ridge, just a short three miles out of town.

 

 

There are several pullouts along the gradual ascent to the top. 

 

 The pullout at the top offers a 360-degree view of the surrounding landscape: the mountains to the north and the west, and all of Canon City to the east.

There have been numerous new dinosaur fossil finds along the ridge over the years.  In 1999, while out on a drive, a paleontology student discovered dinosaur tracks along the ridgeline.  They had been visible for years, but to the untrained eye they looked like a bunch or rocks.

Skyline Drive switches back to the north and begins its gradual descent and ending in a residential area.

As we drove through Canon City we noticed several dinosaur statues.

Instead of heading directly back to Colorado Springs we took a detour to the city of Pueblo and took a stroll along the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk.

 

 

The riverwalk, inspired by the San Antonio Riverwalk, was constructed as part of an effort to attract tourists and trade to the city.

 

 

 

 

It was extremely hot the day we visited so we rushed through and ended up eating at Angelo’s where Monte ordered calamari. 

 

 I went with Brooklyn bites, a pinwheel stuffed with mozzarella cheese and spinach.