Crossing the Gorge

Side Trip to Royal Gorge Bridge Park – 56 miles round-trip

I just couldn’t get myself up and going this morning so I chose to sleep in.  Al, on the other hand, went out for a 4 ½ mile run.  It was nice to sleep in to 8:00AM – I needed it!

After getting up, we hung out on our patio overlooking the Arkansas River waiting to see the rafters pass by.  It was relaxing listening to the river, watching the birds, and drinking tea. 

There were two doves busy working to build a nest in the tree right in front of us.  They worked nonstop picking up things and flying them to the nest.  Finally, between 10:00 – 10:30 we saw the morning rafters come by.  We even saw Blake, our guide from yesterday float by.  We yelled hello to him and he yelled back at us. 

Our plans today included The Royal Gorge Bridge Park.  The Royal Gorge Bridge is the highest suspension bridge in North America.  Yesterday we rode the train underneath, today we are going to the top!

Before heading to the bridge, we stopped at Five Points rapid to watch rafters come through.  Blake and Abby told us about this spot on the river yesterday.  It is common to see casualties as rafters come through the rapid.   Regularly a Class III rapid, Five Points is a high Class IV if not a Class V due to the current river level.

We saw three kayakers come through – two made it through unscathed and one flipped over in the rapid but quickly turned back over and got to shore.  Before we left we saw five rafts come through without a single casualty. 

Onto the bridge … When we arrived to the bridge the gondola was closed due to the high winds.  The wind was humping up there today.  The sky was pretty hazy as well.  What a difference from yesterday!  There is a wildfire burning in Bryan Head, Utah which caused the skies to be smoky today.  The wildfire has gotten pretty large and many people have had to be evacuated from the area because of it .  We actually saw it at its beginning on the day we were driving from Bryce Canyon to Zion. 

The Royal Gorge is known as the Grand Canyon of Colorado.  The width at the bottom of the Gorge is only 40 – 50 feet across with a depth of 1000 feet.  The Arkansas River has carved the canyon over the years.  In 1929 a gentleman from Texas came up with an idea to build a suspension bridge to connect the two sides of the Gorge.  It was a crazy idea but he made it happen.  Today, the suspension bridge stands 956 feet above the Arkansas River.  The bridge started out as a $300,000 bridge and became a $25 million wonder.

On June 11, 2013, a wildfire started just west of the Royal Gorge Bridge.  The flames jumped the Gorge and 90% of the park was destroyed.  Amazingly enough, the bridge remained intact except for a little over 100 scorched boards.  Since that drastic devastation, the park has been rebuilt and the damaged boards replaced.  Today the bridge and its park stand proud and welcome guests from across the world every day!  As a matter of fact, over 26 million guests have visited the bridge during its 85 years of existence.  I guess the crazy idea of building a bridge across the Gorge was not so crazy after all.  It, along with the revitalization of the railroad, has brought visitors and dollars to a remote area of Colorado.

We enjoyed our time at the park – we walked across the bridge, found the North Carolina flag, walked to the gondola, which was now reopened, and rode it back across.  Even Tilley enjoyed our trip across the Gorge by bridge and gondola. 

Because I skipped my workout this morning, I decided to get in the pool and do a water aerobic class routine when we returned to the campground.  The water felt great and I did a routine I teach back at home at the YMCA.  It made me think of my 8:00 AM class on Tuesday and Thursday.  I hope they are all still working hard and coming to class while I am gone!

When Blake and I finished at the pool Al got the fire started so we could cook hobo dinners.  We always enjoy having hobo dinners when out on RV Trips – you just cut up whatever you want to eat, put it in a aluminum pan, cover with aluminum  foil and cook in the campfire. 

The grand finale for the evening was a session of star gazing under the big, clear skies of Colorado.  It gets so dark outside here so you can see millions of stars.  We even saw a few shooting stars tonight.  Tomorrow we head to South Dakota, a state I have never visited!