Colorado Adventure 3 - Canon City and Royal Gorge

Day 3 - Tuesday: Canon City and Royal Gorge

How can you not stare at the view? The Rocky Mountains and Pike's Peak are visible from our hotel room bed! Someone asked, "How can you go to Colorado Springs and not climb Pike's Peak?" Easy. Watch me. Big fear of heights here, and I can easily see the peak from down here!

It was pointed out that we visited Colorado during the best weather of the year. It was truly gorgeous, and this day this was the only inclement weather the entire week. Luckily, the Royal Gorge Route Railroad let us bump our reservations up to avoid the bulk of the incoming storm.

Yes, we took a train! Not cheap but so worth the adventure! The depot is about an hour Southwest of Colorado Springs in Canon City. You head out and skirt south of the nearby mountains range. I remember passing out of one curve to suddenly see the beautiful and awe-inspiring vista spreading out for miles and miles to the horizon with Canon City nestled to the west.

The City is located in a mountain bowl along the Arkansas River valley as it flows east from the Rocky Mountains and the mouth of the Royal Gorge. A combination of unique geography and an elevation of 5,300 feet above sea level protect the city from harsh weather conditions, making Cañon City “the Climate Capital of Colorado,” with temperatures generally 10 degrees warmer in Winter than other nearby Colorado communities. [CanonCity.org]

And, of course, upon arrival, we cached.

Eewww! GC73CY9

With tickets in hand, we had time to kill so we grabbed the cache in the parking lot and shopped in the quilt shop next door! Fun! Signal was getting into all sorts of trouble!

First Stitches - Sewing Store and Quilt Shop

Getting on the train was a little difficult with the narrow stairs and wide hips. Our Vista Dome tickets led us up to the second floor, where we sat in a private booth.

He's famous!

We were assigned seats, but we found out after the train started out that we were sitting on the less scenic side. To see the Arkansas River, we needed to head outside.

The ride was fun, but, if we ever do it again, we won’t buy the vista dome seats. All the fun was photographing from the “cattle cars”! We rode out there for the entire return journey until the storm rolled in and lightning flashed! Go figure - they didn't want us standing out in open metal cars during a thunderstorm!

Here is the famed Royal Gorge Bridge - my Dad tried to convince me to cross it on foot 30+ years ago! NO WAY! I did agree to drive over it in one of those ancient (and heavy) station wagon! This time TaGeez and I enjoyed the view of it underneath.

Royal Gorge Bridge - This famous suspension bridge is the highest in America. The wooden planks are 956 feet above the Arkansas River.

What's the difference between a gorge and a canyon?
A gorge is taller than it is wide and a canyon is wider than it is tall.

[source]

After the 2-hour, 24-mile train trip, we returned to the depot just as the rain rolled in. As we headed to the parking lot, I noticed a lot of tourists photographing this tree. What's up? Someone said it was featured in a scientific journal as the oldest (Cottonwood?) tree in Colorado. I haven't found anything online to support that, though, so I took a picture, too.

Afterwards we explored the funky downtown and some then some nearby historic cemeteries. Not only was this a great place for photos, but for caches, too! There were 2 historic Western cemeteries across the dirt road from each other and located right outside of downtown.

Colorado Spirit Quest #498 GC74NAT

Colorado State Penitentiary Inmate

Joe Arridy was a convicted murderer and rapist, executed in Colorado. He was pardoned 72 years after his death.

Joe Arridy GC8EM1M

It was fascinating to see all the stones, and I enjoyed ambling along the cemetery roads until I crossed paths with this fist-sized fellah! Oh crikey! I squealed and hoofed it to the car! Later, the CO messaged me to say the tarantula was harmless and his kids would collect them as pets. A coworker messaged me and said, "Yes, it's unfortunate you visited during mating season."

With that, I was done reaching into strange tumbleweeds and tall grasses for caching. Time to head back to the hotel as the sun was setting.

We started and ended our day with a stunning view from our hotel. Another amazing day in Colorado!