We had been near there in previous years but never took the time to see the area. We did the beautiful drive to the top of the bluff.
That cold front that had moved in made it a little uncomfortable up there, along with the wind. Gary kept saying “Did I ever tell you how much I hate winter?”
Along the river is a really nice (paved) path. We didn’t walk too far, but it went a long ways since there was a cache along it. Too cold for comfort.
It was a pretty nice town and we picked up a few Geocaches while we were there as well as fixed the brakes on the car. Strangest thing…when we arrived in Wal-Mart at Scottsbluff and were unhooking the car, we discovered that we had no brakes on the Honda!! All the way to the floor. Yikes!! After Gary did some crawling around underneath he found that one of the bleeder screws on the rear brake cylinder was missing. Just plain gone! How that happened is something we will probably never know. Gary did a fluid change out a couple years ago, that was the last time it was touched by us. It’s silly to suspect vandalism, but nothing makes any sense. Anyway, he figured he would have to buy an entire new cylinder, and after an inquiry found there was a parts store down the street a ways within walking distance. When he got there he discovered they would have to order the brake cylinder, so he asked if, by chance, they had separate bleeder screws. They did, and he bought a package of two. The store wasn’t real sure it would be the correct one… but it was, and after heading into Wal-Mart to buy a bottle of brake fluid and bleeding the brakes there in the parking lot, we were back in business.
On the way out of town we noticed these sad, sad sunflowers. Actually these were the first ones that you could even see the faces on. The others were really sad, looking at the ground.
From Scotts Bluff we continued on to Cheyenne, WY., where we spent two nights at the F.E. Warren AFB campground. The plan was for one night but when we arrived and checked the weather reports we found it was snowing above Colorado Springs. Not knowing how long it would take to stop snowing and warm up we cancelled our reservations for Monument, CO at the Coast to Coast park there. We did more Geocaching in Cheyenne, and found 10 or 11 during the two days we spent there. One of the caches took us to this interesting cornerstone, not hidden exactly, but not where most folks would be able to see it:
Located inside one of the shoes was a small cache. This was along one of the lesser streets. It was interesting, sort of...
Here's where the grandaddy of 'em all rodeo is held:
On Friday the 25th it sounded like the snow was over and it had warmed up so we went on to Monument, Colo. It is about 25 miles north of Colorado Springs. On Friday evening we were able to meet up with our niece Nancy and her husband David:
Meet their cat: They have a business in Colorado Springs called "Lightening Lube". We were anxious to see it and got the full tour. When closing time came, we stopped at their house so they could change clothes and went out to dinner at a really nice Mexican Restaurant, and returned to their house for some more catching up on family news. David knew where there were 500 goats contracted to eat weeds:
Next day we were able to meet up with our friends Jim and Peggy, and took off for Seven Falls, a major attraction consisting of six spectacular water falls. (No, seven, just testing you).
This is what the brochure says:
Next to the Falls, a 224 step stairway leads to a system of trails that will take you to "Midnight Falls" and then onto Inspiration Point with a breath-taking view of Colorado Springs and the great plains beyond. Wildlife is everywhere, including hummingbirds, rainbow trout and the rare, waterfall nesting-American Dipper, Blasted 14 stories straight up through solid granite, a mountain elevator safely transports all who venture here to the "Eagles Nest" platform where the most spectacular view of Seven Falls is experienced.
Seven Falls is located just ten minutes from downtown Colorado Springs via Cheyenne Blvd, and is open every day of the year except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day. From Mid-May to Labor Day the summer nights come along with a fascinating glow. The entire canyon is illuminated in a veil of light, culminating with the Seven Falls in a brilliant display of color".
Their web site is really good, and has sound and pictures of the evening lighting:
http://www.sevenfalls.com/home/index.cfm
Well, we did ALL the hikes and did ALL the 224 stairs (each way) and the elevator! The elevator took you to a viewing platform, but ultimately didn't save you any steps! It was a beautiful area with lots of scenic views.
Jim & Peg were staying at the Elks Club RV lot. While we were there we also saw square dance friends from Mesa. Bill and Jerene were parked just behind Jim and Peggy, so we all had a nice little happy hour after our hikes and then went to dinner at a very good local Pizza place. Sunday was another busy day. Jim and Peg had been waiting several days for the snow to melt enough to go to the top of Pikes Peak. Finally on Sunday the cog rail was able to go all the way. Since we had been thee in years past, we spent the day getting caught up on laundry, a little shopping and some cooking.
We all took off in our motorhomes for the Royal Gorge next day, where Jim had located a free Canon City RV park. It was back from the road a mile on dirt with some hefty ruts, but NOTHING was going to keep us from our destination! It was ideally situated to access the Royal Gorge attractions. That evening we ventured into nearby Canon City (pronounced canyon), to see where we would be boarding the train that runs at the base of the gorge along the river and to purchase our tickets. On the way we found Skyline Drive that circles around on top of a ridge West of town. Looking either direction from the road was straight down...a LONG way!
Sunrise at our campground. (Not a typo, really, we were up!)
At the camp.
On Tuesday we took the train ride down into the Gorge. What a beautiful experience. The weather was perfect and we were able to ride almost all the way on the outdoor viewing platform. What a trip! When we were here before we rode a dumb little train that took us out on the edge of the gorge. At that time we promised ourselves if we came back we would do it all...properly!!
This flat car is where we spent most of the ride -- way cool! Cool meaning hip, not cold!
Here are some pictures of this train and/or tracks, taken from the gorge bridge:
The train trip was great and I'd recommend it for anyone. As soon as we finished that trip we ran home and had a bite of lunch and headed for the Royal Gorge Park. If you buy tickets before 9:30 you can get them for half-price!! We were staying just up the road so Jim was the designated ticket-picker-upper. He did that before breakfast. We did the INCLINE RAILWAY down to the bottom of the canyon, the TRAMWAY across the gorge and ended up walking the bridge 3 times!! We had overlooked the theater since all the stuff around it was closed this time of year. After the incline raliway, we checked our map to see if we had done everything and discovered the theater was on the 'other' side. It was worth the effort though to watch the film and see the museum. I think everyone was really tired by the time we got back to camp. Of course the campers the night before hadn't helped, they were rowdy all night long, yelling and running around. Of course Jim heard none of it. He says he goes to bed to sleep, not listen to the neighbors. But, just so you know, when Jim takes his hearing aids out, he hears nothing!! Oh, well, we survived and after a short nap we grilled some burgers and had ice cream for dessert.
This unusual 'water' clock was in the entry to the park:
Here are some views from the TRAM:
That's the gorge bridge.
The SKY COASTER was here too. Didn't get good shots of this because there weren't many idiots going on it that day. You lie down on your belly, and swing out over the gorge. Eloise and Peg were chicken, so Jim and I didn't want to make them feel bad by going without them. That's his story!
The park has a zoo of sorts. Looked kinda sorry to me, but there was in fact a fairly rare white buffalo, the Indians used to think were pretty special. Here he is:
We come now to the gorge bridge...cars/trucks can be driven on it. It isn't a major thoroughfare though, it was built simply as a tourist attraction. The highest bridge in the world was built in 7 months, dedicated on December 7, 1929.
The INCLINE RAILWAY was the least exciting attraction to me. You can't really see out of the cages to take in the scene. It is sandwiched in between two mountains so there wasn't much view except straight ahead. You get a sense of dropping/rising at an acute angle. Without adequate viewing, the spectacle is lost:
Eloise and I took a lot of pictures at the gorge, but none of them do justice to the beauty of this place. This is a taste of the spectacle that this gorge is. It has to be seen. If you can manage to visit the Royal Gorge you won't regret it.
Before we got into St George for the Senior Games, we traveled on Hwy 50 through some lovely Colorado countryside:
See you next at the "Games"!
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