29th June....Bishops Castle & The Royal Gorge Railroad......

On the advise of Rex, a great guy from Texas and one of the RV park helpers, we go up into the Wet Mountains to the San Isabel National Forest to Rye and visit this "roadside attraction"....

Bishops Castle.....
Quirky, labour intensive and as one review says whimsical !!
It's all the work of Jim Bishop who in 1959 purchased  a parcel of land to build a family cabin, it's still a work in progress....

You can just see Yorkieman looking up thinking strewth is someone walking across the gantry ???

And yes there is and no we don't not after seeing how flimsy some of the grating is !!!!! 

Part playground and part medieval fantasy....

Entry is free and at own risk....

He is now advertising the castle as a wedding venue....

We did walk out on some of the lower gantries and up via the inside narrow stone steps (much like Cologne Cathedral !!) to the higher levels....

Like it or not it is indeed a work of "art"....and at 9,000ft elevation it is a beautifully cool 78F/23C temperature...
The song for today...
Castles in the Air...Don McLean...

A fun morning and a lovely scenic drive to get to it.....
Also time when we get back to Canon City to park at the depot and catch the 3.30 Royal Gorge Train....

As I mentioned when we visited the Royal Gorge Bridge Park a few days ago the railroad runs through the gorge alongside of the Arkansas River....

Rafters enjoying the Arkansas River....

Entering the narrower area of the gorge....
It's a two hour round trip and although we have comfortable assigned seats we spend most of the journey on the observation deck taking in the views and listening to the information about the history of the train and area....

The first sighting of the suspension bridge...

Suspension bridge, gondola and the frame of the Skycoaster.....

I was quite surprised to have captured these guys as the train was moving and I had just a glimpse of them between the bushes...

This is part of the old "wood stave pipeline" 
For over 70 years Canon City's water supply was carried 8 miles through this 30 inch redwood pipeline until abandoned in 1974...

One of the "Hanging Bridge" supports....an engineering marvel of 1878....
The gorge was too narrow at this point to build a conventional track and a hanging bridge was devised...

The gondola looks rather vulnerable from this shot !!!
On the return journey we stop under the suspension bridge....
This is a tradition that was started by Teddy Roosevelt in 1905 when he and his entourage stopped for a picnic and from then on when he rode the train he would have it stop for a short while at the bridge...the stop is now set at 5 minutes...

In a few days time we will do the Tunnel Drive hike and cross this trestle bridge....

Back home and our lovely view as the sun is starting to set......

Being a bit nostalgic so added in yet another pic of our rig as not too many more weeks of owning our home on wheels...
I'm loving the setting sun effect....

We were back home in time for cook out and grilled pork chops and corn, one of our favourite staples....
And another fabulous sunset on a great day...
Until the next post...
The Very Happy Campers....

27th June.....Royal Gorge Bridge & The Skyline Drive, Colorado....

This is the fabulous view from our home across the prairie to the mountains.....
We really love this RV Park and the owner, Nancy is a real sweetie,  folks say I never stop but she knocks spots of me .......wonder if she would let me drive her Bobcat ????

Today we head just north of Canon City to The Royal Gorge Bridge & Park....
Big tourist attraction but a huge area and plenty of room for all....
This engine built in 1902 pulled freight throughout this area until being retired and resting here on the Royal Gorge overlook....sadly her caboose was destroyed in the big Royal Gorge Fire of  2013....

You have to look closely to see this beautiful hummingbird "sucking" the nectar from the petunia....she/he went into most of the flowers in this pot before flying away, a joy to watch...

Folks at the RV park recommended taking the gondola first and then walking back across the suspension bridge as it's then a downhill walk to the bridge and as the temps are topping 100F/38C we went along with the suggestion !!!

Great views of the gorge and as so often a great chat with a family from Michigan who couldn't believe a couple of Brits had extensively visited their state....

Our first proper views of the Gorge, Arkansas River and the Royal Gorge Railroad....

We discover when we ride the train a few days later that this section of the railroad is called "The Hanging Bridge"...because the gorge here was too narrow, only 30ft wide, to lay track a hanging bridge was built in 1878/79....
We are always amazed at the ingenuity of the worlds early designers, engineers and builders..... 

The suspension bridge spanning the gorge....

This is an "insane" "ride" !!! Hauled back and then catapulted out over the gorge !!!! A few years ago we might have done it !!!

The suspension bridge built in 1929 is one of the worlds highest.....

A nice touch on the bridge is a flag of every state of the USA.....
We had expected a suspension bridge like the one at Grouse Mountain Vancouver but this one was still pretty spectacular and great views down into the gorge....

There is a steady flow of white water rafters going down  the Arkansas River....

We had a really good visit to the Gorge and head back down to Canon City via The Skyline Drive.....
This is the Gateway Arch built in 1932 and uses stone from every state in the union...

The 4 mile Skyline Drive is a narrow one way (thankfully) road over a limestone ridge known as a hogback.....

A view across the valley & part of Canon City....

The road was built in 1905 by inmates of the territorial prison in the town for visitors and residents to enjoy the panoramic views of the Canon City, The Wet Mountains and the Arkansas Valley.....
Canon City is known as the city of prisons having 13 in the surrounding area....
The original territorial prison in town, now federal, houses max security disabled prisoners......

The road is described "not for the faint hearted" !!

800ft drops on both sides...

The view down to US50......

An interesting drive and great views....

Part of historic Canon City....

Another beautiful sunset.....

And a full moon rising...
We have had a really great day, lots of highs (excuse the pun !!) we are so enjoying this area and this RV Park....
No light pollution so clear starry nights...
Until the next post....
The "High" Campers....

22nd to 26th June....Grand Lake to Pueblo West & Pikes Peak, Colorado...

Friday 22nd June as we say fond farewells to Carole & Wally and head back down from Grand Lake to Granby and onto US40 east and a pretty drive through the ski area of Winter Park....

We start the steady climb up over the mountains and through Berthoud Pass at an elevation of 11,307ft....

And slowly back down....

Steep grades and switchbacks to the I-70 east....

Castle Rock and apparently an affluent town mid way between Denver and Colorado Springs....

Yay not seen one of these for a while......a mile long coal train...
We did the 1-470 loop road around Denver but still lots of traffic, road works and two shunts, all part of life on the road....

Custom car day out ??
We turn west onto the US50 at Pueblo & 20 miles to our home for the next two weeks at Haggards RV Campground between Pueblo West and Canon City....

We are in the boonies (but only 15 miles to Canon City and grocery stores etc) and we have a huge site with beautiful views across the prairie (still at elevation of 5,00ft)  and plenty of bird life....this family of partridge or should that be The Partridge Family keep us amused.....

One of our views as the sun is setting on our first night here...8pm and still 90F....

It was a longish drive today a bit stressy around Denver but a few toddies and we are feeling relaxed and ready for some down time and seeing some of the many sights in this area.....
We love this life you never know what you will see next.....we have just seen a guy in a mobility scooter "riding" around the park with a parrot on his shoulder !!! 

Tuesday 26th June....
One of the reasons to came to this area was to visit Pikes Peak...
We had a lovely scenic drive on SR 115 to  Manitou Springs and then got lost in the road works/construction but happened upon the visitors centre and not only as usual got some great info but also $2 off our admission to Pikes Peak !!! Seems the road works have been on going for a year and the locals are totally fed up with it......

But once through the entrance it is beautiful scenery and scenic viewpoints..

We have climbed up to 13,000ft to Mile 16...from here there's a free shuttle the last 3 miles and 1000ft elevation to the summit....

Rock formations above the tree line...

One of the views from the shuttle...

Pikes Peak is one of several fourteeners as mountains over 14,000ft are know locally....

Needless to say the air is thin and a nice cool 68F and stunning views....

It's an area for Bighorn Sheep....

As they advise....manual 1st gear on the way down, they have a check point at mile marker 12 and check the heat of your brakes, if 300F you have to park and wait for an hour or so for them to cool...Yorkieman registered 131 and got a well done from the ranger....

The annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb road race was held this past weekend....from mile marker 7 to the summit....the winner was Frenchman Romain Dumas in a Volkswagen IDR electric car in 7 minutes 57.148 seconds beating the previous record by 15 seconds !!!!!! 

Lunch sandwich at a scenic viewpoint near here......

On down to Colorado Springs and a stop at Camping World for a new water filter then home...

Fabulous sunset this evening......
We had a great day out, both a bit bushed but enjoyed our sundowners and loving the peace and quiet of the plains...
Until the next post...
The Chilled Campers....