We rode the train through the Royal Gorge. It was pricey, but we could have spent a lot more money than we did. Even the hamburgers were $20, so we went foodless.
Before we took off, I climbed up on a nearby bridge to get these shots of our train at the Canon City station.
We went coach, which meant we had to share our set of seats with two other people. They turned out to be a guy from Denver and his German girlfriend. We engaged in some desultory conversation at the start of the ride. Out of nowhere, the guy said to me, “You look like an engineer. I’ll bet you drive a Volvo.”
As soon as we began moving, I left my seat and went out to the open car. I never returned. A guide was standing by to tell people what they were seeing along the way, but for the first couple miles, it was just me, so we had a pleasant conversation.
Looking up at Tunnel Drive Trail on the ledge above the river. I’ve walked it twice — once the week before our train ride and again just this morning. If you look closely, you can see at least one person walking the trail.
Notice the raft in the distance. I rafted the gorge back in 2002.
Canon City used to get their water from the west end of the gorge. The remains of their pipeline still can be seen dilapidating along sides of the cliff. The remains of the intake for the system can be see on the left. The house was where the caretaker lived. I asked the guide why they sourced the water here instead of from the river right in town. He said there is alkali in the gorge and they didn’t have a way to filter it out until recently. The guide kept repeating that the pipeline was built in 1908, “the year the Cubs won the World Series.” I wanted to tel him he needed a new shtick, but I never got around to it.
My wife came out and joined me halfway through and rode with me the rest of the way — as did most of the other people on the train.
That’s the Royal Gorge Bridge overhead. We walked across it the day before.
Crossing the hanging bridge.
I spotted a small flock of Bighorn Sheep on the way west and pointed them out to the few other people on the car. On the way back, there was only one, but she got her picture taken by several hundred people.
If you haven’t yet had enough gorge, here’s a video I took of the outbound trip. It’s in three parts.