Listing Through Life

Route 50 curves away from the Arkansas River just west of Canon City. This isn’t surprising, because the river cuts through the Royal Gorge just west of town. Right where the road curves, there’s a trailhead for the Tunnel Drive Trail, an old railroad bed that has been carved into the hillside above the river. There’s a 100-yard climb from the parking lot, but then the trail flattens out for the rest of the two-mile length. Three tunnels have been carved through the rock near the start of the trail.

I arrived mid-afternoon and took the last parking spot in the small lot.

As I climbed the initial slope, a Rock Squirrel observed from a point of rocks above the trail.

Looking east toward Canon City.

The tunnels were just around the first bend. There were two short ones close together.

And then a little further on, a longer one.

There was usually, but not always, other hikers visible somewhere in front or behind me. The hills along the river got higher the further west I walked.

The Royal Gorge Route train crawled past below me, heading back to the station. I’d already made reservations to take the trip the following weekend.

About two-thirds of the way up the trail, I spotted a small flock of Bighorn Sheep on the hillside above me. They were all rams. I watched for about 10 minutes, but they soon passed out of my sight. At the end of the trail, there was an exposed section of old pipe leftover from the railroading/gold mining days, but I have no idea what it was used for.

I looked for the Bighorn Sheep on my way back. To my surprise, they had come out into the open again much closer to the trail. There were at least eight.

They came within probably 50 yards and spent about as much time looking at me as I did looking at them. A guy in a colorful biking outfit came by and watched them with me for several minutes. When he took off, the sheep spooked and ran up the hill a ways.

On the way back, I spotted a Rufous-crowned Sparrow (below), several Say’s Phoebes and a Rock Wren.

It was amazingly beautiful, and felt remote. It’s amazing how quickly you can feel like you’ve escaped civilization in the west.

The Colorado Railroad Museum is tucked between hills in an industrial section of Golden. The place was hopping on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon.

It’s not huge or fancy, but I had a good time. The old station has a small museum in the basement with a model railroad layout.

The red caboose-looking cars above are a bunkhouse (interior at lower left) and a cooking car for railroad crews.

I could have had a ride on one of the “Galloping Geese” and regretted that I didn’t pay the $4 to do so. Here’s what the web site says about them.

Three of the original seven Galloping Geese can be found at the Museum. Created from a freight box mounted on an automobile frame, the “Geese” allowed RGS to continue passenger and freight service to remote parts of southwestern Colorado. Geese were less costly to build and operate than traditional steam passenger trains. Designed to self-balance on uneven mountain track, the swaying back half of these cars look like geese waddling down the line; hence their popular name.

There was an outdoor model railroad garden in full swing.

I was able to enter many of the cars on the property (minus two that were reserved for kids’ birthday parties). Here’s the outside and inside of two cabooses.

The green car in front of the bottom picture above is a mail car. They had it set up inside to look authentic (lower right, below). When I saw the mannequin with the paper, my immediate thought was “I can make a hat, or a broach, or a pterodactyl.” The rest of the photos (clockwise) are a test weight car used to check the accuracy of track scales; the inside of a business car, one of the old Pikes Peak Cog Railway engines; and a railway telegraph office.

The turntable is authentic. It’s balanced so that two men can turn it by pushing the black and yellow handle on the left. The roundhouse is a reproduction where restoration work takes place.

The museum was a bit hit or miss about signage on the outside equipment, and the grounds are a lawsuit waiting to happen. But I’m glad I went and would happily go back again sometime.

I spent the morning at Rocky Mountain Arsenal and the afternoon at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. Somewhere along the way, I’d added Bob’s Atomic Burgers to my list of restaurants to check out, so I headed there for lunch in between my bigger adventures.

I cleverly managed to arrive just after the St. Patrick’s Day parade finished. The town was packed, and the line at Bob’s was out the door and down the sidewalk. But I was there.

It’s a pretty grubby-looking place with a slow ordering system. It took me 45 minutes at least from the time I got in line until I got to the register, and then another 10 minutes to get my food. When you place your order, they give you the name of some pop culture character/person. When your food is ready, they call out the name. I heard Andre the Giant, Elvis, Bozo the Clown. I think it’s supposed to be funny. I was Natalie Portman.

I’d asked for a cheeseburger and fries. When I got to my car to eat it, I discovered my sandwich was sans cheese. After the long wait and the incompetent system, I was primed to be unhappy. But the burger and the fries were both really good.

Just don’t go on a parade day.