Rockies Caravan - Part 2 - Canon City

Thursday, 19 August

The caravan itinerary had only one activity on it for today - to relocate to the Royal View RV Resort west of Cañon City, CO, all of about 59 miles on the suggested route. As we learned on the caravan we did two years ago, travel days are a great opportunity to do independent adventuring, including golf.

So today, we left earlier than our caravan mates and headed for Pueblo, CO to play the Desert Hawk at Pueblo West golf course, the golf course we played just over a week ago. We liked the course when we played it the first time. And it worked out well as the first tee time that was available was 10:10am, which meant we did not have to depart too early, and we could still arrive mid-afternoon in Cañon City.

Kris hit 14 of 14 fairways (typical), while Darrell seemed to play the right and left edges. Darrell recovered well and avoided any big mistakes to lead at the turn. Kris played the back nine better including making the only birdie of the day. But Darrell avoided any big mistakes to take honors on the day.

After a quick stop at Starbucks to pay up, we headed for the Royal View RV Resort. Sprinty got a nice backin site. Once Darrell and Brenda got set up, we planned the unscheduled time for next couple of days. At 5pm, our caravan leaders organized a happy hour and meeting in a covered pavilion.

We also wandered to the RV park's gorge lookout for a preview of tomorrow's main activity.

Royal Gorge Bridge

Friday, 20 August

Today was considered a single destination day, so people were expected to provide their own transportation. As we saw on the first caravan, a majority of people have either a tow vehicle (truck to pull their RV) or a Toad (car they tow behind their motorhome). Like others without a Toad, we arranged to ride with a Toad owner (Darrell and Brenda).

The Wagonmaster asked everyone to form up in a line at 9am for a 9:10m departure for the 5.8 mile drive to Royal Gorge Bridge & Park (https://royalgorgebridge.com). Like ducklings, we had fifteen vehicles all queued up at 9am.

Everyone caravanned together, as we were met by Julie who organized efficient parking. As the park did not officially open until 10am, we were well before the normal visitors started arriving. Julie provided a great introduction to the attraction, the gondola, walking the bridge, add ons like zip lining, and suggestions for how to make the most of our visit.

As Julie suggested, we made our way to the gondola that runs across the gorge. Julie had said that they don't run the gondola in high winds, and that yesterday, they had to shut the gondola down at 10:30am. As we stood in line for the first run of the day, they did their morning check run. As one of the staff described it, it did not go well. And the gondola did not run all day due to high winds.

Our original plan had been to ride the gondola over and walk the suspension bridge back.

Or maybe zip line back, for the more daring.

We walked to the south side - enjoying the amazing views of the rock wall canyon, the Arkansas River below, and the train track along the river.

Once on the south side, we made our way to the plaza and watched the video on the history of the bridge. We also enjoyed the exhibits in the theater on more of the history.

The cable used for the suspension bridge was fabricated at the CF&I Steel Corp. in Pueblo, which was related to the steel museum we visited about 10 days ago.

Royal Gorge Bridge is the highest and most famous suspension bridge in America. It stands 956 feet above the wild Arkansas River and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Construction started June 5, 1929 and was completed in less than 7 months. The Royal Gorge Bridge was built for people to take in the timeless beauty of this geological phenomena. The bridge is not and has never been part of a road or state highway system.

Lead by Chief Engineer, George Cole, the bridge was designed to hold more than 2,000,000 pounds with 100 tons of steel supporting the deck. A hardy group of around 80 men, mostly unskilled laborers in that day, built this world wonder with no deaths or major injuries.

In 1982, the bridge was refurbished with installation of new anchor cables, replacement of bridge abutments, and the addition of a wind cable system designed to allow the bridge to withstand up to 125 mph winds.

On June 11, 2013, the bridge withstood the Royal Gorge Fire. While 90 percent of the park was destroyed, the Bridge was barely scathed with only 100 boards charred on one end.

The aerial tram was destroyed.

One of the only things that survived was the bridge itself. Some of the 100 charred boards make up part of an exterior wall of the rebuilt visitor center as a tribute to the legacy of the bridge.

In 2018, the Royal Gorge Bridge was trademarked "America's Bridge" dedicated to the spirited band of American workers and the timeless enjoyment millions have experienced while standing on the deck of the bridge.

After wandering around the park, watching people on the sky coaster, grabbing a bite to eat for lunch, the two Darrell's were about to head for the zip line to go back across to the north side. Kris and Brenda volunteered to take the pictures and walk back across the bridge. But the zip line had been shut down due to the gusty winds as well. Maybe next time we visit we can ride the gondola and zip line.

The exposed rock had a myriad of color and material gradations. Brenda was very inquisitive, repeatedly wishing we had our geologist friends, Tom and Heidi, with us. So we did the next best thing, snapped a photo and sought a virtual consultation.

We walked back across the bridge. As we walked across the bridge, we saw the vehicle crossing the bridge with the raptors for the afternoon raptor shows done on the south side. As we weren't in the mood to wait another hour plus for the show (with the gondola and zip line closed), we had to be satisfied with the rafter show - watching some of the whitewater rafters floating the Arkansas River below.

After our visit to Royal Gorge Bridge, we headed towards Cañon City to drive Skyline Drive. Skyline Drive is a narrow 2.6 mile scenic road that follows the top of a razorback ridge overlooking Cañon City, Colorado.

Skyline Drive was built using labor from 60 inmates at the nearby prison. The road was finished in 1905. In its early days, Skyline Drive only allowed horse-drawn buggies and foot traffic, but in 1907 automobiles were allowed on its roads and have predominated ever since. And they allow walkers and bikers.

The web site (https://www.uncovercolorado.com/scenic-drives/skyline-drive/) does offer this warning:

"It should be noted that Skyline Drive is not for the faint-of-heart or for those unfamiliar with narrow mountain roads. Be careful navigating the shoulders or attempting to pass other cars. There is a reason that Skyline Drive is one-way, and you cannot change your mind and turn around if you are afraid. But if you're in the mood for a hair-raising, adrenaline-pumping experience, which offers unreal views of the surrounding scenery, Skyline Drive can't be beat."

After climbing up to the ridge via a couple of switchback, the road traversed the ridge as described.

While Sprinty likely could have navigated the Skyline Drive, vehicles longer than 20 feet are prohibited. Perhaps to encourage compliance, the entrance had an archway that looked like Sprinty might be too tall for. We were grateful to have Brenda do the driving so we could enjoy the views as we navigated the steep uphills and downhills.

With a free afternoon, many in our caravan decided to do a Jeep ride. We elected to do a bike ride in Cañon City. Using the AllTrails app, we selected the Arkansas Riverwalk Trail which follows the Arkansas River. At 11.1 miles long, it was plenty long enough.

Darrell and Brenda did not bring bikes, so we found a place in Cañon City to rent bikes, Cañon City Brews & Bikes. The rental bikes were very nice Borealis Fat Bikes from a Colorado Springs based company. And the rental rates were surprisingly reasonable, especially for such a nice bike.

Simon, the bike shop owner, was great to work with. He got Darrell and Brenda outfitted with the fat tire bikes and helmets. He also suggested a different trail - to ride the Arkansas River Trail west, and then taking the Tunnel Trail. He warned us that at the start of the trail was a very steep hill - a hill so steep he only knew of two people who could ride up it on mountain bikes. He admitted he was not one of the two.

Along the trail, we enjoyed views of the Arkansas River.

Arkansas River

Before we even got to a Tunnel Trail, Kris swapped bikes with Brenda. When we got to the steep hill, Darrell (VH) and Brenda enjoyed the eBike pedal assist and rode right up the hill. Meanwhile Darrell (H) and Kris walked the mountain bikes up.

Once we got to the top of the hill, Darrell (VH) swapped bikes with Darrell (H) - so the Hesses rode the Rad eBikes for the rest of the ride while the Van Huttens rode the acoustic fat tire mountain bikes. We enjoyed almost two miles of nice dirt road on a ledge above the Arkansas River including two tunnels before reaching the turnaround spot.

Simply put, we had planned a good bike ride - Simon's suggestion resulted in an epic bike ride. The value of seeking advice from a local.

And we think we just sold two more ebikes. 😉

As we had to pass Royal Gorge Bridge & Park on the way back to the campground and our tickets from this morning were still good, we hoped to revisit the park and ride the gondola. Unfortunately, the winds were still to strong to operate the gondola. So we have a reason to visit again.

For dinner, the caravan staff cooked up fajitas. It was a festive evening as folks shared their various adventures from the afternoon. Oh, the caravan company's motto is "Best Part of a Journey is Who You Share It With".

Saturday, 21 August

We started the morning at sun up with laundry. Our caravan organizers provided a coffee and donuts breakfast before loading the bus at 9:30am for Cripple Creek, CO, about an hour away.

Cripple Creek was where the last great Colorado gold rush began when gold was discovered in 1890. Thousands of prospectors flocked to the region, and before long Winfield Scott Stratton located the famous Independence lode, one of the largest gold strikes in history. In three years, the population increased from five hundred to ten thousand. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripple_Creek,_Colorado#History)

The boom in Cripple Creek was pretty short lived - when WW I started, many of the mines started shutting down and the population decreased to about 100 people from over 30,000 at the turn of the century. With many empty storefronts and picturesque homes, Cripple Creek once drew interest as a ghost town, although the town was never entirely deserted. In the 1970s and 1980s, travelers on photo safari might find themselves in a beautiful decaying historic town. A few restaurants and bars catered to tourists, who could pass weathered empty homes with lace curtains hanging in broken windows.

In 1991, Colorado voters allowed Cripple Creek to establish legalized gambling. Cripple Creek is currently more of a gambling and tourist town than a ghost town. Casinos now occupy many historic buildings.

The bus dropped us off at Bronco Billy's Casino which made up almost an entire block of historic buildings.

With no interest in spending the morning at the casino, six of us walked to the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad (https://cripplecreekrailroad.com) a few blocks away and got tickets for the 11:10am trip.

The three-car open air train was pulled by a 1936 coal burning steam engine.

The track goes south out of Cripple Creek, past the old Midland Terminal Wye, over a reconstructed trestle, past many historic mines and terminates near the deserted mining camp of Anaconda, then returns back to Cripple Creek. The 45-minute trip was only about 4 miles.

Along the way, we saw a number of prospector holes and remnants of former mines.

Overshadowing the towns of Cripple Creek and Victor is the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, an open pit mine, one of the largest in North America, still producing $650 billion of gold per year according to our train conductor.

We enjoyed the open air train ride. With a couple of hours left in Cripple Creek before we had to board the bus, we had two nearby museums of interest to visit. The three wives of our group unanimously picked the Old Homestead House Museum, Colorado's only bordello museum.

The building was one of the first reconstructed after the fire of 1896 - an interesting testament to the priorities of the day.

The museum is a guided tour - the six of us from the caravan and another couple. The house is typical 1890 construction, so eight visitors and a guide had to jockey to view inside the rooms.

Our guides provided a lot of history on the various artifacts, the majority of which were original. A very interesting museum.

After the museum, we got lunch which did not leave time for the other museum of interest, the Cripple Creek District Museum (https://cripplecreekmuseum.com). The museum sounded very interesting, so another reason to revisit this part of Colorado.

We loaded the bus and drove the short distance to the World Famous Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine (http://www.goldminetours.com/) in Cripple Creek.

The mine is 1,000 feet below the surface, and you get lowered in a small double deck man car with six (sometimes seven) people squeezed in tighter than riding a Japanese train at rush hour.

It was so tight that one of the guys on our car dropped his phone while trying to take a selfie in the car - the phone only fell to shoulder level - there wasn't enough space for it to fall to the floor.

Once down below, our guide Steve, a third generation gold miner, led us through the mine and its exhibits. Having recently visited the Old Hundred Mine in Silverton, CO, last month and visited several mining museums, we understood the terminology and everything he presented.

The tunnels we walked through were cross cuts, which connected the vertical stopes. The gold veins in this area run vertically, so once a vein is found, the miners tunneled vertically so that the rock took advantage of gravity as it was blasted. Similar to the anthracite coal mine we visited in Pennsylvania two years ago.

Stope

We briefly rode in a compressed air operated man car,

passing a "restroom" along the way.

Restroom

Steve had most of the ladies operate the bell system used to signal the hoist operator to lower or raise the man car in the vertical shaft.

Our guide said the mine closed in 1961 when it was no longer profitable at gold prices at $35/ounce. It is estimated that there is over 80% of the gold still yet to be mined - so maybe the mine will resume operations one day.

Steve, our guide, suggested to our group that we should drive the mile further up the road to the overlook to see the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine. Fortunately, some of our caravan mates were persuasive enough that we got this bonus.