Oh my gosh, What a Gorge, a Royal Gorge!

The time has passed by so quickly and today is the last day of the tour. We have seen and learned about so many new things. Today is no exception. We are traveling to the Royal Gorge Bridge, the highest suspension bridge in the world since it was built in 1929. That is until 2003 when it was surpassed in height by a bridge built in China; however, it is still the highest bridge in North America. The engineering feat was completed in 6 months for $350,000. Today's cost would exceed $15 million!! It was built as a tourist attraction to be enjoyed either by car or on foot. After seeing the bridge up close, well as close as we wanted to get because to really get near enough to touch it you had to pay (yep, we've got expensive cars, but we still value the dollar). Anyway, further on down the road we were boarding the Royal Gorge Railway for a luncheon and view of the bridge from underneath. A nice leisurely 2 hour ride. Afterwards, we had to put the pedal to the metal to get back to Colorado Springs, check in to the hotel, and drive back out to the Flying W Ranch for the evening's farewell dinner and entertainment.

Seems one can't pass a river or stream without seeing someone fly fishing

No sooner did we hang a left through the rocks than we had to turn right back through them. I like the way the sky and rock formations are mirrored in the bonnet of Cypress.

Here it is, the Royal Gorge Bridge, suspended 955' above the Arkansas River.  That's quite a drop!

One can also float (oar) along the river - a familiar scene we saw from the train several times.

Cool, the cup is made from corn, but I didn't want to butter it and eat it. Whaddya know. Another fisherman.

In the photo on the left, one can see the huge pipeline which carried water to the town of Canon City about 12 miles from the bridge itself. I love it when you can see another part of the train from where one is sitting.