You can drive to Colorado Springs from Salt Lake City on one of three routes that each should take between 9-1/2 and 9-3/4 hours. We chose I-70 and took just over 12 hours. One of our many stops was Georgetown, Colorado, which is an old Western mountain mining town.
This girl is riding her bike past the police station.
I'm not sure what this ghost-house-looking structure is, but it isn't old. And the fence is built from firewood.
On Saturday morning we headed to Royal Gorge near Canon (Canyon), Colorado, which is a place I've wanted to see for some time. I almost stopped here on my way to Dallas when the John Astles moved, but it was a bit too far out of the way and I was in a hurry.
Basically, Royal Gorge is a deep gorge carved by the Arkansas River. A suspension bridge spans the gorge, as do a tram and zip line. This place is kind of a natural wonder amusement park.
A fire burned 90 percent of the structures at the Gorge in 2013, and it has all been rebuilt in less than two years. I'm not sure if this is what's left of a cable car that went to the bottom of the gorge (that's what the building is for) or a tram that crossed the gorge.
The bridge across the gorge.
Another view of the bridge. It costs $21 to enter the "park," if that's what this place is called. $18 for seniors (over 60). That gives you unlimited access to the bridge, the gondola and the little train. The zip line is $40. I don't know how much the stupid-person swing is, but I assume about $40.
Looking north from the bridge.
Looking north at one of the two main cables holding the bridge from dropping to the bottom of the gorge.
Same cable.
Why they call it a suspension bridge.
The main cable is split into many cables where it is anchored 55 feet into the mountain.
Looking through the floor of the bridge at the river and railroad tracks 1,000 feet below.
Me. That's a $6 Junior Ranger plastic/paper bag on my belt. I bought it to carry my extra camera lens.
Looking south at the gondola.
Crossing the gorge in a gondola with two people crossing via the zip lines. Taken from the other gondola.
The stupid-person swing.
The dumbest train ride I've ever been on. The train was okay. The gimmicks along the way were pretty darn lame. Like the Yellowstone: A rock painted yellow, with the yellow paint over-sprayed on the rock it was sitting on. And the guy called it the "Yellowstone rock." This was so bad it was entertaining, but I was glad when it ended.
After the Royal Gorge, we still had a couple hours before "Adam and Jamie Unleashed," so we headed to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.
You can climb some of the rocks if you have equipment and a permit.
This is really a pretty place right in Colorado Springs. A great place to relax at lunch or on a Sunday afternoon. It is free to all.
Pretty cool formations.
This is looking south. If you squint you might see our hotel near the smokestack on the left.
I think people taking selfies are entertaining. This girl's boyfriend is sitting just below us, and she asked him to take a picture, but he was chicken to sit by her because we were sitting on the edge of a small cliff (behind us).
Some local high school must have been holding its prom today, because we saw a couple of groups of high school couples taking their pictures here. So many things about this picture crack me up. Including the fact that her date is nearby, and her mother is trying to take their picture, but this girl just has to have a selfie.
Finally, it was time to see Adam and Jamie. I loved the show. It was kind of a behind-the-scenes, intimate view of the show's stars.
They showed a few engineering and science feats, such as Adam hanging suspended by a rope near the ceiling with only the friction of the pages of two phone books holding him up. They also had audience members do a raspberry with their lips and captured it with a high-speed (super slow motion) camera. This photo doesn't do the funny faces justice, but it's all I got.
For the finale they stood an audience member dressed in medieval armor against a plexiglass screen (his back is to us). Jamie then rolled in on a giant paint ball cannon with four barrels. It looks like something from the National Guard armory. And he started to fire away. Below is the video. These are poor quality, but what do you expect from an iPhone in a dark concert hall?
Paint ball firing squad. Turn your sound up.
Coming home on Sunday we decided to take Highway 50, back past Royal Gorge. I've driven Highway 50 (The Loneliest Road in America) from Sacramento to Delta, UT, but I've never been east of there.
We stopped in Salida to find a mom-and-pop place to eat, but all we could find were a lot of bike shops and an old downtown with funky stores like The Junque Drawer. We ate at Sonic.
Highway 50 summits at 11,312 feet. This is also the Continental Divide.
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