Day 2: Canyon City and lots of driving!

My apologies for not having an immediate follow up to Day 1, we were in a bit of limbo. Now, I am sitting nice and cozy in our Airbnb. The snow is still softly falling outside as it has been all day and the temperatures here in Denver are more like January in Wisconsin!

We had a great time exploring Colorado Springs, I'm sure we missed a bit of it too but we decided to push on. Our next stop would be the Royal Gorge just outside Canyon City. The drive was easy, we headed south on I-25 to Pueblo and then headed west on Hwy 50. The main freeways often take you away from the outstanding geology, however we were able to see Pikes Peak from a distance! This is one of the famous "fourteeners" in Colorado, however it is not the tallest. This conversation occurred in the car and with the help of smartphones, we were able to decipher the tallest in Colorado is Mt. Elbert (if you click on this link it will show you the list of peaks in Colorado). 

There was a bit of construction going through Canyon City, however it was well worth the wait. As we got through the city, beautiful geology starting to come into view. Lots of metamorphic rocks met us at the roadside and I began paging through my Roadside Geology of Colorado book. It has been very helpful in finding great geology in the area as well as deciphering some of the complex geologic history of the area! I highly recommend any of the Roadside Geology of (choose your state) books for any road trip you might go on. Another great book to have with you is a Gazeteer, in this case the Colorado one! Cell service often drops out in the mountains!

As we approached the road to the Royal Gorge, we noticed a lot of trees were lifeless and blackened. We learned from the visitor center that just last year, a terrible wildfire ripped through the area and devastated the park. A majority of the structures were damaged beyond repair and 2014 was a rebuilding year. Needless to say, the views were still incredible and the drive was well worth it. Dogs are welcome, however they need to be leashed. We walked Kobi through the visitor center, bought our tickets ($16 adult) and walked toward the bridge.

At the time of construction in 1929, the Royal Gorge Bridge was the tallest suspension bridge in the world. Here are some neat engineering statistics of the bridge! As you walk across the bridge there is a state flag for each state in the United States of America and you are encouraged to take a picture of you by your state and send it to them. The cables are extremely think, the screws are quite possibly the largest I have ever seen, and still the sway of the bridge surprised me. Vehicles would drive back and forth as their are shuttles and construction vehicles that need to go back and forth; what an erie feeling! I didn't enjoy the slight up and down, however Kobi did not like it at all! His tail was between his legs and he started to walk real low the ground. It was a little better where the boards were closer together and when vehicles weren't passing by. 

The view was incredible! You could see the neighboring mountain ranges all around you and the raging Arkansas River over 1,000 ft below you. The wind whipped through the gorge at a pretty decent rate as well, joyfully flapping all the state flags adorning the bridge. 

After we walked across and back, we stopped for a beer to enjoy the beautiful views and soak up the sun! I highly recommend this trip for all people of all ages, unless perhaps if heights aren't your thing!

It was early enough to continue on to our next location, so we continued west on Hwy 50 and south on Hwy 285 to Alamosa. The mountains were incredible on both of these roadways! We saw the sun setting on the range were "purple mountain majesties" inspired it's author.

Once in Alamosa, we stayed at the Grizzly Inn. It was okay for the night...see Trip Advisor

We visited a great local brewery in Alamosa called San Luis Valley Brewing. I had a fantastic beer and a fantastic burger! Nate was pleased with his food as well. Early to bed. Day 3: Great Sand Dunes National Park!