Today, Ted and I took a two-hour train ride through the Royal Gorge. Trains always run along the rivers in the bottoms of canyons, so I didn’t have to worry about heights. The Royal Gorge Route Railroad is a “heritage railway”–one that preserves railway scenes of the past. The route follows the Arkansas River between the 1,000-foot tall granite cliffs of Colorado’s grandest canyon, and is described as “America’s most spectacular rail journey.” When Teddy Roosevelt rode this route, he called it “the trip that bankrupts the English language.”
The Royal Gorge Route departs from the Santa Fe Depot in Canon City, CO.
The first car of the train is named “Theodore Roosevelt.” Each of the 10-12 cars had a different name.
Here’s that good-looking couple again! We had tickets for a vista dome car, so our views were wonderful.
There was an open-air car for unobstructed viewing. The train moved slowly, so it was a safe ride, but it got cold in the shadows between the canyon walls.
This is the Royal Gorge Bridge–955 feet above us. We could see people walking on it and looking over the sides.
The holiday village is ready for the Santa Express in December.
Can you see the man’s face in the center near the top of the canyon wall? He is called “The Guardian of the Gorge,” and his name is Cliff Rock.
We saw about a dozen whitewater rafters navigating the Arkansas River.
Near the top center, look for the red dot. That is three joined cable cars crossing the Royal Gorge.
We just managed to squeeze this enjoyable two-hour activity into our trip. The train schedule is down from four runs daily in the summer to one run each on Saturday and Sunday, and next weekend is the last trip until spring. For Ted and me, it was another highlight of the wonderful vacation we’re having in the Southwest.