Day 27 – Visiting the Gorge!

The original plan for today was to continue on to Fairplay, CO but we decided that since we are making this trip and yes the ultimate goal is to make it across the country, we also want to se the country also! From our campsite we could see the bridge that crossed the Royal Gorge. This bridge stands 1,053 ft above the Arkansas River. My family has never been to the Gorge so we decided to take the morning and see more of God’s majestic creation!



The Royal Gorge is the result of the flood recorded for us in the book of Genesis and not the millions of ears of corrosion that the park ranger told us. Men still rob God of His glory! May we never just look at something and just see it as beautiful and rob Him either!

We enjoyed the sights and sounds of the old western town that they had.

We loved the wildlife, petting zoo and Joshua and Annamarie even were able to ride a burro (Spanish for donkey). They loved it! I think I was more nervous about leading the dumb donkey around the trail than the kids were riding. There is a reason we say, “Stubborn as a mule!”


One thing that we did not do was the giant swing over the Gorge. I took pictures only for those who might think it was fun. I did watch one person go and they made no noise. I think I would have been the same way, only because I would have been rendered unconscious the moment I began the free fall. I am a big chicken and I will readily admit it. My mother even said that she would pay the fee and give me $100 to do it and I still wasn’t even tempted in the least little bit.


The afternoon plans required us to get back for lunch and naps. Abigail and I went for a short sightseeing adventure (sightseeing is used very loosely since we saw only one red rock formation).

We were a little rushed because of our planned excursion on the “Gold Belt Tour” Road.
We gathered everyone up and headed out. This was a real adventure. But before we could head out we needed to make a quick pit stop. It has been a few days since Dad and I have had a DQ fix so in case anything were to happen in the mountain pass we needed fuel to get us along until help could arrive. Okay that is nonsense! We just wanted ice cream, as if you didn't know that already!
There are three roads on this “Gold Belt Tour”. “The Wimpy Way” – This consists of all paved state highways. This is the longest but quickest way to get to Cripple Creek, CO. “The Adventuresome Way” – This consists of about 5 miles of paved road and the remainder of the 22 miles are unpaved. There is a warning that no vehicle longer than 25’ can go down this road. “The Extreme Way” – This consists of 10 miles of paved and 20 unpaved. The warning on this road is not a length restriction but a equipment requirement. Any vehicle entering should have 4wheel drive. There is no one monitoring the road but common sense would tell anyone smarter than a derelict that it is advisable to follow the warning.


We took “The Adventuresome Way” and it provided us with many things to see. People parked camping on the river, narrow passageways through solid granite mountains, two tunnels blasted out of the same granite, and frequent spectacular views of the snowcapped mountains.


It was wonderful! The 27 miles took us about 2.25 hours but it was well worth it.

We passed through the city of Victor, CO, which at one time was a booming gold mining town.


Time has its way with everything and it is now just a town with the remains of greatness and beauty but no substance. Just up the road we found another town. It was a town full of history but it has now been turned into a town of sin and greed. A few years ago they decided to bring a one casino. Today there are 19 casinos lining a main street of no more than 3 blocks. It was sad. We had wanted to come to this town to enjoy the historical side and went away with a bad taste in our mouths of the town’s present state.
We returned home on “The Wimpy Way” since it was dark and the fastest way to get in my nice warm bed. I had not been on the bike at all today but I was still quite tired and longed to be in bed. The morning came all too soon!