Colorado Part 2

Hi…am back again. We were on a short vacation to Wisconsin Dells and just returned a couple of days back. I will be posting about that soon. But for now I’ll finish up on our Colorado adventure!



After our stay at Colorado Springs, we headed to the Royal Gorge. The Royal Gorge is located in Canon City. It is situated about an hours drive away from Colorado Springs. The best way to visit this spectacular canyon is by the Royal Gorge Route Railroad. However, we could not do that and so we just drove to the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park. This is located just 25 minutes from the train depot and offers a panoramic view of the Gorge from the World’s highest suspension bridge. This bridge hangs about 1000 ft high and spans about a quarter of mile across the canyon. The view from atop the bridge is breathtaking with the Arkansas river flowing right through the Canyon. One can indulge here in white water rafting and other water adventures. We chose the Incline Railway to go to the Canyon floor. The Incline Railway was built in 1931 and is considered to be one of the most difficult structures to be built. It travels at an angle of 45 degrees and descends about 1500 ft deep into the canyon. Here we marveled at the timeless granite walls hovering all around us, and the suspension bridge looking like a mere rope above. We enjoyed the scene of some dare devil white water rafters maneuvering through the roaring rapids of the Arkansas River.



Our plan was to leave the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park at about 3.00 pm and drive down south to Durango to camp there for a couple of nights. However, as plans go, this one went a few hours off the mark too. We did not leave the Park until about 6.00 pm. This being so, we reached our campsite near the Mesa Verde National Park close to midnight. It was quite an adventure pitching our tents by the light of our car headlights! The kids were asleep in the car and it was stifling hot. We decided to pitch just one tent for the night and six of us huddled into that at about 2.00 am. Actually, it was a lot of fun!



The next day, we went rafting!! It was just so awesome. We drove down to the main office in downtown Durango, where we met up with other rafters. Here we were driven by bus to the main part of the Lower Animas river where we would be rafting. We were given life jackets and led to the river by our guide. She was a young girl who seemed very confident on the waters. We, on the other hand, were a little nervous. But it was just such an amazing experience. The lower Animas is just perfect for first time rafters and families with young children, with some peaceful stretches and a few class II and class III rapids for that little bit of excitement. The Upper Animas is for the more adventurous, with class IV and class V rapids.

We had a great time and the kids were excited and thrilled. After this we returned to camp and cooked ourselves a delicious dinner. Too exhausted, we just dropped off to sleep. The next day, we went exploring the Mesa Verde National Park.



The Mesa Verde National Park was established in 1906 to preserve sites built by the first settlers on mesa tops and in Canyon alcoves. The park spans about 50,000 acres. Mesa Verde or “Green Table” rises high above the surrounding country. The park consists of several cliff dwellings. Some of the dwellings can only be viewed with a park ranger. But there are others that can be explored from a distance on our own. We visited many such cliff dwellings and pit houses, and got a glimpse of the indigenous people who lived then. We marveled at the construction and wondered how they got in and out of the cliff dwellings. They are located so deep and steep into the canyon that one cannot fathom climbing in and out. These cliff dwellings have helped historians understand significant details of the life and times of prehistoric America.



We also visited the museum, which displays the artifacts of the early settlers. It was an educational and fun experience for the kids and adults. We were extremely tired after the long walks through the park and came back to our campsite, once again exhausted but very content. We left the campsite the next morning and started driving back home. We had to drive through mountain roads for a good number of hours. By the time we were done with the winding roads, my sons had had enough and claimed they had ‘mountain sickness.’



We were happy to be on our way home. As fun as vacations are, we also missed home. We drove continuously for the next 24 hours, changing drivers every couple of hours of course, and got home close to 6.00 pm on the 4th of July. And guess what? A tornado had just passed our area, fortunately not touching down. That was the big news we cam home to…..I told you…there has to be a storm in every story of mine…