Travel With Whippets: Colorado Springs --- Train Ride and Sojourn to Gold Country

Dianne enjoys the views from the open car on the Royal Gorge Railroad

Roger here.... It took some time to write this post due to all the pictures that we took. It was an enjoyable task deciding which ones to include. Hope you enjoy them. Don't miss the Pet Pictures of the Day at the end of the post.

Campground Events....

We continue to have fun playing Spades and Mexican Train with Chuck and Cindy during the campground times when we are not cooking, eating, and walking dogs. Alas, our screen house zipper broke during one of our card games trapping us inside for a short while. The screen house is continuing to make its case for a permanent home in Colorado.

The wildlife, especially the bears, are always on our minds after dark. Chuck has been wrapping cable around his mini-fridge, covering it, sealing the door shut and then latching it it to the steps of his rig. To me, it seemed very animal-proof. He topped off the bear protection with a padlock. Evidently, the bears found the key to the padlock.

Mama bear and her two cubs decided to have a frat-style party. Chuck and Cindy watched the entire fiasco from inside the safety of their fifth wheel. The party lasted throughout the night. At one point there was a cub fight over a tub of margarine. Then one of the cubs drank an entire gallon of milk followed by a nap under the picnic table. Chuck and Cindy's loud outside music (to scare them off) added to the party atmosphere. After drinking all the beer and drinking all contents in the bloody mary jug, all three bears climbed the large tree in the campsite to sleep it off. Since Chuck and Cindy are parked adjacent to us, Dianne and I had a partial view of the festivities from our motor home. We saw one of the cubs climb up the tree. Bandido voiced his displeasure. After a trip to Wal-Mart, Chuck and Cindy now have a brand new mini-fridge.

Toga Party Time

The Royal Gorge Train.... Cindy made the reservations for this memorable two-hour train ride. What fun!

We arrived at the Canon City Train Depot 45 minutes early to pick up the tickets and check things out.

A gigantic aspen tree graced the boarding area. This was a big tree!

We located the vista dome car that would be our home for two hours as we slowly rolled through the Royal Gorge Canyon.

Before boarding
time Dianne made sure that I took pictures of all that she expected
me to photograph.

"Did you get a picture of....?"

All Aboard! We met the young man who would be taking care of us and pointing out points of interest. Drinks and nachos were served. We were all settled in and ready to roll.

Soon after passing by the depot we gazed at the first views of the canyon and the Arkansas River.

Where there are rapids......

... there are rafters. We passed by several adventurous paddlers along the route.

Views of the ruins of this water pipe (made of California redwood slats and metal) accompanied us for much of the trip. Long ago the gravity-powered flow of water in the pipe brought fresh water to Canon City.

Get ready for the spectacular views up ahead as the gorge narrows and the iconic swinging bridge comes into view....

We were allowed to walk to an open car throughout the trip. I took this picture at the end of the first half of the trip from the open car. The canyon opened up and the river widened. An interesting tidbit... the engines did not run on the return trip. A quick nudge push the train back toward Canon City. Gravity took care of the rest.

Another interesting tidbit (no pictures), the train did stop on the return trip to pick up an injured rafter (nothing serious).

Phantom Canon Road.... The seven of us enjoyed an all-day drive on Phantom Canyon Road in Chuck's truck. Well, six of us enjoyed it. Chuck had the task of driving on the twisty, mountain-hugging dirt road.

Phantom Canon Road connected Canon City to the gold mines of Cripple Creek back in the day. It was a railroad route. Today it is an amazingly
scenic, out-of-the-way drive for high-clearance vehicles.

Rock-face on one side. Cliff-side drop on the other.

The narrow dirt road is well-maintained --- only a few short washboard areas...

However, non-stop diligence on the part of the driver was essential.

There were so many unique features along the road, one of which included the tunnel below.

Since this is mostly BLM land, free camping is available in individual spots along the way. These folks have a great spot on a sandy beach next to a stream surrounded by the rocky cliffs of the canyon.

Uh Oh! Chuck found another tunnel.

It is always fun to see the views on the other side.

As we climbed to an eventual altitude of 9,710 feet, the landscape changed. Pine trees began to dominate the forests.

Groves of Aspen popped up.

Before rising above the tree line we stopped at the bridge pictured below to stretch our legs, breathe in the invigorating air, drink some water, and scarf down energy bars.

It was a pleasant stop. We walked to the bridge from the truck. The views from the bridge were amazing.

The bridge itself was a remnant of the past. It was the only steel railroad bridge on Phantom Canyon Road that still exits.

As the trees became sparse and the plant life became grassy, the views became panoramic.

As we began to descend from almost 10,000 feet, the former boom town of Victor appeared. This once thriving gold mining town now...

... has a population of only 40+ people. Some of the buildings are still occupied. Many are vacant.

This intriguing semi-ghost town has character. It would have been fun to explore had we had more time. I suspect that Cripple Creek might have been like this before it was overrun with casinos.

Victor was surrounded by strip mines. When the mines below ground yielded all their gold, the town's population diminished and the strip mining began.

The gold mining town of Cripple Creek was only a short drive away, but the top-of-the-mountain vistas did not diminish.

The road was paved during the short drive between Victor and Cripple Creek --- back to civilization.

Cripple Creek did not appeal that much to me. It was overrun with Disney-esque buildings that were beautiful, but in a way artificial. Most of them were casinos. We did not get out of the truck. I suspect it would be an attraction for gamblers. Don't misinterpret me, I am not a prude regarding recreational gambling; however, I actually preferred the authenticity of nearby Victor. The streetscape was very nice, nonetheless.

At this point we were hungry. There were no dog-friendly restaurants with outdoor decks, so we drove on to Florrisant, where we were still unable to locate a restaurant with outdoor seating where we could take the dogs. Nearing Colorado Springs we found a Sonic Drive-In in Woodland Park where we could eat in the truck. We love Sonic, so the wait was worthwhile. Forty minutes later, after a long fun day in the truck, we were back at our digs at Mountaindale.

Canon City River Walk... On an earlier visit to Canon City, we discovered the trailhead for a maintained walk along the Arkansas River. We returned with the dogs.

After some confusion about which way we should walk on the trail, we found our way to a cool bridge and began our short trek.

The trail itself was nice, and the views of the river were great....

... however, much of the trail was in an industrial area that was not all that scenic. We retraced our steps to explore
another section of the trail and found a surprise.

Through the trees we glimpsed an interesting mansion from the trail. We left the trail to check it out. The plaque on the outside of the gilded iron fence was a magnet that attracted my genealogically-addicted wife. Dianne's maiden name is Robison.

We walked all the way around the mansion. It occupied an entire block. It is now an event center, and a nice looking one, at that. This fountain graced the front of the mansion.

Classic
architecture
is an interest of mine. This place is well-maintained.
I need to learn more about its history.

Dianne insisted that Bandido and I linger in front of the carriage house for a picture.

We stopped at the Cup and Cone for ice cream on the way out of town. We then stopped at the Holy Cross Abbey Winery where I sat at a peaceful picnic table with the dogs while Chuck and Cindy sampled the wine and someone made a few non- alcoholic purchases in the wine gift shop.

Chuck and Cindy will be leaving soon, but we will have one more posting before their departure.

Pet Pictures of the Day.... Sophie had a great time driving the truck along the very narrow Phantom Canon Road!