New #22: Walk the Royal Gorge Bridge

There is a tiny conference room at my work where I sometimes go to escape the hustle bustle of the newsroom. Inside this windowless room hangs only one picture: a portrait of the Royal Gorge Bridge. I've always been intrigued by the photo of this monument someone decided was important enough to display at the office. Could it be that historical, that innovative, that awe-inspiring? Over Memorial Day weekend, I decided to see for myself. Turns out the gorge itself is definitely worth the fanfare. But the bridge, I soon learned, was mainly just terrifying.

The Royal Gorge (which is a giant canyon carved by the Arkansas River) is located just outside Canon City, about 2 1/2 hours south of Denver. It was a long drive, but one filled rugged and rich scenery, including white-capped mountains, rolling prairies and all of the things that make Colorado and the West so special. And the winding drive up the mountain to the gorge was no different. But all of the natural beauty came to a screeching halt when we reached the top.

Surrounding the bridge and the gorge was a Disneyland-esque amusement park, complete with tourists holding cameras and strollers, waiting in line to get in. Totally not the wild adventure I was expecting, but more of a paved, ice cream-vending, family-friendly version of the outdoors. And to top it off, it cost $25 a person to get in. Wow.

We anted up and entered the wannabe Western world built up around the natural gorge. There weren't any costume characters running around (thank God), but there was a carousel, gift shop, petting zoo and overpriced food all around. For some reason I imagined this bridge, built in 1929, would be honored more as a national monument than an amusement park ride. I guess even historians need to make a buck. And Ben and I were ready to make the most of our money spent and cross the bridge. Yet after my first few steps, and the horrifying view of below, I decided someone should have paid me to move another step further.

Our first view of the bridge.

This bridge was so scary! I guess I should have figured it would be. A few pieces of metal and wooden planks suspended more than 1,000 feet above a roaring river really doesn't sound like a cake walk - especially for a couple like Ben and I who are both afraid of heights. Oh, and the spaces between the wooden walkway that exposed the view of below didn't help, either.

Benny is scared ... and yelling at me for taking a picture.

Our view below. Don't step on a crack!

I'm not one to get scared or freeze under pressure, but there came a point where I couldn't bring myself to move another inch. Instead, I just stood there nervously laughing as everyone passed me by. Ben, (who was dealing with the fear in his own way by cussing a lot), had to grab my hand and pull me forward to keep moving. Half way across, with the wind blowing my hair in every direction, I began to feel the bridge actually sway. And looking back, we watched it and the people walking across swing back and forth. So. Scary.

Somehow, we traversed the death trap and made it to the other side. Then, after looking at the buffalo and petting some goats at the zoo, we decided to man-up and take on the bridge one more time. Luckily, we were much more brave this time, and actually got to enjoy the view of the valley and river around us. It was amazing. It looked kind of like the grand canyon, and definitely evoked the same kind of "wow" looking at it. Colorado never fails to impress me with how much awesome it can fit in one state.

Looking back at what we conquered. Below is the view half way across the bridge.

Later, the incline railway took us right down the mountain to see the river below. It was amazing to think that this rushing water was able to carve a canyon that big.

Traveling down the incline railway. We were in little cages.


Views of the railway and the bridge from below.

All in all, it was great to see the amazing natural wonder of the Royal Gorge. But next time, I think we're going to strap on our hiking boots and explore it on the road less traveled.

The Freemans are fearful of falling, but we smile through it :)