Royal Gorge Park is an eight square miles area centred on the suspension bridge that straddles the Arkansas River, about fourteen miles west of Cañon City, Colorado. You can experience Royal Gorge from the suspension bridge at the top, to the railway at the bottom, and the bits in between.

All activity in and around the gorge has always been in pursuit of tourism. On both sides of the bridge there are amusement park rides to occupy restless children. Fu-Manchu arrived just before closing time in company with Number One Wife. We saw an animatronics character jigging to country music in front of empty chairs; a few late visitors ambling about; kiosk attendants counting their day's takings. We could smell the strong and characteristic odour of hot deep-frying oil and junk food.

Suspension Bridge

Get to Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge by driving west from Cañon City along US50. Go nine miles then turn left, south, along County Road 3A (CR-3A). Follow the road four miles until you reach the bridge and the fairground entertainments thereabout.

You can walk or drive across the bridge. By walking you can then ride the cable car on your return to the north side of the river.

We chose to walk. While in the middle of the bridge, gusty winds caused the wooden slatted deck to undulate in an alarming manner 1,053 feet above the floor of the gorge. Every year high winds blow slats off entirely, causing the bridge to be closed.

Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge is the highest in the world. It was built in 1929 under guidance of Lon Piper, a Texan who wanted to enhance the appeal of the gorge as a travel destination attractive to

motorists¹

. CR-3A goes nowhere special, across the bridge south, looping around west to Parkdale where it joins again with US50

From the bridge there is a large view off across mountains west into the distance. East there is interest in the rocks and crags of the gorge. East of the bridge on the north rim there is a gift-shoppe, the northern terminus of the cable car, and a viewing platform for the photographic opportunity provided by the bridge itself. Wife pointed to the sign that said it was a Fuji Film Photo Opportunity. Fu-Manchu asked if taking a picture there would work with the Kodak film in his camera?

Miniature Railway

After parking our car, Wife was in great hurry to catch the miniature train that she expected to carry us to the edge of the gorge and a view of the precipitous drop. Engineer of the locomotive, who saw us running to catch his train, shouted to us not to hurry as he would wait upon our arrival. Breathless, we took our seats with a party of nuns and a few parents with small children.

With a whistle and clang of the bell the engineer released the brakes and opened the throttle of his engine. Via the public address system he informed us that the engine was internal combustion, one made by General Motors. He gave us a brief sketch of his life before retirement from the US Navy, his time since then spent running this particular railroad, and his relationship with his wife.

We proceeded at a stately pace not much faster than a brisk walk. Placed at intervals by the track various tableaux were contrived to stimulate the engineer's flow of low humour and puns for the entertainment of the passengers. To Wife's chagrin she realised her mistake in having embarked on nothing more than a children's carnival ride around a couple of acres of prepared ground.

Funicular Railway

Sensible to Wife's embarrassment, Fu-Manchu forbore comment on the experience even though it stimulated his sense of the absurd. Acting as though nothing out of the ordinary happened, Fu-Manchu led the way
to the funicular

²

railway where we joined a small party of German tourists being let down the north wall of the gorge to the river below.

Royal Gorge Railway

At the bottom of the gorge beside the Arkansas River, two railroad companies fought a running battle for the right of way. Each company hired armed guards to protect its interests. Eventually, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad won legal right to operate there.

Buy tickets and board the Royal Gorge train at the Sante Fe railway station in Cañon City. We caught the first train of the day and stood on a flat-bed observation car for the twelve mile journey through the gorge at twelve miles per hour; the morning was fresh and clear, mild and sunny. With the two diesel-electric engines pushing
the carriages uphill, the diesel fumes and smoke were carried away from us. The river was at a low point with barely enough water to
float the rafters dodging the boulders that caused the water to run white.

Bottom of Royal Gorge is a grand place in which to dally. From the Cañon City end there is a walk along the old way of the water pipeline with benches set at convenient spots where the walker might sit and contemplate the natural beauty of the land. All along the gorge there are the remains of man's activities past and present; even so, the slow progression through the gorge is something to relish. We halted outside the far end of the gorge, four
hundred feet higher than when we started, waiting to be despatched back into the gorge by the despatcher in Omaha, Nebraska. After five or six minutes the brakes were released for us to roll downhill back to our starting point and continuation of our tour.