September 13, 2004
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I’M BACK! And guess what? I DID have a great time after all, unlike my poor hubby. It was a very stressful board meeting for him, but by the end of the 4 days, most of the board members were in his corner even stronger than before. . . just that one pesky fella who is creating such havoc. I think he’s jealous; of course that’s just my opinion.
Back to the fun I had . . . actually I mean the fun WE had . . . two of the other wives and me. My friend Paula had never been to the Royal Gorge before and since her husband will be retiring this year, they won’t ever be coming back to the board meetings again, so the three of us headed out in our rental car so she could experience the Gorge. It’s about an hour and 15 minutes from Colorado Springs and it was a very beautiful and pleasant drive.
Royal Gorge Bridge ( 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River) Photo by Chris Duffy
If you’ve never been there, it’s impossible to describe how high up you are when you’re crossing that bridge. The picture above shows less than one quarter of the distance to the bottom of the gorge.
My other friend, Angie, had been reading the brochure about the gorge and noticed that there was a new attraction since the last time she’d been there. It’s called the SkyCoaster . . . sort of like bungee jumping only you don’t do the jumping and you are moving like a pendulum rather than free falling. She decided she wanted to try it and wanted Paula and me to try it with her. . . and we almost did, but thankfully common sense prevailed.
SkyCoaster ride at Royal Gorge Photo by Chris Duffy
Pictured above is the contraption you swing from and there’s Angie going to take her “flying lessons”, while Paula and I went up to a good vantage point so we could get pictures of her playing like Peter Pan.
Angie just before they released her . . . . Photo by Chris Duffy
There she is as they hoisted her up and up to almost the top of the third tower. Fortunately we had not yet eaten lunch and they also provided a porta potty and recommended that folks took advantage of it BEFORE they took the ride. She’s a braver soul than I am.
SkyCoaster attraction at Royal Gorge Photo by Chris Duffy
She said that on a scale of 1 to 10 it was an 8 for fear and a 10 for fun. You can see how high up we are . . . the bridge in the distance is 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River and this was a good climb even higher up than that. Right after Angie finished, another woman went on it and her husband refused to watch. Their two kids were taking pictures of their mother, but he just couldn’t watch . . . said he didn’t approve, but he got out voted.
Comments (10)
Do you see how green I am–that is ENVY!! I remember going to the Royal Gorge on New Years Day of 1964–about a month after we moved to the Springs. Absolutely loved it. It terrified me, but it was an awesome fear. Of course, the SkyCoaster wasn’t there then. At that time the road bed of the bridge was wood, and rattled as we drove across–making it seem even scarier. Our boys don’t remember it since they were just babies, but I do have a couple pictures somewhere of it. But pics do not give the 3 dimension effect of the depth. Glad you ended up having fun!
Oh wow…… These pictures are beautiful. That looks very exciting. I have height issues. I don’t know… I think you made the right choice… I think fear is good.
Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures
It would have been great to see the gorge, but :nono: no one would ever get me close to that sky ride. I can never understand why being scared spitless is fun for so many people. :eek: I’d as soon stand in the middle of a busy highway with cars rushing past within inches of me…. same adrenalin rush, if that is the attraction. At any rate, I’m really glad you enjoyed a trip you were dreading. :coolman: And I’m glad it turned out ok for Mike as well. :goodjob:
It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Gorge, it really is something isn’t it!?! The Sky Coaster wasn’t there when we went. We rode on the gondola and down to the river. It is a beautiful place to visit. Did you go to the top of Pikes Peak while you were here?
No, we didn’t go to the top of Pike’s Peak. We’d already been there 3 times in years past, so we didn’t do that again.
By the way, the bed of the bridge is still wood planks . . . very THICK wood planks bolted down.
Now that is something I might have tried if I didn’t think it would put pressure on my spine. Not sure the rods would appreciate it.
btw Alice is going to wonder why I spoke of TX dust causing her sore throat. Perhaps it is due to me forgetting which sister I was reading. LOL
:wave:…fantastic post, Chris! :goodjob: WoW, going over that bridge is a test, let alone the Sky Coaster. However, it does look like fun – how close can we come to actually flying? What a tremendous experience it must have been for Angie. Was she rotated in a circle?
MuSe
…happy that by week’s end that everyone considered the trip a success. :yes: Great pics.
Wow I did not get around until today to see this !!I feel like Alice I would have been scared spitless. Your pictures are sensational !! I need to read the other two blogs I missed. The past few days I have been overwhelmed with things I haved to do you and Alice both have summer colds Take care Love mom :eek:
Wow! Beautiful pictures! There’s no way that I’d do that SkyCoaster!