Three Days, Three Activities
Today we started our day by visiting the Garden of the Gods in Manitou Springs/Colorado Springs before leaving town for the last time. We took the same route from the Trading Post that we visited the day before and caught a late sunrise over the rocks. I’ve talked a lot about the views we’ve seen during this trip so far, and it really feels like each new view overtakes the previous in terms of beauty. We spotted a lot of wildlive in the Garden, including a big horn sheep that stared me down at eye level.
A family of deer that decided to block the road.
The big horn that stared me down.
Once done at Garden of the Gods, it was time to hit the road and make our way to Cañon City to ride the Royal Gorge Route. A small heritage road using retired Denver & Rio Grande equipment to run an overpriced dinner train a few miles up and down the Royal Gorge. The price may leave something to be desired, especially when we prepaid for our meal only for the meal to be valued at $30 less than we prepaid. However, it was still an absolutely stunning ride. For the trip back, I even set up my action camera to capture the entire joruney from the dome car perspective. I’ll have to stitch it together and throw it up on YouTube after the honeymoon.
Look at us, so excited and cute.
The Gorge was a fun ride. What was not expected to be as fun was the next three hours to Alamosa for the night. We had a planned stop at Bishop Castle, though, that turned the ride into an absolute blast! We ended up traveling on various scenic byways and smaller county/state highways to get to Bishop Castle. It was like a rollercoaster that simultaneously excited and scared the two of us. The scenery was breathtaking as we travelled south through the San Isabel National Forest. The falls leaves hanging from the trees and the curvy road made for pure beauty as we drove.
The journey brough us to the front door of Bishop Castle. It was constructed by a local man who just wanted to build a tourist trap, and shows its age. It’s under renovations right now, but the grates themseves could use resecuring. I never thought I’d see something so peculiar and interesting, but goodness was it worth it!
That concluded our stops for the day and we had to continue on our long journey. It was a long, tiring, but absolutely beautiful ride down I-25 and along Route 106. We’re safe in Alamosa now and can’t wait to experience the Cumbres and Toltec tomorrow!
-Tom