Once on the road, our first official stop (this doesn’t include a potty stop for Miss Kaitlyn) was the Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere at Groom, Texas.
This now includes the stations of the cross which tell the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
It includes some wonderful scenes to include the last supper, the tomb where he lay for three days and a replica of the Shroud of Turin.
There is also a very nice gift shop and bathrooms that are both clean and cute!! A huge plus on a 10 hour car trip.
While driving through Colorado we discovered some patches of rain, which made for excellent photo ops!
The soft rolling hills of Texas and New Mexico gave way to rocky crags of the mountains. As we got deeper into the mountains of Colorado Kaitlyn found herself bouncing across the backseat like a ping pong ball as the car hugged the curves at the base of the mountains.
The patchy clouds allowed excellent opportunities for the sun to shoot some beams of light onto the mountainside. Since I was driving I must say that the photos were shot by my niece. THANK YOU KAITLYN!!
There is something about the majesty of the mountains, the blue of the sky, and the green pastures that just thrilled and amazed three simple Oklahoma girls. As a matter of fact, this was the farthest west my sister and my niece had ever driven.
The picturesque town of Salida, Colorado sits along the banks of the Arkansas River. We took this opportunity and the recommendation of our B&B owner to dine at a restaurant overlooking the river! The owners, Steve and Tammy are wonderful, warm people and their B&B is located in Salida’s historic Thomas House built in 1848. There was one suite left which fit us perfectly with a daybed for Kaitlyn and a queen bed for my sis and I.
After dinner we made our way across the street to Riverside Park. We strolled along the banks of the Arkansas and enjoyed the cooler climate since it’s been triple digits in Oklahoma. The above photo was shot under the bridge which crosses the Arkansas. Kaitlyn was sad that she had no chalk with which to write on the underside of the bridge.
According to Kaitlyn, 70 degrees is cold when you have been living in triple digits. As one can tell by the look on her face 70 degrees is downright frigid.
Despite the freezing temperatures Kaitlyn enjoyed some time on the swings!
Although the sign says NO PETS, they made an exception and allowed Kaitlyn and I to stay and play at the park.
Saturday, we drove an hour east to visit Royal Gorge Bridge. It’s a suspension bridge, located 1,078 feet above the Arkansas River. As you can see it affords some FANTASTIC scenery!
We rode the Aerial Tram from one side of the gorge to another. The journey takes over 2 minutes at 11 mph. The car holds up to 35 people and has a counterweight of 58,000 lbs.
This shot gives a better perspective of the Aerial Tram’s journey across the gorge. If you look very, very closely you can see a red spot to the right of center. That is the tram making it’s way across the cables.
We also rode the incline railway to the bottom of the gorge and down to the Arkansas River. It is an amazing experience to gently slide along this steeply inclined track more than 1,000 feet down!
We also learned a very valuable lesson during our trip on the incline railway. My niece is claustrophobic and had a mini meltdown when they locked us in a cab that’s only two persons deep.
But as you can see the daunting journey in a tightly enclosed cage did not dampen her spirits. She enjoyed being down by the river and looking up at the tiny bridge 1,000 feet above her.
I love this shot of the bridge, shot from the cables’ perspective. It’s an amazing structure and standing on the bridge one can feel the slight sway of the bridge.
Standing in the middle of the bridge if one looks to their left they can see they profile of John F. Kennedy Jr. lying on the mountains and looking up to the sky.
Some of the retaining walls in the park are made of Colorado quartz. It certainly gives them great character and color!
We had a great trip to the Royal Gorge Bridge where we walked a little, laughed a lot and enjoyed the majestic beauty of the Colorado Rockies.
I am typing this post as my sister drives a portion of the way back to Oklahoma. Kaitlyn needed to obtain the charger for her cell phone during our journey home. Instead of stopping the car to get her charger out of the trunk, we decided to go through the back seat to the trunk.
As you can see, it was an interesting feat to climb into the trunk at 70 mph. Luckily, my cheerleader niece is very slim and very athletic; this allowed her to crawl right into that trunk like a champ!
All in all it was an amazing short trip which allowed us to enjoy spending time together, laugh the way only family can at each other and to enjoy the beauty of the USA through each others eyes. Thank you Tammy and Kaitlyn for making this such a memorable journey.
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