Towards the end of July, Dan & I went to a Mini Cooper meetup in Salida, Colorado. I have previously blogged about a couple of our adventures: Mini Coopers at Bishop Castle, and Mini Coopers over the hogback. There was a 3rd outing. We all went to Royal Gorge.
This jaunt required that we awaken at the crack of dark so that we could meet up with the other Minis, and hit the road at 6AM. Why so early? The park rangers at Royal Gorge opened early, and allowed us to drive across the bridge!
Honestly, I found the drive across the bridge (and back) a bit unnerving. The bridge itself seemed very secure, but the wooden planks were creaky. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Logically, I knew we were fine, but the lizard part of my brain disagreed. I was glad when we were safely back at the parking lot.
By this time, the park was ready to open for business. We walked down towards the viewing area.
We found this pretty clock / calendar surrounded by pretty beds of flowers.
We had a beautiful view of the bridge from here:
We also had a good view of the sky cars that take tourists out over the gorge. That thought caused my neck hair to stand on end again.
Another look at the bridge:
Here is the view down into the gorge. That is the Arkansas River at the bottom.
It is very impressive!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our constant companion through much of the drive to Royal Gorge – the Arkansas River. It’s beautiful.
I love Mimi Coopers. So adorable. What a long way down. Wow.
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The Minis are a lot of fun!
Wow! I would have found that unnerving too, but what fun! The Arkansas River and the gorge are beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing the photos with us.
-Soma
It was a lot of fun!
Dang, that’s a looooooooooooooooong way down!! I think my lizard brain would be having a fit too, but the photos (and probably the experience) look awesome!!
It really was something to see! Very awesome!
Fun post
Thanks!
Michelle – how wonderful that the ranger opened it early so that you could all go across at one time! What a sight! I get you with the creaky planks – we hike across many a wooden bridge, and I always wonder when one of the planks is going to give way so that I find myself hanging from my armpits. I am OK with heights as long as I don’t look down, so I suppose there would not be much point for me to go into one of those gondolas! Thanks for sharing your latest Mini adventure with everyone at Mosaic Monday!
It really was cool that they opened the bridge early. And the canyon is pretty impressive, but I much preferred to look at from a more solid vantage point. Thanks for stopping by, Angie!
Makes me want a Mini Cooper just to join the club!
Awesome! I never knew there were clubs based on the vehicle you own. It is a lot of fun!
You have some really good photos!! Have a grand week!
Thanks so much Cathy!
I will bet the Mini Cooper owners had a great time on this trip.
It was a lot of fun being in the group. I’d never experienced anything like it before. Thanks for stopping by!
All I see are BMW MINI’s does’nt any one have classic Mini there, nice to see a MINI rally even if they are BMW’s
I don’t know Bill. There were so many, and I’m not good at telling the classic Minis from the BMW Minis. I’ll tell you though, I love my BMW Mini.
(Just asked my husband, and he said there were a couple of classics. Sadly, people tend to leave the classics at home as they are not as reliable as the BMW Minis.)
What fun! I was there a couple of years ago-we just walked across. I live near the Arkansas River in Oklahoma so I enjoy seeing it from this view.
Oh very cool! I have so many pics of the Arkansas River from this trip. It’s just beautiful!
How amazing! When my boys were little we went to the Royal Gorge and I have photos of them all standing on part of it. I should scan those pics! The river is gorgeous and what a fun way to travel!
It really is something to see, isn’t it? Thanks for stopping by!
That calender/Clock is interesting – nice flowers too
While the bridge and the gorge are really dramatic, I enjoyed the clock and flowers just as much.
What fun and what amazing scenery!
The scenery is really incredible! Thanks for stopping by.
That river is a loooong way down! It would be fun to visit this place, in a MIni Cooper or otherwise!
The vistas are amazing at Royal Gorge. It is a fun place to visit!
Great photos – this looks like a gorgeous place to pull out a camera!
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Thank you so much!
That was a very long way down to the river. I can quite understand why you would feel nervous. Great scenery.
I keep wondering what our pioneer ancestors thought about the gorge! Thanks for stopping by.
Fun activity for your group! We w ere fascinated by the Royal Gorge when we went there — after being Colorado about a million times — it’s kind of a hidden treasure — and it’s great enough it should be at least a state park if not a national monument!
It really is off the beaten path a bit. But I agree, well worth the effort!
It looks like you had a wonderful time! It would be awesome to see that long line of minis coming down the road 🙂
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My Corner of the World
It was quite a sight!
Very nice!
Thank you!
Umm, that is a long way down! Thanks for linking up with us at the #GatheringofFriendsLinkParty 7 pinned!