Folks, it appears I forgot to post day three. Here goes.
Well, let's see, Fred never called, Brad and Susan are doing their own
thing, Bud went to work and the wife is off shopping with her friend so it
looks like I'm on my own today. What to do? Well, since Linda is afraid
of heights and Fred is afraid of heights and neither one is with me, sounds
like a good day to visit Royal Gorge.
So I soldiered south on Interstate 25 to Colorado Springs, took 115 south
to Highway 50 to Caqon City and just a few miles further I found the gorge.
Worth the trip. The scenery is breath taking. The gorge is rugedly
scuplted from solid granite by the Arkansas River over millions of years
and some of the contours are near verticle. a thousand foot drop from the
canyon edge to the river below and the canyon is barely wider than that at
the top. The river looks to be about 20 feet across at the bottom (and
that's viewed from the bottom of the gorge, from the top it apears to be
about an inch wide.
The bridge itself was built in 1929 at a cost of $350,000. It sould cost
$20,000,000 to replace it today. The bridge has a total lenght of 1260
feet (384 meters) and at 1,053 ft (321 meters) above the Arkansas River it
is the highest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge is supported by
2,100 strands of #9 galvinized steel wire which itself weighs 300 tons,
The bridge can support in excess of 2,000 000 lbs of load. There is an
inclined railway that will take visitors down to the river bank 1,000 feet
below that was built in 1931 by the same folks who built the bridge.
The bridge was built as part of US Highway 50 (now bypassed by more modern
construction) and as such the roads leading to and from it are dandy little
two lanes that wind their way up and down the mountains on either side.
And since it is still a functioning bridge you can drive across it! All
for the price of admission - which is rather steep for a toll bridge but as
a place to spend an hour or two being awstruck by the natural beauty of the
gorge and the engineering marvel of the bridge it is a nice destination.
After leaving the gorge it was time to return to Denver but after fighting
the interstate traffic I felt an alternative route was in order. Highway 9
runs north form the area and goes through Breckinridge so off I went.
Highway 9 is a fun road. It is lightly traveled (at least the souther
portion) and quick. But it climbs. And climbs And climbs. From 5800 ft
at the Arkansas River it quickly climbs to 7000 feet, then 8000 feet then
9000 ft. How does the TR8 handle the altitude. How does it run with air
that is 2/3 as dense as at sea level? How effective is the cooling system
with air passing through the radiator that is only 2/3 as dense as at sea
level? How does it run cutting a path through the air that is only 2/3 as
dense as at sea level? Quite fine, thank you very much. Although power is
definately off there is plenty for the task. Maintaining 70 MPH on a 2%
grade at this altitude was not a problem. Pass the Toyota truck. Pass the
Altima. Pass the Bonneville, the Chevy truck and the Isuzu Trooper. No
problem. And the wind turbulence at 70 MPH is markedly reduced at 9,000
feet. Coolant temp is more tied to ambient temperature than anything else
and ambient temperature was mercifully cool up in the mountains (that's
what I came here for, after all).
That was a fun drive. At least until I hit Hoozier Pass. Too much
traffic. I couldn't drive fast enough to keep the rain off. Anyway, it
started raining in ernest. Eric Conrad said that it would cloud up,
sprinkle for a while and then clear off again. Well, it rained pretty good
and for at least an hour. It wasn't until I got to Denver that it stopped.
So I had to stop near the summit of Hoozier Pass, 11,500 ft and wrastle
with the top. In the rain. But the TR8 didn't mind. It rolled down that
mountain just like it rolled up - no muss, no fuss.
Now, what to do tomorrow?
Still Meandering in Denver.
Dave Massey
80 TR8
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