Castle Rock with Royal Gorge Railroad

For an outing on Sunday August 16th when visiting Dan we took two cars and traveled southward about 90 miles to ride the Royal Gorge Railroad in Canyon City, beyond Colorado Springs. Carrie drove one car with Lillian, William, and Irene. Dan drove his truck with Frank, Vivian, and me. Vivian had her choice to ride with the old folks or with her siblings. She chose to come with her dad's vehicle and grandparents because "it would be quieter so she could read". The time in the car was about 1½ hours. 

Once at our destination, Frank and Dan checked in early at the train station to pick up our tickets. They made arrangements that when we returned closer to departure time, we would have assistive transportation down to the train boarding site. I waited near a black caboose at the far end of the parking lot while they completed the transactions. The caboose was a cafe/restaurant with the cute title Happy Endings and the subliminal tongue-in-cheek subtitle of "come again".

Carrie and three of the kids went on to secure our seating at a different nearby restaurant. All eight of us had enough time to lunch at a Whitewater Rooftop Social. This eating place was close. To return for the train ride we just had to cross the tracks and head down a bit, passing that black Happy Endings Caboose on a corner along the way. 

Per the restaurant's website and brochure, Whitewater Rooftop Social was "Built from the Ground Up":

We wanted a place that feels like Canon City: easygoing, outdoors-forward, and a little elevated. So we built a modern rooftop where you can toast the view, eat a great sandwich, and celebrate wins big and small. In January 2021, a semi-truck accident destroyed the Royal Gorge Rafting and Zipline Tours office at Fourth Street and U.S. 50. The driver of the semi-truck was cited for careless driving after police determined they were not paying attention to the road. Though the building sustained catastrophic damage, all employees working inside miraculously escaped entirely unscathed, with the truck stopping just a few feet away from a worker. Rather than repair the damage, we saw an opportunity to create something new. Construction on our brand new 4,000 square-foot building began in September 2022, and Whitewater Rooftop Social opened its doors in 2024.

Dan had arranged for us to have limousine service from the ticket station to our specific car to board the train. I was impressed with the length of the train. That would have been a long haul on foot over pebbly turf for Frank with his rollator and me. The "limo" was an extra length golf cart, so happily all eight of us could ride—a neat, extra treat for the kiddos. The limo passed the long length of train cars en route.

Reaching the open air car, next to the car for our seating, we could look back along the length of cars and see how far we'd come.

Our tickets on the train were rated Deluxe Class and the wood paneled cars were indeed luxurious. The wood on the walls and ceiling was highly polished and spoke of great craftsmanship. Our car's position among the train cars was great. Since our assigned seats were in a car that was adjacent to the open air car, we could go back and forth quite easily. We had chairs at two tables, so there was a place to put our food, drinks, and to browse our information brochures. The kids had a resting place for books they were reading or for the card games they were playing.

Route Details

• Starting Point: Departs from and returns to the historic Cañon City Santa Fe Depot at 401 Water Street in Cañon City, CO. (lower right corner of image)
• Path: Travels west alongside the rushing Arkansas River directly through the narrow gorge, with granite cliffs towering over 1,000 feet above the tracks. 
• Key Landmarks: Crosses the famous Hanging Bridge (built in 1879) suspended over the river and passes through local tunnels and historic railroad sites. 
• Mid Point : Reverses direction at Parkdale, an unincorporated community resting at an elevation of 5,732 feet (upper left image of image)
• Duration: The 24 mile round-trip excursion takes approximately 2 hours. 

Looking out the windows we noticed the water running very close to the tracks. We even saw some rafters flow by along the Arkansas River. I wondered why it is the Arkansa River in Colorado. My geography ignorance was showing. I have since learned that the Arkansas River is a major 1,469-mile-long tributary of the Mississippi River that flows east and southeast through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. It is the sixth-longest river in the United States.

On a long train going around a bend it is fun to take pictures of the later cars on the train. Dan actually walked the entire length of the train with some of the kids. There was a dome car, but being outdoors gives the best gorge experience.

At the very bottom of the gorge, slightly above the water surface, is wedged the Hanging Bridge at a point where the gorge narrows to 30 feet.This unique railroad bridge was built in 1879 where the canyon was too narrow for standard tracks. An engineer suspended an iron bridge directly from the smooth rock walls above the water. It carries the tracks for the Royal Gorge Route Railroad. The next two images show this span between the very close vertical walls of the gorge. The tracks run orthogonal to the span, not parallel along it, as is typical.

When you look up, directly over the Hanging Bridge, located high above the canyon stretching across, is the Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge about 956 feet above the Arkansas River. The famous pedestrian and tourist suspension bridge was built in 1929, featuring a wooden plank deck. It was once the highest bridge in the world. My guess is that all those black trusses with lighting on them are for twilight rides on the train. Those night-time journeys must also be very impressive.

The sights outside the train were awesome but being indoors in that pleasant atmosphere was also enjoyable. Vivian got pretty engaged in her book but not without taking periodic breaks to gaze out at the scenery passing by the windows. Lillian and William, interspersed with roaming among, in between, and outside the cars, would play rousing rounds of the card game of Thirty-One.

A favorite among all, not just the kids, were the desserts made as part of exquisitely prepared cuisine. Chocolate cake was the dominant choice. Gooey as it was, Frank ate his Cinnamon Roll outdoors in the open air car, so reluctant was he to miss any of the striking landscape.

At the completion of our round trip, we made quick stop in the gift shop to both look around and use the facilities before the drive home. I could not resist taking a few photos of the tiles in the bathroom. They read from left to right:

• Eight-Wheeled American Locomotive
• Double-Truck Narrow Gauge Tank Locomotive
• Double-End Tank Locomotive

All I bought was a tote bag and an embroidered patch as mementoes. 

Once home we just enjoyed domestic activities. I had ordered a train for the kids that chugs along and places dominoes in a row, setting up a line for chain reactions in a domino cascades. They had a blast. Even Irene got into loading it.

The kids chilled and had some recharge time (pun intended) on their electronic devices. Lillian and William played some co-op games together on their iPads. 

 

I asked for a bit of musical concerts and they obliged. I knew the performances had to be brief. It had been a full day and the next day was a school day. Vivian played the clarinet for us. She was picked for a solo at one of her elementary schools concerts. She is in middle school now.

Lillian played the violin and the guitar to our delight. She was the opening number at one of her teacher's student concerts, playing the national anthem on her guitar.

I asked Lillian (10) and William (8) to show me their rooms. I had seen Irene's (5) and Vivian's (12) in the earlier part of the visit but have no pictures. Lillian is horse crazy and it showed in her decor and dresser display. The mirror reflecting her smiling face once belong to my daughter Robin (Dan's sister, Lillian's aunt) in her young girl horse-focused childhood. Lillian was thrilled to have it mailed out to her from Oklahoma. It is heart-warming to see how such an inanimate object can still delight a little girl decades later.

There is a music corner in Lillian's room where she practices. It sure appears that brother William is an eager audience. We were given a demo before moving on to William's room.

William is Minecraft crazy. Notice the wall decor and the shirt he is wearing.  Once prompted he was willing to show off his trophies. I have very few pictures of William to show in this blog. He is always moving and either I am not quick enough with the camera, or else the photo is blurred. He does not play an instrument yet but he got a drum set with earphones for Christmas. In the third photo I am playing and dancing to the beat which is inaudible to the rest of the room. I guess you could say I am literally dancing to the beat of a different drummer.

 

Lillian and William were already PJ'd up for bed when we took our traditional goodbye photo commemorating the visit. Frank and I were flying back to California on Monday. We made sure we got up early enough distribute hugs and say goodbye to the kids before they left for school.

Monday morning, I misread, or rather misremembered, our flight's departure time. To my horror, we had one hour less for the trip to the airport than I had originally had budgeted. To compound the problem, our new-to -the-area Uber driver wanted to drop us at the wrong terminal. I insisted he follow the signs and not his "map". After a second airport go-around, we did get dropped at the Southwest terminal. The Uber driver got no tip from us and I avoided reviewing him rather than giving him a bad score. Frank and I flung our luggage at the curbside skycap, along with a generous tip. The manager of the wheel chair service himself, briskly whisked both Frank and me to our gate just as the pre-boarding was beginning. We made our flight by the skin of our teeth. 

This was a fantastic visit. Our two excursions to the Harry Potter  Exhibit and the Royal Gorge Railroad were both well suited to a mixed age crowd and created many many awesome memories for us. The downtime at home with the grandkids was great too, helping Frank and me, even at a California to Colorado distance, learn a bit more about their personalities, talents, and likes.

I think this photo captures one of the many high peaks and happy memories for me. Frank is in his glory, enjoying the weather, the breeze, the gentle sun, the towering canyon walls, the babbling water, and the motions and sounds of a ride on the rails, while indulging in his most favorite infatuation... trains. Note the shirt he is wearing.

Castle Rock Visit

Wednesday, November 12th
Frank and I took an afternoon flight out of Oakland to Denver arriving a little after 4:00 pm. Timing was great; Dan was returning from a business trip and was able to meet up with us at our gate within security. So glad he did. That airport is humongous and we were three terminals and one train ride from the luggage carousels and his parking area. We changed levels about four times ... up and down twice if I remember correctly.

We stopped at a grocery store on the way to his house to get any specialty  items or foods that we habitually would have for breakfast.  The store was a King Sooper's Marketplace in Castle Rock and it was huge —120,000 square feet. Frank and I got separated and he called my cell to tell me he was at #13. The store is so huge it has even numbered aisles in the the front half and odd numbered aisles in the rear half, kind of like what some theaters do with their seating. The way the aisles were staggered, I could not find my way from the front to the back to aisle thirteen. I asked another customer but he shrugged his shoulders and looked as me weirdly. Our home in California is about 3000 square feet so being unable to locate Frank is the equivalent space of looking throughout 40 of our houses. When I called Frank's cell phone again, (since yelling Marco Polo did not work) we clarified that he was at a checkout aisle, not a grocery aisle.

Thursday, November 13th
We rested up after travel and chilled at home most of the day. I gave four-year-old Irene a little gift I'd bought for her, a blue hair braid wrapped with a strand of pearls. She looked at it and gasped "an Elsa braid".  Irene wore it to school the next day and since our visit I have been pleased to see it in her hair in photos from other occasions. I'm glad it was a hit.  In the afternoon I joined Dan on some small mini-trips to get to know more about the family's daily routines. I rode along to pick up the kids from school. On a repeat trip to pick up eleven-year-old Vivian who stayed late for a Student Council meeting, we saw a "super cool" car in the parking lot and seven-year-old William insisted he take some photos of it. He was fascinated with the purple color, the big shiny paint job, and the upswinging doors. Will was the cell phone photographer in the following photos. In the early evening I tagged along again and  watched Will at his karate lesson.

Friday, November 14th
Dan and Carrie both work from home, so during the day, Frank and I were on our own. Teleworking requires such discipline. I think I would be too distracted to give my job full attention while at home but they both seem to do it. So does my daughter Robin. Sigh. It is a new age, I guess. Frank and I just relaxed, watched a bit of TV, worked on a jigsaw puzzle, and enjoyed Dan and Carrie's new home. 

In the evening I rode with Dan out to nine-year-old Lillian's horseback riding lesson. It was cold, and dark, and remote enough to not have cell phone service but I enjoyed watching her rejoice in her element. Dan and I bundled up and watched, seated on chilly, hard benches nearby as the sun went down.  We got to see Vivian only briefly since she was off and running to a Girl Scouts' overnight function for Friday evening and Saturday, returning Sunday.

After dinner once we got back home, Dan, Frank, Lil, Will, and I played a card game called 31. It is pretty simple and quite fun; it requires some critical thinking but all age levels can participate. Dan got out his large set of poker chips, a high school/college Christmas gift to him that I was surprised to see was in splendid shape and still getting a great workout. The chips are used, not for betting but keeping score. The goal of the game is not "to win" but rather "to not lose". Every hand you lose you sacrifice a chip. Whoever is left standing and still has chips is the winner. Will, our youngest player did very, very, well and was the last person to get eliminated. He was frustrated to get sooo close and not be the overall winner.

When it was close to bedtime, I gave Dan and William gifts I had made for them ... soft, minky-backed throws of large construction vehicle images. My DL2Q blog post of their creation is named Cuddly Construction Vehicles and was posted 11/21/25 in my DianeLoves2Quilt blog. Father and son cuddled on the couch together. Then Will wrapped himself in the light colored dump truck throw as he climbed the stairs to bed. I later learned he also commandeered his father's dark colored construction excavator throw, as well.

Saturday, November 15th
Lillian had a guitar lesson in downtown Castle Rock. Frank and I used the opportunity to look around in an antique/boutique store called The Barn. Our timing was inopportune. The place was mobbed. Apparently publicity on the radio and elsewhere has been plentiful and an entire army of Christmas shoppers were crammed in every nook and cranny. We walked the length of the store and when we reached a crowded small room at the back, Frank spied another man. He spoke to him, "Yo, hey. Glad to see they do let men in here." The man good-naturedly grumbled back, "I did not come willingly." This YouTube video gives a pretty good overview of The Barn. Here are two pictures of the front and part of the back yard area.

 

I did not make a lot of purchases. I bought a carved plaque for Dan and Carrie, to be used as a cheese board or cutting stone, stating the average elevation of Castle Rock as 6,224 feet. The range of elevation runs from 6,000 ft to 6,845 ft. Note that Castle Rock is higher yet than the 5,280 elevation of Denver, the mile-high city. Since we were there on such a special shopping day, I got a complimentary sturdy, pocketed, zippered tote bag bearing the barn logo. I also bought a Christmas puzzle to bring back to California with us. We have done it already. It was cheerful and at 500 pieces relatively easy to assemble.

 

We spent only about an hour at The Barn and then walked a few blocks to Castle Rock Music to meet up with Dan and Lillian where Lil had her guitar lesson. The music store had a great display of guitars and even a couple fancy accordions. Frank took accordion lessons when he was a kid. Outside, just around the corner from the music store, I took Frank's picture with flat-topped Castle Rock in the background. Castle Rock has a quaint, yet vibrant, downtown. Many towns can report no more welcoming environment than a strip mall or harried business district. A town with a walkable downtown area is truly an enjoyable, but sometime fading, anomaly of the times. I am pleased Dan and Carrie chose to relocate their family here.

That evening we tried out the "cocktail" pool in their back yard. Per Google

A cocktail pool (or "spool") is a small, compact water feature, bigger than a hot tub but smaller than a standard pool, designed for relaxing, socializing, and cooling off in tight spaces like urban yards. It blends spa and pool features, often including jets, seating, and heating, allowing year-round enjoyment for unwinding or light exercise, rather than serious swimming.

Frank and I spent about an hour enjoying the warm pool. The first half hour or so was with Dan and his kids and their friends. We dodged swinging pool noodle battles, even though we stayed at what had been decreed to be the "calm end". The water spray surges died away once the kids got out. Frank and I stayed in longer afterward for a bit of relaxing and to fully soak in the ambience of outdoors under the stars of a Colorado mountain evening.

Sunday, November 16th
Dan had recently bought himself a Chevrolet Corvette1969 Stingray, an adolescent dream come true. He has always liked the body shape. The one he bought is not a pristine fully restored model. It is a T-top by choice, and not a convertible. As Dan puts it, "It looks good from afar, but it is far from good". He is looking into getting it repainted, but for now he is just loving the ride and relishing the thumbs up and smiling looks he gets from those he drives by. He took both me and Frank for drives in his neighborhood.

Note the C3 vanity license plate. Per Wikipedia

The Chevrolet Corvette (C3) is the third generation of the Corvette sports car that was produced from 1967 until 1982 by Chevrolet for the 1968 to 1982 model years. The C3 was the second Corvette to carry the Stingray name, though only for the 1969–1976 model years.

After our rides I took these photos of the seasonally decorated yard and front stoop.

We enjoyed some lounging time in the backyard. We had beautiful weather for our visit. I've added a photo from the far corner of their yard looking up toward the rear porch of their house.

We even got to meet the HUGE neighbor dog Po. He was named Po after the Panda in Kung Foo Panda. PO is a Bernese Mountain Dog, a very large breed.

Sunday afternoon, Dan, Carrie, and the kids (yes, all four) had scheduled appointments for fittings for their skis and snowboard rentals for the season. Frank and I did not go along. We did work on a 1000 piece cats jigsaw puzzle by Charles Wysocki, cleverly titled All Burned Out. Not only was 1000 piece size an ambitious number, but working the mostly brown puzzle on a rough hewn brown wood table top added to the challenge. When we left Tuesday morning, there was still maybe ~20% left to assemble. By the following Saturday, Dan and the kids had finished it. I included that proof of assembly photo Dan sent.

On Sunday night we all went out to dinner at the ViewHouse in Littleton, CO, a place not far from where they were  fitted for skis and snowboards. We ate at night inside and not on the roof top, so the view portion of the name was pretty lost on us. But areas of the town were nicely decoratively lighted in delicate white lights. On our next visit to Colorado, I would like to check out this vintage, nostalgic town about 26 miles north-north-west of Castle Rock.

Monday, November 17th

Frank and I gathered our things and packed to be ready to leave on Tuesday. Lillian was feeling a bit under the weather and so stayed home from school. We kept her company watching TV. It was a show I had never seen before called Is It Cake? I was amazed at what some of those talented chefs could concoct that looked identical with its non-edible imitation. We saw a basket of nacho chips, a running shoe, a salt lamp, and a baseball glove complete with baseball. Plus, it was cozy just sitting next to Lillian in a quiet mode. She was well enough to go back to school on Tuesday. Per Wikipedia

Is It Cake? is an American game show–style cooking competition television series created by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, and hosted by Mikey Day. The series premiered on Netflix on March 18, 2022. Contestants create cakes that replicate common objects in an effort to trick celebrity judges. Winners of each episode receive $5,000 and a chance to win more money by identifying which display of cash is real and which is cake.

Dan cooked dinner on Monday night using his outdoor smoker for the beef and his barbecue for the grilled asparagus. All was delicious. He accomplished this culinary feat while taking William to a Boy Scouts meeting. Dan inserted a tiny digital thermometer into the meat and placed a sensor near the outside of the smoker. From his cell phone, while he was at the meeting he could monitor the cooking process and see how the temperature of the meat was rising and how quickly it was approaching his goal. I helped a little bit. I put the meat on a short time after he had left for the meeting. Dan and I communicated by text; I once needed to adjust the position of the sensor closer to the smoker so he could get the readout and track it on his cell. The meat was done to perfection! We ate shortly after Dan and Will returned from Boy Scouts.

Tuesday, November 18th

Our return flight from Denver to Oakland left at 1:00 pm. We were able to say bye to the kids before they left for school. This is probably the most time we had all at once with Vivian during our visit. I mused to myself that her long feminine nails were clear indicating signs of female pre-teenhood. She is holding a felt fried egg that she stitched and stuffed for me years ago that reads Best Grandma. She was pleased when I told her I carry it tucked in my purse all the time. Over her shoulder she had slung a tote bag I'd made for her 11th birthday this April. The print has a preteen vibe and I was happy when she told me she uses it every day since I made it for her. (See DL2Q post for 4/6/25.)

For posterity, Carrie took photos of Frank and me with Dan and the kids before they went off to school. After dropping them off Dan returned to take us to the airport. We offered to take an Uber but Dan wanted to see us off personally and did so before he started his work day. I think his first meeting telecon came in over his phone right as he dropped us at the curb at the terminal. 

 Busy, busy life... Always going... Always going...
And the kids... Always growing...Always growing...

Our direct non-stop flight was rare in today's travel world and we got home with no issues ... no delayed flights, no missed connections, and no lost luggage. Good trip and good visit!