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.

Jelly Belly

On Sunday March 15th,  Frank and I took Alex to a visit of the Jelly Belly® factory in Fairfield, CA. The ride is about 43 minutes north of Alex's home. It being a weekend, there would be no formal factory tours, but we were OK with that, allowing us to go at our own pace and stop at whatever struck our fancy.  Upon arrival we first noticed the brightly decorated Jelly Belly® company car.

Upon entering the building we gazed up at Jelly Belly® jelly bean replicas suspended from the high ceiling. We bought our entry tickets and followed the signs for a self-guided tour.

We all had to don official Jelly Belly® paper hats for health reasons since it is a food production plant. Along the well defined path of the tour were stations with videos to watch about the packing operations and jelly bean production itself. Some of the packing and sorting machines were extremely complicated and consequently repeatedly accurate. The huge rotating drums for mixing the jelly bean ingredients reminded me of the kind on cement mixers. The mixing drums were not as complex as the packing equipment. At this stage the cooking process relied more on the skill of the operators knowing precisely when to add sugar, or flavoring, or other appropriate ingredients. It was enlightening to learn of the care taken to create a gooey center and exactly how and when to add the outer hard coating and buff it to a special sheen. 

One lane of the tour had stations to sniff and discern the flavor of a jelly bean by its scent. I sampled a few of those and was impressed. But sniffing a few a few were enough. It was quite warm along that corridor and the smells were starting to nauseate me. I was very grateful we were not touring when the plant was in production. Other aspects of the tour were historical in the roles Jelly Bellys played in the various halls of government. Jelly Belly® jelly beans were a fixture in the White House and a common snack in many cabinet meetings. When debates got tense, a jar of Jelly Belly® jelly beans was passed along during a short break to lighten the mood. They got their start when Ronald Reagan, as California Governor, ate them to break a pipe smoking habit. 

There were many other anecdotal signs along the route. I found them interesting but they did not hold much allure for Alex. Bits of trivia by year touched such topics as the introduction of mint wafers during sugar rationing (1940), the first shipment across the sea to Europe (1982), being the first jelly bean in space (1983), and the introduction of Harry Potter inspired weird flavors (2000).

There were also many, many, many, murals and samples of artwork with Jelly Belly Beams as pixels in a mosaic from presidential, to animated cartoon characters or from famous Hollywood personalities (e.g., Marylin Monroe) to well-known paintings (e.g. Starry Night).

The end of the tour had murals paying tribute to those beans that did not make the exacting standards. These are sold with the delightful name "Belly Flops". After the tour we went for a bite to eat in the snack bar. In keeping with the theme, I had a pizza that was shaped as a jelly bean. I enjoyed it; it was very tasty. I did learn this tidbit however. Jelly Belly® does not currently sell a pizza flavor, but their infamous "Vomit" flavored bean (featured in Harry Potter Bertie Bott's and BeanBoozled lines) was created from a failed attempt at a cheese-pizza flavor. Taste testers found the pizza attempt so unpalatable that the recipe was rebranded as a bad flavor instead. Both these goofs are prime examples of "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade".

After eating, we browsed the store. I bought a sample of the Jelly Belly BeanBoozled Fiery Five collection which features five progressively hotter, pepper-inspired flavors made with real purée: Sriracha, Jalapeño, Cayenne, Habanero, and Carolina Reaper. Ranging from mild to scorching (up to 2 million Scoville units for the Reaper), these are designed as a tasting challenge rather than typical sweet candy.

We then went outdoors for the train ride to the museum. The museum is just a few yards across the parking lot from the factory/store, but why not enjoy a free train ride as well? The red brick building is visible in the background of the second photo. The third photo is from the museum perspective looking back on the factory/store. Yes, the two are an embarrassingly close walking distance away, but we climbed aboard anyway for the fun of it.

Since it was close to Easter on April 5th, there were several springtime displays. I thought the first one with flower sprays and bunnies was artsy and pretty.

I wanted Alex to pose in one of the chairs, flanked by rabbits. Based on his facial expression, he was definitely reluctant at first. He did cheer up shortly, though.

The museum had other artwork to admire. This decoupaged bunny caught my eye. I also liked the jelly bean 3-D renditions of animals of the Chinese zodiac, the rooster and the pig. Notice the detail in the feather colors of the rooster. The pig even has splotches of mud plastered to his side and snout.

Most of the museum was a collection of antiquated or outmoded equipment that had been used in making Jelly Belly Beans in the past. We did a cursory walk by. It was toward the end of the outing and we were tiring. Alex and I took one last train ride back to the front of the factory where our car was parked. Alex seemed thoughtful. We headed home. We were glad we had explored something different for this Sunday's outing.