Yesterday morning, we left Westcliffe to head back to Bailey -- taking the scenic route.  First we stopped at the Royal Gorge.  It was amazing, but I was glad to see it from a distance, and I certainly wasn't going to cross over that bridge, take a helicopter ride through the Gorge, or any of those crazy things offered.  But it was a breathtaking view!

Next on the agenda was a two-hour drive through Phantom Canyon.  The first ten or fifteen minutes of this trip was awesome -- absolutely gorgeous.  From there...it went downhill (or should I say WAY uphill!!) for me.  I've always been afraid of heights, but until yesterday, I didn't realize how much.  I'm told this was an awesome view...although for much of it, I just kept my head down.  Our friend, Tim, was great about going super slow when he realized that I was having a big 'reaction' to this part of the trip.  Gravel roads with drop offs that went down hundreds of feet, I'm told.  Seemed liked thousands of feet to me.  Seriously, I sorta freaked out.  This is embarassing, but I actually started to cry at one point.  Tim said that on a scale of 1 to 10, that this road was probably a 3 or 4. I find that hard to believe, but...  We didn't take a mountain road trip that is supposedly a 10 -- something called Skyline Drive with a road that has drop offs on both sides and barely enough room for a car to get across.  That's CRAZY!  Why would anyone want to do that??  Although, my husband couldn't understand why we weren't taking that route.  In summary -- I am apparently NOT a thrill seeker, and I'm terrified of heights.  I mean, really bad.  The next hour and a half was rather long for me. 

Tomorrow, we are scheduled to take a drive up Mt. Evans, the highest paved road in America.  I'll probably look it up on the Internet first, then decide if they need to drop me at a roadside park on the way!  This is beautiful country here, and I'm told that you get used to these skinny little gravel roads that run along the mountains with drop offs (where are the railings??), but I don't think I would get used to it.  Really.

Anyway, despite my fears yesterday, I am having a wonderful time!  Here's some pics from yesterday.  Today we are back at Tim and Sherry's in Bailey, resting and relaxing. 

This is a cool furniture store in Westcliffe.  I liked Westcliffe a lot, and I bought some things at this Amish-owned store -- things I'll be giving away on this blog in the future.

Despite what I've read on the Internet and in newspaper articles, Westcliffe only has 8 Amish families.  They don't even have a Bishop for their district.  Worship service is led by one of the ministers, and the bishop from Monte Vista oversees things.  Another Amish family will be moving there in a couple of months, making it 9 families.

In Monte Vista, there are 32 Amish families which is comprised of two districts.  The same bishop who oversees things in Westcliffe also leads worship service for both these districts. 






This is the bridge that goes across the Royal Gorge.  I am thankful that we didn't have time to actually go into the park.  I'm quite sure Hubby and our friends would have wanted to walk across this bridge. 

Beautiful view though!



















Look at all the folks rafting the Gorge.  Now, this actually looks like a lot of fun to me.  I grew up whiteater canoeing.  My mom is 77-years-old, and she still actively canoes and kayaks.  I bet she'd love this!


















This is me and Patrick early on as we entered Phantom Canyon.  See how happy I look here?



















This sign was at the entrance to Phantom Canyon.  This probably should have triggered some sort of warning for me, but... 






























In the big scheme of things, crossing this bridge wasn't bad at all.

Patrick said he got some great pictures of the views from his side of the window. I was not interested in taking pictures during a large part of this trip.  We kept having to change sides in the car...depending on which side the steep dropoffs were on.  Patrick would get out and go around.  Not me.  I just eased across the backseat.














This was a neat tunnel we went through.  This route was used to take gold and supplies in and out of the Cripple Creek and Victor gold mining districts. 

There were no droppoffs at this particular area. 



























So, now I know...I'm super scared of heights and high mountain roads with no guardrails.  But we couldn't have asked for better tour guides for our trip.  And, like I said, Tim drove nice and slow once he realized my heart might give out right there in the middle of Phantom Canyon.  Patrick thought that part of the trip was fabulous, and he was constantly hanging out the window taking pictures.  Here's what I spent a lot of the time doing:























It is beautiful here, and we are having a wonderful time.  I'll let you know if I make it to Mt. Evans tomorrow.