Camp Lowry:That's How We Roll: Pueblo CO....Bishop Castle, Royal Gorge Bridge anad Garden of the Gods

We made an overnight stop in Goodland, KS before continuing on into CO. We had been to Grand Junction, Boulder and Durango over the last couple of years so we decided to make our CO stop in Pueblo. We're expanding our types of parks we stop at which means we usually stop at parks that offer electric AND water minimum and the closest park to the things we wanted to see around Pueblo was Lake Pueblo State Park. Lake Pueblo SP only offers electric hook ups. This means we would have to fill our fresh water tank and use the water in it for 4 nights. Many State Parks are like that so if you only limit yourself to E/W parks you really limit yourself in the type surrounding you have when you stop. Actually for a few nights it's nice to know we can do with less. Lake Pueblo SP is a very nice park with pull though and back in sites. Most sites are big enough for larger motorhomes and trailers. The pull throughs are semi circle sites along the main road in each loop.

Our site was on a higher loop with some views of the lake. There was a nice covered table and gravel patio with a fire ring. As we traveled west after our visits in the Midwest, we knew this would be one of our stops so we asked some of our RV friends if they had any recommendations for sights to see.

The top recommendations were Garden of the Gods, Royal Gorge Bridge and Bishop Castle. Well Bishop Castle was closest to us so we started there. Bishop Castle has a long and interesting history. The story begins in 1959 when Jim Bishop bought the land that the castle sits on. Construction began with a cabin and turned into an ongoing build of a castle. The castle is always open and always free.

While we were there we got to talking to a gentleman who knew Jim Bishop and told us he isn't working on it right now due to an illness. Not sure if he will get back to work because of his age and health issues.

There is a lot of iron work a couple towers and a dragons head on the front of the structure. Very unique and still very incomplete. It looked like he couldn't make up his mind where to stop and where to finish. There was junk laying around the property, signs for advertisement and some incredible stain glass in the main structure.

I climbed up some of the iron work stairs to the towers which were of a spiral configuration. You could see through the mesh stairs and it was very dizzying and disorienting as you climb and also coming back down.

Unfortunately the weather was cold and damp when we were there so we didn't stop long to explore more than viewing a few rooms of the structure and a quick climb up one tower. The castle sits at about 9000 ft. above sea level.

If you would like to learn more and get details of the castle, Please click on THIS LINK.

The drive to the castle was scenic and worth the trip to view this unique building.

We still had most of the day to see more sights so we drove to the Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City, CO. The road to the bridge is very narrow and winding. We even saw a sign for a campground near the bridge. They have a large parking lot and a beautiful new Visitor's Center.

I'm sure during the summer months this is a very popular attraction and very busy but since this was late September with children in school now, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. There were a few other folks around the bridge on both sides but hardly a crowd.

One thing we thought was a little disappointing was you HAD to pay to see the bridge. What? They had put up fencing around the Visitor's Center and no matter where you walked OUTSIDE the area....no view.

So we went inside and found out the fee and decided we're there so let's do it. $23 for Glenda and $20 for me(Senior Rate). They have a gondola ride across the gorge which I took and not Glenda(afraid of heights). The ride only take a few minutes and you get some spectacular views of the bridge and thegorge below with the river running through it.

Once on the other side I walked along a path to a covered structure called Sublime Point. This is where you can get some of the best views of the whole bridge and gorge below.

If you enlarge the photos you can get a great sense of the expanse of the bridge.

I then walked back down the path and saw several attractions that I'm sure are highly utilized in the summer months. They have a carousel, a Zipline, a Skycoaster, theater and an outdoor stage where they hold a summer concert series.

Skycoaster

Stage for concerts

Theatre

I started back across the bridge to the other side to meet with Glenda and along the way I noticed signs and flags. Flags for each state.

Iowa

Illinois

After we met on the bridge I took a few more photos and we walked back to the Visitor's Center for a snack and enjoyed the views a little longer.

Water Clock

If you're interested in more information, maybe for a future visit yourself, you can click on THIS LINK.

That wrapped up our day so we drove back to Pueblo and our campground. The next day we had to stop at an urgent care center so Glenda could get her prescription for blood pressure meds renewed.

They charged $190 and you only see a Physicians Assistant. Looking forward to Glenda getting on Medicare next year.

Our final attraction was Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs. They have a great Visitor's Center and souvenirs. The staff is helpful with information and maps to navigate the sights and trails. The weather was very gray, cloudy and misty but we made the best of what we could see.

We drove around the main loop to Balance Rock and did a little photo op.

Then we found the main Garden Loop Trail at the main parking area. This is a paved trail accessible to everyone.

The rock structures are ominous and intriguing. As we parked the truck we saw several folks along the road looking up the hill. As we looked closer there was a herd of male Bighorn sheep.

Look at the white dots

I only had my phone camera with me so it's very difficult to clearly see the sheep. You may be able to enlarge the photo to get a better view.

After that sighting we started our walk along the paved trail and noticed signs related to rock climbing. These were caution sign telling folks not to climb on wet rock(which it was wet) and not to climb unless you were We kept moving.

You could see how these rock formations would call to those who participate in that sport. We enjoyed the many rock formations as we moved around the loop trail. Eventually we worked our way back to the starting point. Along the way we came across a Mule Deer in a meadow near the trail. I believe it was a female since we didn't notice any antlers.

Thank you for holding so still

Glenda read about the Twin Sisters rock formation so we left the main parking and trail area and drove to a short trail leading to the Twin Sisters. Being misty and rainy, it made the trail a little slick and we hadn't prepared for the mud on the trail so Glenda had to hold onto some bushes in some areas to keep from slipping.