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Mountain lodge<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>River features<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Kansas plains<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nAfter the 5th or 6th hour of flying across them, though, the novelty began to wear off. We diverted from our planned destination in mid-flight on our leg out of Hot Springs, as Hannah had been thumbing through the airport guide and discovered a small airfield, well placed for our route, that advertised on-airport camping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This suited us perfectly, and indeed, there was a campsite right next to the field, which was named Concordia, Kansas. It was equipped for RVs more than tents, so we elected to set up our tent on the grass behind our aircraft; not technically part of the campsite, but the airport was unattended and no-body complained! <\/p>\n\n\n
Parked up in Concordia<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Guardians at the airport gate<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nA scenic walk across the 8-lane highway to Walmart enabled us to replenish our food stocks, and we had a great dinner before turning in as it got dark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Leaving Concordia we headed for the Rockies. A fuel stop in McCook allowed us to add Nebraska to our “states visited” list, and we departed from there under a low overcast of strangely rippled cloud that had rolled in as we arrived. We were soon clear of the cloud and able to climb, which was good because the ground was slowly rising up beneath us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Kansas plains<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Agricultural barns<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Leaving Nebraska<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Colorado school<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Cattle watering<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Approaching the Rockies<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nCanon City, Colorado, was our next destination and the runway elevation was over 5,000ft; higher than many pilots in the UK have ever flown, let alone landed at! The effect of the thinner air was noticeable in a higher groundspeed on landing, but the airports at these elevations tend to have longer runways to allow for this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sky-divers were operating over the field, and as such it was necessary to keep an even better lookout than usual. We parked up on the apron and found the FBO, where we arranged a rental car. Usually it’s very difficult to rent a car in the USA if you’re younger than 25, but smaller locations such as municipal airport FBOs tended to be a little more lenient. We loaded up our gear and headed for the mountains, and before long we were driving at an altitude even higher than we’d been flying! <\/p>\n\n\n
Rocky Mountain store<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Exploring the Rockies<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Exploring the Rockies<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Rocky Mountain night stop<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Now that's a tire<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nThere’s quite a lot to do around Canon City, and we spend three nights there. The first night, we camped by a lake up in the mountains. The state park was equipped with a laundry facility and hot showers, so we took advantage of these before leaving. That day we visited some other local state parks, such as the Florissant Fossil Beds. This was the site of an ancient fossilized forest which had been uncovered and opened to the public. <\/p>\n\n\n
Rocky Mountain gang<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Got any food?<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Mum and baby<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Fossilized tree<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Rocky Mountain views<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Fall foliage<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Phantom Canyon<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Phantom Canyon camp<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Phantom Canyon sunset<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nThat evening we drove into “Phantom Canyon” for another night in the tent. This canyon used to be the route of a narrow gauge railway servicing the mines, but the railway was long gone and had been replaced by a scenic dirt road. Camping is allowed down the majority of the canyon. It was a slightly unsettled night, with vehicles twice cruising slowly by and pausing near our camp – images of “Deliverance” played in our heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Leaving Phantom Canyon, we spent a day at the Royal Gorge State Park. Unsurprisingly this spans the Royal Gorge, with the two sides being connected by the world’s highest suspension bridge. There’s not a great deal on the other side of the bridge; the most significant installation being a petting zoo, which makes one suspect that the bridge was built purely for the sake of having the record. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Phantom Canyon<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Phantom Canyon<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Looking down into Royal Gorge<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Royal Gorge bridge<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Questionable...<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The petting zoo<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The petting zoo<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The petting zoo<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nHaving visited the top of the canyon, we returned to town and took a trip on the Royal Gorge railroad. This track used to be a significant freight route through the mountains towards the West Coast but had stopped carrying freight several years before and was now used exclusively by the tourist train. <\/p>\n\n\n
Royal Gorge railroad<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Old water pipe<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Royal Gorge railroad<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Old water pipe<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The Royal Gorge bridge<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nAfter our Royal Gorge visits, we explored the scenic “Skyline Drive”, giving fantastic views back over the town.<\/p>\n\n\n
Skyline drive<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Skyline drive<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Canon City<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Canon City<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n