We have moved west to Gunnison, CO, but before we left Canon City, we drove a panoramic road known as Skyline Drive. It is a three mile one way road that is accessed from Route 50 west of Canon City and ends in a quiet section of the city.
The road was built in 1903 by prisoners housed in Canon City. It is built on the top of a limestone ridge locally called a hogback and provides a clear view of the valley below. You drive about 800 feet above the surrounding plain on a 30 foot roadway, but some attention needs to be paid to the road as the next stop, if you wander off the road to far, is 800 feet down.
In 1999, a dinosaur trackway was discovered alongside the road, where you can see the impressions left in the limestone from their feet. We stopped at a pull off so I could have a closer look. Anneke was still talking on the cell phone when I walked back to the site. When she finished and got out of the car, I was nowhere to be seen, so she immediately jumped to the conclusion that I was 800 feet down somewhere. A couple of tough motorcycle types had stopped near the car and she was sharing her concerns with them as I rounded the corner and headed back. It is nice to know you would be missed. I suspect part of it was a fear that she would have to drive the car off the hogback.
It was a great drive. Next we have to take the motorhome over Monarch Pass.
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