The Skyline

This morning we split ways! Mom went with Bev to go hiking with a group of ladies whom Bev had recently met and Austin and myself went to do some horseback riding in the hills. While mom and Bev were hiking in the woods, Austin and I were making our way along a horse path up to a vista with a very nice overlook. All of us had a very nice time and when we arrived back to basecamp we compared stories. Over all it was a fabulous morning!

A little bit into the afternoon the three of us headed out to do some more hiking and adventures near Salida. We hiked around on a mountain just outside Salida called the S mountain on the Arkansas Hills Trail System. Was a pretty simple trail but it was very hot and didn’t make it as enjoyable, so we headed back down the mountain and made our way towards Cañon City. When we were on our way from Colorado Springs to Salida last weekend we had taken a route that led us through Cañon City and noticed a Skyline Scenic Drive just outside Cañon City and it looked worth checking into. The drive to Cañon City took us through a beautiful canyon that runs along side the bendy, curvy and rapidy Arkansas River. Along the way down the canyon we stopped to skip stones, capture some photos and explore the area. Was a nice pleasant ride…

We arrived at the base of the Skyline Drive and mom said she’d like to sit this one out and to come pick her up after we were done. So after dropping her off at the store at the base of the drive we continued our way up the steep incline. The road was oneway and only wide enough for one vehicle to travel on. As we neared the top we had a fabulous 360 degree view of the surrounding areas. There were points on the drive where you only had 5 ft on either side of the drive and then it was a shear drop-off. We started to wonder how exactly they made the road… Either way we knew mom would nearly have died if she had been up there with us, so it was a good thing she stayed down at the base. Nonetheless, it was still amazing! We had to take a couple switchbacks/hairpin turns to navigate down to the bottom but once we were on the main road again we went and picked mom up and started our way to basecamp.

Returning through the canyon, this time with the sun just above the mountain horizon, we were able to capture some wonderful canyon/sunset photos. Made for a beautiful ride home and a very welcoming scene coming into Salida. Now we’re all settled in for the night and ready for a big day tomorrow, G-d willing we’ll have great weather.