Highest highs, lowest lows...

Emma says: Today was clearly designed by someone determined to cure me of my desperate fear of heights! But overall a great day out in Canon City. We started out with a tour of the Holcim Cement Plant on the outskirts of a nearby town called Florence - who would have thought there was so much to know about cement! You wouldn't think this would cause too much distress for someone like myself but the tour was completed with a trip in an open air (and very jolty) elevator to the top of the highest tower in the plant, 340 feet or 100 metres above the ground. It was ridiculously scary but from the top you can see all the way to Kansas, or so I was told - I wasn't game to look!

Lunch was at the newly formed Rotary Club in Florence where we received yet another warm reception from the members (and another good feed!).

In the afternoon we were taken for a quick drive around a couple of the many prisons in the area before we headed up to the Royal Gorge Bridge for one of the highlights of our trip so far. The word spectacular does little to describe this beautifully breaktaking area. The brochure describes it as "the Grand Canyon meets the Golden Gate Bridge" - this may give you some idea of what we were witness too.

First stage of the afternoon involved crossing the 1,100 feet (340 metre) canyon in an aerial tram (much like the cable cars in Switzerland). Absolutely breath-taking views across the mountains and down to the Arkansas River below (once again, so I'm told!). On the other side Angela and Michael showed their bravery by taking a ride on the SkyCoaster. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it except to say they were harnessed in like you would be if hang-gliding, but attached to a long cable attached to a tower above. They were then released from a free-fall tower to swing at 80kph over the gorge (yep, 350 metres above the ground). Kudos to you both - you are much braver than I!

Speaking of bravery, after conquering the cable car, it was now time to cross the Royal Gorge Bridge itself. This was something that terrified me - mainly because the bridge was made of wooden sleepers (like a jetty) that allowed you to see through the gaps between them to the 350 metre drop below... I tiptoed gently across the half kilometre bridge like the slightest move would cause the bridge to crumble (a distinct possibility given how much Ive eaten on this trip!) but probably a little pointless given the bridge also hosted cars and they regularly rattled past us - much to my displeasure!

Finally we took the Incline Railway (like a funicular) down to the bottom of the canyon to see the Arkansas River close up. After the trauma of the day, this was much less taxing and I was able to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Dinner tonight at a beautifully located private cabin on the very edge of the Gorge before stopping for a few well deserved drinks on the way home.

A special thanks to my fabulous hosts Pat and Elizabeth who gave Angela and I the grand tour today and who have been like a family away from home over the past couple of days!