Secrets 2: Looking Through Different Eyes - 47. Chapter 47 S2

Chapter 47 – The Semester’s Over

We actually slept until 8:00, which meant we’d been asleep for ten hours, but I guess that was to make up for some of the nights before our finals when we’d only slept for five hours or less. As soon as we showered and got dressed, we loaded our things into the SUV, and then we checked the house to make sure we were leaving it in good shape, and now we were ready to think about getting something to eat. Seeing we were both starving and knew the dining hall was closed, we agreed to make a quick stop for breakfast before we hit the road and made the trip back to Jamesville.

Devin and I were in a really good mood as we filled our rumbling stomachs, since finals were now behind us and we’d completed another academic year, and then we set out for my house. We spent some of the drive speculating about how we’d done in each of our courses, which made the time pass quickly.

When we reached the house, we unloaded all of my things, and some of Devin’s belongings as well, and took everything up to my bedroom. Since we knew my parents wouldn’t be home for a few hours, we decided to make love. We hadn’t had the time or the energy to do it for a while, since we’d been spending all of our time and energy completing assignments and studying for finals. By the time we were done doing those things, we were just too tired to do anything else, including making love, so this would give us a chance to correct that situation. We took full advantage of the opportunity.

There was no use rushing, since we knew we wouldn’t be disturbed, so we took our time and got reacquainted with each other’s body. It was wonderful and even brought back memories of the very first time we’d done anything like this, which happened three years earlier. It was after Devin had unexpectedly showed up at my house, shortly after we’d each graduated from high school. We were both ecstatic about being together again, and then he told me that he’d be going to Colorado State University too, so we wouldn’t be separated again in the fall.

It got even better once I learned that Devin was bi and interested in having a romantic relationship. Over the next few days, we spent countless hours exploring each other’s body and discovering what the other one enjoyed. Now, we repeated what we’d learned and pleased one another orally before finally making love.

After we’d each enjoyed a powerful and very satisfying release, we went to take a shower. As soon as we’d dried off and brushed our teeth, we selected some nicer clothes to wear, because we were guessing that my dad would be taking us out to eat. Once we were ready, we went down to the living room and played video games until my parents arrived home from work.

As soon as their SUV pulled in the driveway, Devin and I went out to greet them. After Devin and I gave my mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek, we gave my dad a hug as well.

“It’s good to see you boys again,” Dad said, “and I’m glad to see that you’re dressed in nice clothes.”

“Yeah, we thought you would be, since we know that you like to take us out to eat the first night we’re back, especially since you’ll have to work tomorrow.”

“Actually, your mother and I don’t have to work tomorrow. Seeing you told us that you’d be coming home a day earlier this time, we took the day off so we could drive to our first destination tomorrow morning. We’ll leave at 9:00 and that should allow us to miss most of the rush hour traffic, as well as avoiding the weekend traffic on our way there.”

“Fantastic!” Devin and I confirmed.

“The reason we were able to come home a day earlier this time was because Mac and I each had one day where we had one exam in the morning and another in the afternoon. We normally only had one exam per day, and even though it was more stressful to have two exams on the same day, it ended up working out great for us. That’s because we got to leave a day earlier.”

“I hope you were able to study sufficiently for both of those exams, so you did as well on them as you normally do,” Mom responded.

“Yes, we feel that we did great on both of the exams we took that day, as well as on the others,” I assured her.

“I’m sure it was probably more difficult for you that way, but I’m glad you both feel that you did well on your exams,” she responded.

“And just give us a few minutes to freshen up and then we’ll be on our way to get something to eat.”

After we got to the restaurant and had ordered our meals, I asked Dad about the trip. “Where are we going and what will we be doing?”

“We’re going to take you to see parts of Colorado that we haven’t visited before and I think you boys will enjoy them.”

“Ok, and what should we pack for the trip?”

“The temperature will range from 40 degrees (4.5 C) in the morning to highs between 75 and 90 (24 & 32 C) in the afternoon, so bring things that will be appropriate for those conditions. And bring comfortable walking shoes, your swimsuits, and a light jacket. Oh, and bring a couple of business-casual outfits to wear, because we’ll be going out to nice places to eat a couple of those nights as well. Just make sure that you pack a duffle bag with whatever you think you’ll need for the next seven days.”

“I thought we were going to be gone for eight days,” Devin countered.

“We are, but you’ll be getting dressed here when you wake up in the morning, so that will take care of the first day. Therefore, you’ll only have to pack for the next seven days.”

“Duh, I should have been able to figure that out,” he admitted sheepishly.

“You’re probably still overtired and a little stressed out from taking your finals and it’s why you didn’t catch on to that point,” Dad added, giving Devin an excuse to explain his oversight. “Oh, and bring plenty to keep you occupied during the various drives between the destinations, because I won’t allow you to have the music blaring while I’m driving.”

“Yeah, we know, and we’ll be fine. Oh, and we’ll have to do some laundry when we get back to the house.”

“Ok, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Dad agreed. “Just make sure you pack your bags before you go to sleep, because I want to leave promptly at 9:00 tomorrow morning.”

“Ok, we understand and we’ll be ready. This sounds like it is going to be fun.”

After finishing a wonderful meal, we made our way back to the house. As soon as Dad pulled the SUV into the driveway, he stopped and told us to wait before we got out.

“Devin, I want you to pull your SUV into the garage, because I’m sure you must have things in there that you’ll be taking back to the cabin when we return from the trip.”

“Yeah, I do,”

Dad then clicked the remote and the door on the garage began to open. “Then pull your SUV inside and grab everything you’ll need before I close the door.”

“We took everything I’ll need into the house earlier, so I’ll just park my SUV inside.”

Devin then got out, unlocked the door on the SUV, and drove it into the garage. While he was doing that, Mom and I got out and started walking toward the house, and when Devin came out to join us, Dad hit the remote to close the garage again. He then he left the remote on the dashboard of the SUV before he pulled it closer to the garage door.

Once we were all in the house, Devin and I went up to my room and grabbed the clothes that we needed to wash, and then we headed downstairs and put the first load in the washing machine. While those things were going through the wash cycle, we started packing whatever we could into our duffle bags, and while we were doing that, my parents were packing their things. When the first load of laundry was done, we put those items in the dryer and put another load in the washer, and then we went up to my room to fold and pack the first load into our duffle bags.

When my parents finished doing their packing and had taken their suitcases downstairs, they came over to my room to say goodnight before they went to bed.

“What time do you want us to get up in the morning, so I can set the alarm on my phone?” I asked.

“You can set it for 8:30, if you’ll promise to get ready quickly after you wake up. We’ll stop somewhere along the way to eat breakfast.”

“Ok, then we’ll take our showers tonight so we can get ready faster in the morning.” We then said goodnight to my parents before they went to their room to go to sleep.

When we finished doing our laundry and had folded and packed everything for the trip, We grabbed our backpacks and filled it with a few extra items, just to be on the safe side. We carried our duffle bags and backpacks downstairs and set them by the front door, next to my parents’ suitcases. Once that was taken care of, we went through our typical nightly ritual, and then we got in bed and cuddled as we fell asleep.

As soon as the alarm went off, we got up and got dressed quickly, and then we went downstairs to see if my parents were waiting for us. They were busy walking around the house making a last-minute check to be certain the doors and windows were all secure and no lights had been left on. Once they were certain the house was how they wanted to leave it, we went out and got in the SUV. It was actually a few minutes before 9:00 as Dad was pulling the SUV out of the driveway and we were heading to our first destination.

We thought Dad would stop for breakfast fairly quickly, but he drove all the way to our destination first. Canon City was only a 45-minute drive from the house, which caused me to ask a question. “If this place is so close to where we live, then why haven’t we come here before?”

“It’s because of the wildfire that happened back in 2013. I heard it had done damage to the places we’re going to visit, so I thought we should wait and make sure the damage had been taken care of first. They still haven’t repaired everything, but I felt that enough of the area had been repaired so it would be a good time to come here and check it out. I’ll tell you all about it as we’re eating breakfast.”

As soon as we’d ordered, Dad began to fill us in. “The Royal Gorge Park is on the west side of Canon City, and that’s where we are now. We’ll be going to the park to spend the day, and then tonight we’re going to take a ride on the Royal Gorge Route Railroad for the ‘Dinner Train Experience’.”

“Is it an amusement park that we’re going to?” Devin asked.

“It’s not as elaborate as what you’re probably thinking about, but there are a few activities there that I think you’ll enjoy. And the train ride that we’ll be taking when we have supper isn’t part of the park and is a separate entity.”

“Ok, it sounds good, as long as there are things to do here that we’ll enjoy. So, what are we going to be doing first?”

“As soon as we finish our meals, I’ll drive over to the park and we’ll leave the SUV there. We’ll spend the next few hours checking out everything there, and then around 4:00 we’ll drive over and check into the hotel and take our things up to the rooms. We’ll have to shower quickly first, and then I want you to get dressed in one of the business-casual outfits that you brought with you before we catch the dinner train.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I replied.

After breakfast, Dad drove us over to the park. When we got out of the SUV, we followed Dad, since he seemed to know where he was going. It didn’t take long before we realized he was heading in the direction of a suspension bridge we could see in the distance.

“Why isn’t there any traffic on the bridge?” Devin asked.

“You probably can’t tell from here, but it’s predominantly a pedestrian bridge that crosses over the gorge. It was built in 1929 and then renovated from 1980-84, but there was a wildfire that began in June 2013 and damaged much of the park. The fire consumed 3,200 acres of land and destroyed 48 or the park’s 52 structures, and this included the visitor’s center, aerial tram building, gondola, carousel, and several restaurants. The fire also damaged 32 wooden planks of the Royal Gorge Bridge and they had to repair all of the damage before the park was opened to the public again.”

“So, no cars can drive over the bridge?” Devin asked.

“There was a point during the COVID pandemic that they allowed cars to drive over it temporarily, in order to keep the public safe. Now, it’s only allowed if you make special arrangements before the bridge is open to the public for the day, primarily to allow the elderly and disable to enjoy the views. Sometimes vehicular traffic is allowed during special events as well.”

“So, everything was repaired or replaced?” Mom asked.

“Yes, it’s completely safe now and there’s nothing to worry about, so we’ll walk across it to get to the other side of the gorge. You might be interested in knowing that this particular bridge had the title of being the ‘Highest Bridge in the World’ from when it was built in 1929 until 2001. That’s because the center of the bridge is 956 feet (291 m) above the Arkansas River.”

“What bridge is taller than this one now?” Devin asked.

“The Liuguanghe Bridge in China replaced it as the ‘Highest Bridge in the World’ in 2001. As of 2023, the Royal Gorge Bridge is now only the 26^th highest bridge in the world and the Liuguahnghe Bridge that took the title from it is the 22^nd highest bridge in the world.”

“Damn, then what’s the tallest bridge now?”

“The new ‘Highest Bridge in the World’ is the Beipanjiang Bridge in China, which is also known as the Duge Bridge, and it’s nearly twice as high as the Royal Gorge Bridge. It’s a cable-stayed bridge that opened in 2016 and is 1,854 feet (565 m) above the Beipan Jiang valley. In fact, China now has the top six highest bridges in the world. I know, because I looked up all of this information and memorized it before we came here.”

“And are you’re planning on all of us walking across the bridge?” Mom asked.

“Of course, why else would we come here? The attractions are all on the other side of the gorge, so we’ll have to cross it to get to them?”

“Then you’ll have to do it without me. I’m afraid I’ll get vertigo if I try to walk across this bridge.”

“Don’t worry, dear, you’ll be fine. You can walk next to me and hold onto my arm, and I will walk on the side closest to the railing so you can walk in the center of the bridge.”

“And Devin and I will be right behind you if you need any help,” I added.

“I’m still not sure about this, but I’ll give it a try. You might regret it, though, because you may end up having to hold me up or carry me to get to the other side.”

“We’ll do whatever we have to, but you’ll be fine.”

“This is the same type of bridge as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco,” Devin stated as we started out. “It isn’t quite as sturdy, though, because it doesn’t have to support the steady stream of traffic or the huge weight of the vehicles that cross over it.”

“You’re right about it being the same type of bridge, because they’re both suspension bridges,” Dad agreed. “Each one has two towers with the main cables running between them, and they also have smaller cables that are attached to the main cables and support the deck’s weight. It works the same, no matter if it’s pedestrian or vehicular traffic.”

As we were walking across the bridge, Mom made a comment. “There are gaps between the boards that form the deck of the bridge,” she gasped.

“Yeah, but there not big enough for you to fall through or get your heel stuck, unless you’re wearing stiletto heels.”

“But I can see all the way down to the river and it’s making me dizzy.”

“Then don’t look down. Just focus on the wonderful scenery and the magnificent view,” I suggested, because we had an awesome view of the cliffs surrounding the gorge.

“Ok, I’ll try.”

Once we reached the center of the bridge, Dad suggested we stop and take in the wonderful scenery. “And I want you to try doing this as well, dear.”

“Only if you’ll stand on one side of me and Mickey will do the same on the other side. And you’ll have to let me hold onto your arms as we do it.”

“Sure, that won’t be a problem at all,” I agreed

“Ok, then I’ll look around to see what’s out there, but I won’t look down,” she agreed as she hesitantly walked over to the railing with us. After a few seconds, she spoke.

“This isn’t too bad and I love the wonderful view from up here,” she admitted.

“See, we told you that you’d be fine and you’d enjoy it,” Dad responded.

“Yes, I guess I made a big deal over nothing, that is as long as I didn’t look down.”

As I was looking down at the Arkansas River, I spotted a train traveling over the tracks.

“Dad, there’s a train down there and it looks like a passenger train.”

“Yes, and we’ll be checking it out later,” he replied.

“Neat. I can’t wait to see it up close.”

When we eventually reached the other side of the bridge, we began walking around and checking out the various things we discovered there. My attention was focused on the ride that I’d been glancing at ever since we stopped on the bridge to take in the view. It wasn’t long after that when I learned the ride was called the ‘Royal Rush Skycoaster’ and it wasn’t like any other ride I’d ever seen or been on before. It looked really scary and Devin and I were eager to try it out.

“Are we going to have a chance to go on that?” I asked while pointing in the direction of the Skycoaster.

“Of course,” Dad replied, “but you’ll have to do it on your own. Your mother and I will find other things to do while you’re going on that.”

“I saw a nice merry-go-round we can go on,” Mom quickly interjected, “so we’ll be there until you’re ready to join us.”

“We might also ride back and forth over the gorge on the ‘Arial Gondola’, because there’s no limit on how many times guests can ride on it,” Dad advised us before Mom punched him in the shoulder.

“Why didn’t you tell me that before you had me walk across the bridge?” she asked as he began to rub his shoulder.

“What and have you miss all of those great views?” Dad replied, and since we didn’t want to get involved in this, I spoke up quickly.

“Sounds great, so we’ll find you after we’ve had a chance to go on it a couple of times,” I stated, and then Devin and I made our way over to the ‘Royal Rush Skycoaster’.

When we got to the front of the line, the man in charge asked a question. “Do you boys want to go on this separately or together?”

“Is it scarier if you do it alone?” I asked.

“Not really. It’s pretty much the same either way,” he responded.

I looked at Devin and he nodded. “Ok, we’ll do it together then.”

We had to get fastened into special harnesses before we were led out to a metal platform that had been pushed into place after the previous group, a father and his two children, had completed their turn. I followed Devin to the top of the platform where a cable was attached to the straps that hung from our harnesses. Once that was completed, another cable was attached to the first one and the man-in-charge handed Devin a cord.

“You are going to be pulled upward until you reach the top of the tower behind this area. The tower is 100 feet tall (30.5 m) and when you come to a stop at the top, all you have to do is pull on this cord and it will release you. You’ll then swing under this structure before going out over the gorge.”

The structure we were standing under was in the shape of a giant H, except it had two crossbeams that were much closer to the top of the H than was normal. As soon as he finished telling us this, we began to feel as if we were slowly being hoisted to the top of the tower that was located behind the H structure. When we reached the top, we hung there briefly until Devin pulled the cord.

As soon as he did that, we began a freefall and plummeted toward the ground at 50 mph (80.5 kph). Our momentum carried us under the H-frame structure and swung us out over the gorge until we reached a height of 1.500 feet (547 m) above the Arkansas River. We hovered there briefly before we began to swing back in the opposite direction, under the H-frame structure and approached the single tower where we had begun this unusual ride. We then swung back toward the gorge again and continued until we were once more flying over the river below. We continued this back-and-forth process as we gradually lost even more momentum, and that’s when the operator hooked another cable to our harnesses as we swung by and gradually brought us to a stop. The entire ride had lasted for about 15 minutes, and was one of the most frightening, yet stimulating things that I’d ever done.

“That was fucking scary, but awesome,” Devin enthused after the platform was rolled back into place and we were being unhooked from the main cable. “It was like we were flying!”

He was right and I also felt as if I was flying each time I swung forward and went out over the gorge. It was an incredible feeling, and even though we had both flown before, this time we were in our own bodies and not in the body of a bird. We didn’t hesitate and immediately got back in the line to do it again.

“That was fucking awesome and way better than I thought it was going to be!” Devin stated as we waited for our second turn on the Skycoaster. “It was almost as good as the real thing,” he added while giving me a wink.

“Yes, I felt like a bird while I was doing it, except I didn’t have to flap my wings, er I mean my arms,” I agreed, to let him know that I got the hint. “It was unlike any ride I’ve ever been on before, especially at that height. It reminded me of one of those pendulum rides that we’d been on before, the ones that swing back and forth and keep going higher and higher, but on those rides you’re strapped into a seat when you’re doing it. This time we were in a harness and in a prone position as we soared through the air. We were able to look in nearly every direction at the different scenery, including the river below us as we flew out over the gorge like Superman.”

“Yes, it was incredible.”

When it was our turn to go again, we took another thrilling flight over the Royal Gorge and Arkansas River, and then we went to meet up with my parents. As we expected, they were still riding the carousel with the little kids.

“Didn’t anyone give you grief about doing that?” Devin asked.

“No, because we weren’t riding on the horses or other animals that are on there,” Mom answered. “We were just sitting on one of the bench seats that face each other.”

“And we were told that a lot of older couples do the same thing while they’re here,” Dad followed. “It reminded me of when your mother and I were first dating. So, how was your ride.”

“It was f-freaking incredible,” Devin replied after catching himself. “It was like we were flying.”

“It was great and totally thrilling!” I added. “What do you think about going on the ‘Cloudscraper Zip Line’ next,”

“I saw some people doing that when we rode on the gondolas,” Mom immediately commented, “and the Zip Lines were higher than we were in the gondolas as we traveled over the gorge.”

“Yes, you’re probably right about that, because the Zip Lines go 1,200 feet (366 m) above the gorge, but two people are able ride side-by-side on it, so you and Dad can go together and watch each other as you travel to the other side. You might even be close enough that you can also hold hands while you’re doing it.”

“I haven’t made up my mind if I want to do it or not,” Mom balked.

“You’ll be fine, honey, just like you were on the bridge, and you were nearly at the same height above the valley below when we were in the gondolas too.”

She hesitated before she responded. “Ok, I’ll give it a try then, but don’t laugh if I barf on the way across.”.

“Hmmm,” Dad mumbled after glancing at his watch, “it’s already past noon and I was going to suggest that we have lunch first, but now I believe we should probably wait to eat until after we do this.”

“Yes, that’s a much better idea,” Mom concurred.

Seeing they were in agreement, we went over and got in line for the Cloudscraper, and Devin and I let Mom and Dad go first. “We’ll be right behind you,” we assured Mom before they started out.

When we reached the other side, I asked Mom a question. “Well, what did you think of the Zip Line?”

“It was fun, but I was so nervous at first that I didn’t get a chance to enjoy the view,” she admitted.

“Then let’s ride the gondola back across the gorge and we’ll do it again.”

“Really?”

“Sure, we’ve got time.”

The gondolas weren’t quite what I was expecting. Mom and Dad had ridden on them earlier while Devin and I were on the Skycoaster, but the gondolas weren’t as I imagined. I assumed there would be one large gondola, like I’ve seen used at ski resorts, but instead there were three smaller cars hooked together. Each car was capable of holding six to eight passengers, depending on their size and age. Before we boarded, we were informed that we would be crossing the distance of 2,500 feet (762 m) to the other side of the gorge at 1,000 feet (305 m)) per second, or just under 11.5. mph (18.5 kph). That meant the gondola ride would take about 2.5 minutes before we reached our destination.

When we got to the other side of the gorge, we went on the zip line again, and Mom seemed to be more relaxed this time around. As soon as Devin and I crossed behind them, we all stopped to chat.

“Mom, it looked like you were enjoying the zip line as you were crossing the gorge this time,” I stated, which earned me a slight grin in return.

“I still wasn’t entirely comfortable being so high up in the air, but I was able to look around and take in the view this time, so it was a lot better.”

“Ok, it’s time for us to ride the gondolas back to the other side again, so we can find a place to have lunch,” Dad urged, “since it’s already 1:00.”

It didn’t take long before we agreed on a place where we would eat, and then we wolfed down our food. We did it after Dad reminded us that we had to hurry if we wanted to go on more rides before we left to return to our hotel rooms so we could get ready to go on the train ride for supper.

After we finished eating, I asked a question. “Do you think there’s enough time for Devin and me to go on the Royal Rush Skycoaster again?”

Dad quickly checked his watch. “Yes, we’re still in good shape, so go ahead and your mother and I will take another spin on the carousel.”

When we got to the Skycoaster, Devin and I were a little worried, because the line was longer than before, but we really wanted to do this again. When we eventually reached the front of the line, we put on the harnesses again and climbed the stairs to the top of the mobile platform. This time Devin and I were on opposite sides from the first time we did this, so I was handed the ripcord that would release us once we’d been pulled up to the top of the tower. The experience was just as thrilling as the first two times we did it, and as soon our ride ended we raced over to the carousel to meet up with my mom and dad.

“Sorry it took so long,” I said as soon as we located them.

“That’s ok,” Mom replied, “we just took a couple more rides on the carousel while we waited.”

We then hurried over to the zip line and waited for our turns to go on it again, and after another exhilarating trip across the gorge, we met up on the other side.

“How are we doing for time?” I wondered as we made our way to the SUV.

“We’ll have to hurry, but we should be fine,” Dad assured me. “Just don’t do anything besides taking a quick shower and getting dressed in one of your business casual outfits.”

“That’s all we were planning to do,” I responded, although I wondered if he thought we might mess around and have sex before we showered.

As soon as we were all ready, we met them out in the hallway, and then Dad drove us over to catch the Royal Gorge Route Railroad.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Dad said as he was driving there, “but I had to preorder the meals when I booked our spot on the train. I was pretty sure that I knew what you would select from the four choices, which were the Chef’s Catch of the Day, Chicken Marsala, Colorado Slow Roasted Prime Rib, and Vegetable Napoleon, so I ordered you boys the Prime Rib.”

“That’s perfect,” we both concurred.

“And just so you know, regular service on the tracks ran from 1879 until 1967, and then the tracks remained unused until 1999. That’s when a group restored a dozen rail cars and made repairs on the tracks, and we’ll be pulled by Colorado’s oldest and most famous streamliner.”

“I hope that’s been renovated as well,” I quipped.

“Don’t worry, its in fine working order. And another interesting feature about this trip is that originally two different railroads were competing to lay tracks here, but at one end of the gorge there wasn’t enough room for two trains to pass each other. That meant they had to cooperate and come up with a solution for this problem. The engineers were able to come up with a proposal they thought would work and eventually designed an unusual bridge that is 175 feet (53m) long. One side of the bridge is suspended upon A-frame girders that are anchored into the rock walls that formed one side of the gorge.”

“It sounds incredible. I just hope those engineers were as good as I am, so it doesn’t collapse when we’re traveling over it,” Devin said and then chuckled.

“Yes, the engineers did excellent work and the track is in fine shape. Oh, and we’ll be riding in the Vista Dome car while we’re eating our meals,” he added.

“You mean there’s more than one type of car where they serve meals?”

“Yes, I had to make a choice between the Vista Dome car, the Dining car, and the Deluxe car, so I chose the Vista Dome. It looked as if it had the best views, and from the reviews that I read, we’ll want to sit at a table on the left side of the car, because then we’ll have the best view.”

“But if this is a round trip, wouldn’t the other side of the train have the same views on the way back?”

“Yes, that’s true, but with the train tracks being in the gorge, the light will be quite limited as we’re making the return trip, so the views will be better when we’re starting out.”

“Ok, that makes sense.”

As usual, Dad was correct and the view from the Vista Dome car was spectacular. Both sides of the car were lined with windows that rested on the lower wall, just above the table tops. The windows started to curve at a ninety degree angle as they rose to the roof, until they connected to the central beam that ran from front to back of the car. The view of the river and the far side of the gorge was incredible, since there was still plenty of sunlight. At one point we even traveled under the same rides we were on earlier in the day, as well as below the Royal Gorge suspension bridge.

We were each given a glass of sparkling wine to start the meal, but only after Dad convinced the server it would be all right. “Don’t worry, I’m their father and they’ve just finished their junior year in college, so we’re doing a little celebrating. I promise that they won’t be doing any of the driving after we leave the train either.”

“Ok, sir. I guess it will be ok then,” he replied as he began filling our glasses.

“Thanks, Dad. This means a lot to us.”

“As I said at New Year’s Eve when I did something similar for you. You’re both nearly old enough anyway and a little wine isn’t going to do you any harm, as long as you don’t overdo it.”

The meal started with a wedge salad and warm French bread rolls, followed by the main course. Dad, Devin, and I all had the Prime Rib, while Mom opted for the Chicken Marsala. The meal ended with the chef’s choice dessert, which happened to be Panna Cotta, a classic Italian custard with two large strawberries on top. The entire meal was simply delicious.

The ride lasted for just under three hours, as we made the 24-mile round trip from Canon City to Parkdale and then back again. The train even stopped on the Hanging Bridge to give the passengers an opportunity to enjoy the view. It was also a chance to realize that they were enjoying the scenery just as every other passenger who had ever ridden over these same tracks.

When we returned to Canon City, we disembarked from the train and walked to the parking lot, ready to hop in the SUV and return to the hotel.

“That was very special and I really enjoyed it,” Mom said during the ride back. “It almost made me feel as if I had traveled back in time and was reliving what it would have been like if I’d lived 100 or 150 years ago and been part of a family that was well-off and able to afford a trip like that.”

“Yes, I agree,” I stated. “Not only did we enjoy a wonderful meal, but we also experience what a wealthy traveler might have enjoyed around the turn of the 20^th century, although I believe we were riding in a much nicer railcar.”

“I’m glad we did that!” Devin enthused. “It was really nice. Thanks, Pa.”

“Yes, thank you, Dad. I had a wonderful time doing this tonight.”

“Me too!” Mom interjected.

“I’m glad you all enjoyed it and had a good time,” he replied. “I did too and I’m glad that I opted to book us tickets on the special dinner train.”

“What’s on the agenda for tomorrow,” I asked as Dad was looking for a parking space at the hotel.

“Set your alarm for 6:30 tomorrow, because after we have breakfast we’re going to be taking the ‘Royal Gorge Loop Half Day Jeep Tour, and we have to be there by 8:00.”

“Damn, that’s kind of early, but I’ll set the alarm now, seeing it sounds like doing this might be interesting,”

“Yeah, it does,” Devin concurred. “Tonight we took a ride on a train and had a great supper in the Dome car, and tomorrow we’ll take a jeep tour. What do you have planned after that? A camel caravan?”

“Not exactly, wise guy.”

“Then where are we going after the jeep tour then, since you said it was a half day tour?” I followed.

“You’ll see when we get there. Just wear comfortable clothing and your athletic shoes.”

‘Ok, at least now I know what to wear and what we’re going to do first, but after that it’s still a mystery.”

“And I’m glad you know what to wear now, because taking the jeep tour might be a little chilly if you were naked,” he teased.

“Yeah, I’m sure it would be.”

After we walked to our rooms, we said goodnight to my parents before we went into our separate accommodations. Since it was still early, Devin and I decided to make love before taking a shower and going to sleep. It was the perfect ending to a really special and enjoyable day.