{"id":25235,"date":"2018-05-20T18:21:09","date_gmt":"2018-05-20T22:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.runkevinrun.com\/?p=25235"},"modified":"2018-05-20T18:21:09","modified_gmt":"2018-05-20T22:21:09","slug":"no-murder-on-the-royal-gorge-express","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/?p=25235","title":{"rendered":"No Murder on the Royal Gorge Express"},"content":{"rendered":"

We missed the start of the murder mystery dining car experience by a week. Kerry and I googled short murder mystery parties and *almost* bought the $20 downloadable 30 minute murder at a wizarding school. But we weren\u2019t sure how it might work on the dining car as our party of ten was to be split amongst three tables.<\/p>\n

It\u00a0took a bit longer than we anticipated to get out to Canon City and the Royal Gorg Railroad Depot. \u00a0In fact, we boarded with moments to spare… but the engineer Jordan assured us they wouldn\u2019t have left without us… despite holding up an entire train of dining patrons for the four of us (Kerry, Todd, Deena, and me). \u00a0To be fair, there WAS a nasty accident that delayed us quite a bit.<\/p>\n

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It turned out we were in FIRST CLASS, thank you very much, dining in a vista bubble car with full three course menu.<\/p>\n

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This is Elizabeth and Andrea at table 202. \u00a0I insisted on ONLY goofy poses…<\/p>\n

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So Todd and Deena were put on the spot. \u00a0 (Note it might be spelled\u00a0Dina, just as Elizabeth above might be Elisabeth and Andrea\u00a0might be Andria … I got names but not spellings…).<\/p>\n

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And then this is Emma, her sister Nora (Norah?) and Heather and her husband… Jacob, Jared? \u00a0Shoot. \u00a0I was doing so well with names.<\/p>\n

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Here though are some other names for ya\u2014Tami was our head server and tour guide… Linda was our outdoor guide… Rebekah and … oh, phooey… another charming woman also helped out serving and providing commentarty when Tami accidentally spilled an entire tray of entrees in her head. \u00a0She was embarrassed but her tameam reassured her not to worry, that actually it was the highlight of the trip for them and they tried to get her to laugh it off. \u00a0We didn\u2019t find out about it until the trip was almost over though she kept apologizing for the delays. \u00a0Kerry and our trio kept saying it was us who caused the delays and not to worry.<\/p>\n

Quick side note, Tami must have taken a liking to us because when we asked about the various murder mysteries they do onboard she said they were a lot of fun… but the disco one was super weird. \u00a0That was code we deduced that one should NOT book the murderer at the disco mystery. \u00a0I admit though\u2014 I\u2019m intrigued at how\u00a0they stake\u00a0a discotheque on a train.<\/p>\n

Anyhoo, I digress. \u00a0Shots of the train to follow:<\/p>\n

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I had real problems framing the below and capturing the view.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a bridge to nowhere, built as a bet between two locals that up until 2001 was apparently the tallest bridge above sea level in the world \u00a0 That feels a little suspect trivia wise, prompting me once again to wonder how much a tour guide is being truthful in any tour, even in first class. \u00a0Why let facts or truth get in the way of a good story… and a bet to build a bridge across Royal Gorge by two drunken railroaders is a pretty good story.<\/p>\n

So too was Todd\u2019s trivia that two skydivers were trying to pull off a stunt over and under the bridge but one\u00a0miscalculated and, well, the guy became a Jackson Pollack on the rocks. \u00a0And Todd would know… in a previous life, he and his wife were parachute instructors. \u00a0She had 500+ jumps; he was over a thousand because, in his words, you aren\u2019t really taken seriously until you break 1000. \u00a0These folks were amazing. \u00a0As were all of Kerry\u2019s friends which isn\u2019t surprising. \u00a0I mean, she\u2019s Kerry! \u00a0She\u2019s awesome!<\/p>\n

Thanks\u00a0to my ongoing and seemingly never ending sinus infection\u00a0my cocktails of late are antibiotic drugs and Diet soda. \u00a0This train only had Diet Pepsi but with my clogged head I barely had to pinch my nose to swallow the swill.<\/p>\n

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The three courses. \u00a0Salad, entree (I had salmon, by far the best of the options I saw plated around me) and a shot of salted caramel dessert.<\/p>\n

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Between the entree and dessert, we wandered out to the open air observation deck which perhaps\u00a0visually prevised\u00a0highlights of the two hour, twenty-five minute\u00a0round trip ride.<\/p>\n

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At joirney\u2019s end, I ran into Linda, a 3.5 year guide veteran who we chatted with on\u00a0the open air car. \u00a0I asked if she wouldn\u2019t mind taking a group photo of us… and having seen my insistence on goofy photos firsthand, embraced the canted angle for her composition.<\/p>\n

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As I said above, Kerry\u2019s friends were great to meet and ride the rails with.<\/p>\n

Also\u00a0as I said above that\u2019s not surprising given who she is.<\/p>\n

And now, this…<\/p>\n