Al's Photography Blog

Al's Photography Blog
Pikes Peak As Seen From Our House

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Skywatch Friday - Royal Gorge Bridge

We had a visitor in town last weekend and took her to the Royal Gorge Bridge, about an hour south of Colorado Springs. It's a suspension bridge (with other assorted attractions) over 1,000 feet above the Arkansas River, and for Skywatch Friday (please click on the link to see skies from around the world) I thought I'd post a couple of sky-themed photos I took while I was there. First is a shot looking up at one of the towers while walking on the bridge. You can see the main cables running from the top to the bottom of the photo, and the cables that suspend the bridge surface coming off that (they look very thin in this picture).
Next is a shot looking up at the whole bridge from down in the canyon, 1,000 feet below. The spot just below the bridge, on the right near the rocks, is the tram (gondola) that crosses the gorge - it's barely visible in this photo.
Finally, and completely unrelated, a couple of photographs of clouds from the last week.
Lots more photos to come from the Royal Gorge, including nice shots of the bridge, photos taken from the aerial tram, and several from the bottom of the gorge (reached by an incline railway).

And now to answer a couple of questions people asked in the comments from the last week or so.

In last week's Skywatch Fridy post, Kcalpesh asked if the first photo was shot with a wide angle lens. The answer is yes, the first and last photos in that post were both shot wide-angle, with a 10mm lens (since I have a DX-format sensor, that equates to approximately 15mm in standard film format). The first two shots in this post was also shot were also shot with that lens, the first at 10mm and the second at 20mm, which are the extreme ranges of the lens (a Sigma 10-20mm for Nikon mount).

Ann asked if we get a lot of thunderstorms. We get more thunderstorms here than almost anywhere else in North America. Many years we'll get 60 or more days with at least one storm. In the spring and summer, days usually start out sunny, and clouds will form over the mountains, particularly Pikes Peak. In the late afternoon they'll move off the mountains and over us, and by the evening it's typically clear again. In a good year you can almost set your watch by the thunderstorms, so people who have lived here a while don't set up their outdoor activities for late afternoon. I love thunderstorms, but could live without the violent weather they sometimes spawn (last summer we had 3 tornadoes within 15 miles of our house).

And finally EG Wow asked if we still have snow in our mountains. We certainly do, in fact two ski resorts are still open top-to-bottom. But it's melting quickly in the warm weather we're getting.

21 comments:

  1. OMG! That bridge is awesome! I have been there a long time ago, but your photos are terrific and brought it all back! And what gorgeous clouds! We've had a lot like those, too, and I love them! Great post for the day!
    Enjoy your weekend!

    Sylvia

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  2. I visited the bridge years ago as well, but your photos brought it all back! Beautiful.

    I got a kick out of the "no fishing" signs on the bridge when I was there. Are they still posted? Lol!

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  3. Breathtaking shots! And down to earth the second to the last photo is so lovely.
    Thanks for sharing!

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  4. What wonderful pictures .Great shots Al.

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  5. aloha al,

    and happy earth day, i love scary bridges like that, must be fun to walk on

    would you care to join me on a new challenge i have posted on my site

    come and join us.

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  6. Al that bridge is amazing -- and we have spent quite a bit of time in CO but I honestly don't remember seeing this -- will have to ask our son and dil (who live there) about it.

    I do know about the afternoon thunderstorms == they are hikers and they always get started very early in the morning so as to be down before it clouds up.

    Love visiting beautiful Colorado -- in real or virtual life.

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  7. Hmmmm, too high for my fear...I'd close my eyes to look down.

    And yes, its an OMG sets of photographs. What a nice place to take your visitor and enjoy the scenery!

    Happy Earth Day!

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  8. Your images always have that wow effect.

    Happy Earth day.

    www.ewok1993.wordpress.com

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  9. You've nice skies in Colorado, these are beautiful shots. I had hoped to get there again this summer but it looks like I'll have to settle for Denali instead;) The Colorado Rockies will be high on my list for next year's travel.
    I'm glad you enjoyed my shots of the Eastern Sierra sky.

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  10. Wow! That is some bridge. I really like that view up on it. The sky and clouds are also beautiful on your "unrelated" photo. :)

    Re your comment on EC: I bet it was great to see him at Red Rock. That's an awesome venue!

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  11. Nice shot up through the wires, that bridge looks pretty flimsy from back like that!
    Nice clouds.

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  12. OOoooooh! Your bridge picture is magnificent...and your cloud photos just fill my eyes. WOW! They are wonderful!

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  13. The clouds in the third photo appear to be very low with blue above. Interesting shot.

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  14. The last shot looks as though you are on the clouds and sitting on one of them. Great shots. The first shot of the bridge is just amazing.

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  15. Wow, that suspension bridge is just awesome and so is your first photo! The bridge looks so thin and delicate in your second photo.

    I just love big fluffy white clouds! Thanks for the completely unrelated photos too.

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  16. Al, i like it your shots.

    and, yes..I use it so much my wide angle lenses...I have 2...and dont live without...they give me the opportunity to realyze my photo´s dreams in reality

    havea nice day
    thanks for your comment

    http://graceolsson.com/blog/2010/04/marstrand-where-everything-is-possible/

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  17. Love that first capture and of course the soft clouds down lower are awesome too.

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  18. each photo is amazing and for different reasons.

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  19. Interesting take on the bridge Al. Love the following post as well.

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  20. Your sky photos are magnificent! And since I'm scared of heights, I just have one question for you. Does that bridge shake when you walk on it? ;D

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  21. Great clouds - they quite made up for the dizzy spell I experienced on seeing that bridge!

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