ROYAL GORGE, COLORADO 8-30-01

On Monday I went rafting down the Royal Gorge and really had a blast. We almost capsized twice but it sure was fun!
The rafting company only charged me $25 (reg $59,) plus they gave me a free t-shirt, plus they gave me a free 8x11 photo of the rafting trip. I really like the t-shirt. On the front it has the company logo, and on the back it says "I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it."
After the rafting trip while I was walking back to camp, someone came out of the DQ and said "We were on the other boat so we only heard part of your story." So I went in and told them what I was doing. They thought it was great and gave me $20.
After that I went to Buckskin Joe Frontier Town, an authentic restored frontier town where several wild west movies were filmed.
Then I took a ride on the Royal Gorge Scenic Railway. It's a 30 minute ride that takes you to the rim of the gorge where you can see the bridge and the raging river over 1,000 ft below. By the time I got back to camp it was dark and I was beat.
On Tuesday I walked around 14 miles downhill all the way with my cart. And boy, do I ever owe Clayton Becker a big big thank you. Months ago, while I was walking down the Oregon Coast, Clayton & Agnes Becker got 2 nights at a motel so I could stay with them. During that time, the one hand brake on the cart didn't work too well. While we were together those 2 days, Clayton fiddled with that break and worked on it and tore it apart and fiddled some more. After 2 days of tinkering with that brake, Clayton had it working great. And Clayton, I sure was thinking of you and thanking you many times on Tuesday as I used that brake the entire way down to Canon City.