The year is 1930-something. You are a wealthy, well-traveled socialite just off the boat from New York to England. The last leg of your tremendous journey is a scenic train ride from England’s shore to the bustling metropolis of London, complete with an invitation to the on-board party a certain all-knowing—perhaps too knowing—and affluent widow. The only problem is she dies before the party begins! Who on the train had enough to lose that they had to murder the wicked little blackmailer? Well, I’m not going to tell you that, but I will tell you all about our evening on the Royal Gorge Route’s Murder Mystery Train Ride!
The evening began with a twilight passage from Canon City through the Royal Gorge and progressed to dinner, a murder, and a show. During the appetizer and salad courses of the meal, which were greatly extended to accommodate passengers’ sightseeing, we were free to linger on the open-air car as the train followed the Arizona River under the Royal Gorge Bridge. The sun setting behind the mountains gave way to a starry night, and the train lit up the canyon as we meandered along.
Once darkness fell, we were hailed back into the dinning car for the main course. To be honest, we hadn’t expected to food to be any more than average. This was about the atmosphere and the show, right? Let me tell you that we were very pleasantly surprised by this…
an ENORMOUS hunk (that’s the best way I can describe it) of prime rib with asparagus, potatoes, and a horseradish/cheese dipping sauce. In case you were wondering, that whole plate IS covered in meat. Of course neither of us were able to clean our plates, but did have enough room for the triple chocolate mousse desert. So good!
Prior to dinner, the key characters—the blackmailing widow, the Swiss banker, the Swedish furniture maker, the German ballerina, and her NY journalist hubby—mingled with the passengers, introducing themselves and sharing little tidbits about one another. When dinner came, the formal show began with a scene to describe how the characters are connected and to, of course, kill off the rich widow. During desert we were given the opportunity to “interrogate” the suspects then split into sleuthing teams to pin down who dunnit.
Our team chose the Swedish furniture maker because his past is shadowed with the untimely death of his business partner…in a vat of feathers! Alas, we were lead astray. The murderer was revealed to us, but will remain a mystery to you. I don’t want to ruin the surprise if anyone decides to jump aboard!
The next day we returned to Shelf Road for a full day of climbing! We started off in an area new to us, Sand Gulch. Bilbo did a couple of climbs and I tried one, but failed. We had a great time, but the area was getting crowded, the sun was beating down, and our stomachs were beginning to growl. So we moseyed on back to the car for a rest and some lunch.
Poptarts and peanut butter crackers consumed, we drove over to the Bank, where we had usually gone before. The hike in to our destination is close to a mile, leading around the canyon and up to the rock face on the other side. As we began, a single little dark cloud rolled in. Undaunted by this little speck in the otherwise clear blue sky, we kept pushing on. The little cloud was after us, though, and we soon felt cold sprinkles. But, the cloud was so small that we knew it would be over soon. Then the little cloud began to spit out little pieces of hale, which stung as they hit your skin, and the Bauers began to run. We were less than a quarter of a mile from an outhouse area, where we could take shelter and wait it out. Then, the no-longer-little cloud began to spit out even more hale, even more rapidly. So, we turned around and ran up the muddy trail back to the car.
By the time we were back to the parking area my head was numb from the consistent cold pouring down on me and we were both soaked and muddy. But that’s nothing compared to what the field and car were covered in.
Defeated, we went home for hot showers, dry clothes, and night of board games. Over the past couple of weeks, we have gotten two expansions for one of our favorite games, Dominion. The game is all about acquiring money so that you can buy victory points. The expansions, Seaside and Prosperity, spice up the game with ways to get more money! It was a nice evening to wind down our weekend and prepare for the next week.
Our weekend in Canon City was the highlight of week 8, but there is one more piece to tell. Earlier in the week, we took a drive around Lake Pueblo State Park, one of Colorado’s largest lakes. We arrived at the perfect time as the sun was going down and lending that red glow to the horizon.
Such a lovely view to end with. Next time we’ll tell you about a wedding, a hike, and a man in a monkey suit. I’ll bet you can’t wait!
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