Bishop's Castle

Yesterday was a great day for a ride in the country. Our destination was Bishop's Castle on Route 165 in the San Isabel National Forest near Rye Colorado. Information about the castle, its builder and the history is on their website at http://www.bishopcastle.org/#. 

This is the view from the road where cars parked before touring the private property. It's free and open to the public. Jim Bishop watched as the people toured his one-man project. We had to watch where we walked as it is still under construction - and looks like it always will be! Jim started building a one-room stone cabin in 1969 and got a little carried away.

The Bishop family owns an ornamental iron works factory in Pueblo and it looks like Jim is their best customer! You can tour the entire castle inside and out.

This is a close-up of the dragon on the front of the castle. On weekends it spews smoke (except when strict fire bans are in place - like now).

There are no blueprints and Jim has done all of the work himself. The stone work is impressive!

This is the view from the back into the great center room and the stained glass windows.

I couldn't believe the number of people who climbed the steep stairs all the way to the top. I enjoyed it from the ground.

Later this month my grandson Gabriel is coming to visit. He is almost 9. Do you think he would enjoy visiting the castle?

 On the way home we came down Route 50 and got our first look at the Royal Gorge burn area. The bridge is still intact but all the other structures are gone including the carousel, tram and visitor's center. This picture was taken from the picnic area on the east side just left of where the road is closed.

The cactus were beautiful - blooming in the rugged terrain.