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Article: It's a grande old gorge. Want a thrill? Go raft New Mexico's Rio Grande.
- Article from:
- Sunset
- Article date:
- July 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Sunset Publishing Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Rio Grande Gorge doesn't announce itself. As you drive west across open plateau on U.S. Highway 64, you can practically reach the gorge's rim without realizing that you've been heading toward an 800-foot-deep rift in the New Mexico earth.
The first clues that something is up (or in this case, down) are brake lights ahead, followed by a cluster of cars and pedestrians. You've reached the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, said to be the second-highest suspension bridge in the country. From it you can look down into a huge gash that runs 60 miles before spreading out into a broader plain north of Santa Fe.
The bridge is a natural spot for photos and vertigo. But there ...