Thousands visit Royal Gorge for Fourth of July weekend

Thousands of people from all over the world visited the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park over the Fourth of July weekend.

A wildfire burned 3,000 acres and flames consumed 48 of the 52 buildings at the famous park.

The park has opened for weekends and holidays to give people guided tours.

Even with a limited opening, park officials said the Royal Gorge had more than1,000 people visit a day.The park also mademore than $30,000 over the weekend.

“We got crews working seven days a week to get us to where we are now,”Royal Gorge Bridge and Park Vice President Mike Banderasaid.

Tourists said even with the park not fully reopened, they still wanted to visit.

“It’s still breathtaking,” Rusty Caspers said.

“The views are just spectacular, this is our first time here with my kids and they love every minute,” Don Baker said.

John Saxton owns a business near Royal Gorge. He saidthe wildfire chased away his customers last year.With the park open again, he said more people are visiting his shop.

“This is our busiest weekend ever. It was really good we were busy all weekend and people from all over the country and world showed up,” he said.

Bandera said $23 million has beenspent to fix the park.

The park is expected to have a full opening next May.