Rio Grande Gorge Bridge: Pedestrian Thrills

Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico

The Rio Grande Gorge is an unexpected 1,300-foot-wide crack in the flat, empty tablelands of northern New Mexico. US 64, a two-lane blacktop, crosses it on a bridge built in 1965. Its designers included sidewalks -- obviously for tourists, since there's no reason that anyone would just be strolling out here in the middle of nothing -- along with little porches that jut out over the void. There's nothing between you and your camera and a 650-foot drop into the gorge except a chest-high guardrail!

Engineers can't install any additional safety protection without compromising the structural integrity of the bridge, so the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge will remain as it is, an interactive monument to the at-your-own-risk vacations of mid-20th-century America. Watch your step.