Riding the Rails

Thurs-Fri, Sept 28-29… 

Thursday we travel south to Alamosa (still CO, but barely), retracing some of our Tuesday drive w/ Beth before turning onto Rte 17. Alamosa’s kinda small, but there is a Walmart, so we make a quick stop for yogurt and veggies before heading east of town to Base Camp Ranch, our home for 2 nights. The campground is new and, we discover on arrival, the laundry center hasn’t actually been built yet.  OK… wash out a few necessities and move forward. Lazy evening. Walking around the campground at dusk, I chatted with some folks and was asked what our plans were here. And I drew an absolute blank – could not for the life of me remember why we are specifically here. I did know, however, that there was a definite reason, and somehow that made my forgetfulness even worse. A few minutes later I remembered: we’re riding the historic Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Sixty-some miles on narrow gauge (3’) track. The trip is highly recommended.

Leaving Denver

Snow on Park (County) South Valley

Modest Little Mountain Cabin

Rain (slightly lower elevation)

The sacred doors.

So…  FRIDAY morning we toss a few things in a tiny backpack and head out with plenty of time to get to the train depot in Antonito. For probably the first time on the entire trip, Greg doesn’t program Garmin. (No reason to, really, it’s almost a straight shot from Alamosa). Also for one of the few times, I don’t pay any attention to which way we’re going. Bottom line: 20 minutes later we realize we’re driving north instead of south. These train tickets were expensive. I call and ask if we can move the booking to Saturday. Nope, Sat is sold out. OK. We’re in a BMW heading south on a highway pretty much in the middle of nowhere and we now seem to be making pretty darn good time. Our ETA has dropped from 10:04 to 9:57. (You can guess when the train leaves.) I call again: “We’re trying to make it. Please don’t sell our tickets.” I’m assured that won’t happen, but the train does not wait for anyone.  We have to pass thru 2 tiny towns (35mph) and we’re not sure where the depot entrance is. There! Into the parking lot and a grinding halt in what we hope is a legitimate space. 9:58. Grab backpack and run. Grab tickets (the only 2 left) and collapse in seats 13&14, car F. 

Left is best (view)...  throughout the trip.
(Fortunately, folks move around a lot - and there's an open car.)

Uninspiring start.

The middle portion, including Toltec Gorge & Cumbres Pass, is definitely the most interesting. To achieve ½ mile of ascent required 2½ miles of looping track (and passengers on the view side can usually look straight down 😃).

Tributary to Rio de Piños

River rushing through the canyon.
(and pic taken thru the window - sorry)

One of many grand views.

Rounding a corner...

...and resting while we enjoy a turkey dinner.
(served cafeteria style, just like high school)

Throughout the trip, one of the Friends of the CTSRR group passed through the cars sharing stories from the RR's heydey. Originally built to service the gold & silver mines, these 64 miles of track (the remaining eastern end of the original Antonito to Silverton line) were laid in just over a year, which I find amazing. There are 2 trestles and two tunnels, one through solid rock. The narrow gauge provided better traction and made tighter turns possible. As we rounded some of those tight turns, though, I sometimes wondered how all that weight survived on just 3 feet. Our lunch stop (the turkey dinner) was at Osier (one of the old mining towns, I think), and a very modern bus (with a much wider wheel base) returned us to Antonito in relatively short order. 

PartingShots... The sky as we drove back to the campsite just got better and better. The first shot was taken shortly after we left Antonito; the second is back at Base Camp. The two "ends" of rainbow actually appeared relatively early in the drive, then eventually disappeared. I was very surprised to see this "stub" still on the horizon when we got back to the MH.

Beautiful ending to a perfect day.