Friday, July 6, 2018
We are in Creede, Colorado, on our way to Lake City, Colorado, where Steve’s great-great-grandfather prospected for silver and gold. He is buried there. Steve hopes to get some genealogical information from the local historical society.
Last Sunday we took a ride on a narrow-gauge train from Chama, New Mexico, to Antonito, Colorado. The scenery was breathtaking. Here are a few photos.
Our car on the train.
This is the fire truck that followed the train for the first half of the journey. Fire hazard was high on the western slope and we were traveling behind a coal-fired steam engine.
We were also followed on the track by two speeders which were pulling a water tank.
The pass was at 10,000 feet; Santa Fe is at 7000 feet. We had a nice lunch at the pass.
The obligatory “front of the train from the back of the train” picture.
One of great views from the trilp.
We always enjoy our train rides. It takes us back to a slower time and allows us to enjoy the scenery.
While I would say we are in the Rockies, we’re actually in the San Juan Mountains, which extend south into New Mexico. We left Santa Fe this morning and headed north, encountering some of the scenery that inspired Georgia O’Keefe. She lived for many years north of Santa Fe and painted much of the local scenery. I have always loved her flower pictures, so we did visit her museum in Santa Fe.
I am always amazed at how crossing a state line can define a change in scenery and today was no exception. We had been traveling the San Juan Mountains foothills and after crossing into Colorado, we were on the plains. And the architecture changed. While there were a few adobe homes, most of the houses could have been transplanted from the Midwest.
Then we turned west and headed into the San Juan Mountains. We were mostly following the Rio Grande, whose headwaters are in the San Juan’s. In fact, we are camped within 100 yards of the Rio Grande.
We drove by a motel we stayed in years ago, the Movie Manor in Monte Vista, Co. Most of the rooms have a view of the screen of the drive in theater next door and there is a speaker in the room, so you can open the curtains and watch the movie on the big screen. The motel gets 5 stars on Trip Advisor.
That trip was planned by Steve’s best man, Bill, and his wife, Karen who lived in Denver. I was very busy at work at the time and agreed to whatever Steve, Bill and Karen decided. It wasn’t until I was standing in their driveway that I realized I’d be spending the next week in a station wagon with 4 adults and 2 kids under the age of 5. I’d agreed to everything and just told myself to pay more attention next time. But Karen, who had done most of the planning, had done a wonderful job. She also did a great job with the kids. It was one of our great vacations and one we talk about often. We’ll be meeting up with Bill and Karen next week at the Crested Butte Wildflower festival.
Antler’s Rio Grande Lodge where we are staying would be a great spot for a fishing vacation. It has lodge rooms, cabins and an RV park. Some of the lodge rooms and cabins sit right on the river, which at this point is mostly a mountain stream. It also has a terrific restaurant. Steve had scallops and I had chicken marsala. We’re planning on breakfast there in the morning!
We haven’t seen much wildlife this trip. We saw a few pronghorns (antelope) on the train trip and lots of rabbits at our Santa Fe campground. This campground has a lot of chipmunks.
More later.
Deb
