One more off the bucket list!

I mentioned how disappointed I was that we were to be denied chance to ride the Cumbres and Toltec Historic Narrow Gauge Railroad. We had tried several times in the past, and were always shut out because they close down operations in mid-October. I thought this was the year, but the delay in booking our reservations resulted in the train being completely booked for the rest of the season.

I suggested the Woman ask the folks if they kept a list in case they received any cancellations of previously booked rides. The folk with the Railroad said they never have any cancellations, but were kind enough to take down her name and number. We were hopeful in that we had given them a two week window in which we would be able to ride any of the routes they operated, but they clearly discouraged our enthusiasm. Well, while we were actually out hiking the Continental Divide Trail at Wolf Creek Pass, the Woman’s phone rang from a number she didn’t recognize. When she read off the number to me I thought it was a New Mexico based number, and told her to call just in case it was the Railroad. It was! They actually had a rare cancellation of 4 seats in the Parlor Car (full bar service with a host) on a day which would allow us to spend as much time as we wanted in the Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument, and meet the Woman’s brother and nephew in Antonito Colorado for the trip. Obviously the travel angels were looking out for us!

Since we had to catch the train in Antonito Colorado, we checked out the town a bit before boarding the historic rail cars. I had to admit that I was a bit surprised. While I understand that Colorado’s new recreational marijuana law has created a lot of buzz, I had to admit that I was surprised that a city with a population of 781 needed not one, but two recreational dispensaries. I hope those 781 folk smoke a bunch!

The oldest congregation in Colorado is Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Conejos Colorado, just outside Antonito. While I hate to preach, I am pretty good at it. Conejos and Antonito are prime examples of why Congress has no idea how to run a business. Congress essentially demands that the US Postal Service make a profit – why not, both FedEx and UPS are huge commercial success and are in the same business, right? Well, neither FedEx or UPS have offices in either Antonito or Conejos – as I said, Antonito had a 2010 population of 781, and Conejos a whopping total of 58. Just a little over a mile from each other, the stone full service US Post Office facilities in both towns are why Congress has no clue – the US Postal service is a public service that cannot be compared to for profit businesses that know how to make money!

The original church was built in 1858, and nearly burned to the ground in 1926. The congregation was able to save the foundation and most of the walls of the church, and in 1927 they rebuilt upon those walls and created the oldest continuous church in the State. Not only were the walls and foundation preserved, but the historic stained glass and altar were preserved as well. This church is well worth a visit.

Also in Antonito is Canos Castle. Born Dominic Espinosa, Espinosa, a Native American veteran, began being referred to as Cano in the 1980’s – some say that his name came from the beer cans that he used as basic raw materials in his monument. It seems that Cano can’t decide whether his inspiration for his creation was Jesus or Mary Jane – something that wasn’t legal recreationally in Colorado when he first built his castle.

While not open for touring as Cano lives in his mostly recycled masterpiece, you can’t miss the twin spires anywhere you happen to be in the town of Antonito. So getting a chance to take in this interesting roadside phenomenon is not at all a problem.

When we got to the depot we had a new fun experience. Not only did we enjoy the new technology associated with the proliferation of amateur drones, but we also saw the advent of the new wave of marketing. No longer are you required to buy the DVD of a canned piece of footage of some generic trip on the Cumbres and Toltec Narrow Gauge Railroad. Now, at the end of your trip, you can buy the actual DVD of your specific ride, and you may even see yourself boarding or riding the train.

The track for the Cumbres and Toltec RR was originally laid in 1880 to support the lucrative mining operations in the area at the time. Over the years the typical boom and bust cycle impacted the line, but somehow it survived Into the late 1960’s when the successor Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad filed with the states of Colorado and New Mexico to abandon the line. The two states got together and managed to save the most scenic portion of the route.

A National Historic Landmark, the line is the longest surviving narrow gauge rail route covering 64 miles between Antonito Colorado and Chama New Mexico. The route closely hugs the two states’ borders, with the line crossing from Colorado to New Mexico and back no fewer than 10 times during this 64 mile trip.

The fall colors were at their peak for our trip – at least peak for the West. While there weren’t the prominent reds that we saw last fall in New Hampshire and Vermont, the yellows and greens were luminescent. The mountain sides provided the true natural canvas that Mother Nature used to spread her palette. Every turn and every curve gave new perspectives which left us all in awe.

The trip was magical in that the original coal fired steam engines are what pulled the coaches. Because we had 9 cars heading up the grade, it actually took two steam engines to provide the power needed to get us up there. Once we hit the mid-point in the trek we were able to lose one of the engines, as well as the fire suppression rig that was following us all the way up the mountain due to the potential for hot cinders coming from the coal fired engines.

At the longest trestle in the line we had a bit of a delay. It turns out that the trestle is not strong enough to bear the weight of two engines, so they have to disconnect one of the engines when they have a large collection of cars. They run the single engine across the trestle, and then the rest of the train follows. Once safely on the other side, they reconnect the two engines and continue on their way.

I can’t believe our luck in getting tickets when they never have cancellations. I also can’t believe how spectacular this trip is. While you can’t really go back in time to experience what elegant travel by rail was like at the time, the experience on the Cumbres and Toltec gets you close to that time travel. We have now traveled 3 of the 4 remaining narrow gauge lines of any length in the US, and truly enjoyed the experience.

Talk to you soon!