Road to Raton, New Mexico.

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caravanman

Engineer
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
4,800
Location
Nottingham, England.
 

On Thursday, I did not use the car at all, it felt fresh to walk a little and make use of the good cheap public transport options.

Friday:

I was rather annoyed with myself this morning... somehow I have managed to loose almost all my prescription medications... I could not believe it, hunting through every last place to no avail. I can only imagine that I left them in the hotel in Vegas. What a moron! It rather got me down, as a warning that I am not as alert as I should be over important things. I still probably have enough to manage on, that's the main thing.

So I set off rather later than usual, and after a quick visit to the supermarket for water and fruit, etc, I set course north for Chama. A nice drive, outstanding red rock formations, everywhere one looks it is so impressive. Chama is at one end of the narrow gauge steam railroad that winds it's way to Antonito. As luck would have it, they were moving two of the steam engines as I arrived, so I got a few pics. Several other engines around the site looked as though they had been used to supply spare parts, although they may be candidates for repair, they looked far gone.

Drove on to Antonito, where there were more steam engines, again in part dismantled condition. I made enquiries about riding the train, but was told it was sold out for the next two days... some sort of special event trains with freight cars and so on.

The road between the two stations was great, two very high passes at 10,000 feet, twice as high as Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK.

I have never been all that interested in the autumn leaf colour turning which many folk enjoy... but this road had some very impressive sights with the mix of colours. I think it is the sheer scale of it all, trees, mountains, distant views that make an impression that is so different from home...

I headed up to Alamosa to spend the night, a rather dull and thankfully short ride.

Which brings me up to Saturday 27th Sept. with these notes...

Had a good sleep, and headed back to Antonito in order to grab a few shots of the morning train as it headed out to Chama. I was able to climb up to the footplate, and felt the heat as they shovelled extra coal in. Sadly, I was not the only one left behind, a family with young kids had not booked in advance either, although they took the disappointment well, without any tears. I guess that it is getting near the end of the season, so maybe that and the freight train runs make for an extra busy weekend.

Following some suggestions, I headed first to Taos, where pueblo style housing is the norm. I was surprised to see what looked like a fairy tale creation of a house out on the highway, and stopped for a better look... It transpired that there are several fanciful houses which aspire towards sustainable, energy efficient living.

I liked the individual and quirky designs, but in some ways they rather miss the point, the pueblo thick walled houses seem to achieve the same result without all the fuss...

Saw a wooley bully, with a wooley jaw... not sure, but think they were a herd of Buffalo. Also came across some Elk and Llamas, not seen much exotic wildlife before today, just cattle and horses... as expected in this wild west!

Again a very nice drive onwards to Raton, some heavy rain showers but mostly sunshine, where I found a nice cheap motel with one drawback... their internet was down, but the cheap price suited me well enough!

Although this place, Sunday evening, has internet, it is very slow, so pics will have to follow...

Ed.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ed, thanks for the photos and story. Sorry you didnt get a chance to ride the Cumbres train, but the road between Chama and Antonito gives a good flavor of the train ride. Great memories of our trip there last May and June. See you in a week or so. :)
 
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