We set off on our trip to explore the rail from Austin, TX heading towards Antonito, CO. Our travels taking us north through the Texas Panhandle, we planned on one overnight stay at the halfway point of our journey. We found that the Palo Duro Canyon State Park would make for an excellent pit stop so we booked a B & B for the night which was essentially a bedroom adjoined to horse stable on a ranch in Canyon, TX. This was one of many pleasant surprises that we would encounter on this journey back in time. Our roommates in the barn included two horses named Gus and Rosie, a goat named Diego, two barn cats and one mini horse named Sassy (named after her rambunctious temperament) who all stayed outside our room but were eager to greet us as we made our way around the ranch. 

Palo Duro also gave us more than we would have imagined. As we entered the park a large herd of desert bighorn sheep crossed our path as they headed for the canyon. They ran along the cliffs edge with amazing power and grace evoking the feeling of watching a scene from Planet Earth. I could almost hear David Attenborough narrating as the majestic animals raced along the ridge. Meanwhile the sunset was about to steal the show as it cast pink and blue hues over the rust colored rocks and set our hearts on fire. This happened to be the 9th anniversary of our engagement so we spent the rest of the evening reflecting on our path to this point and comparing the highs and lows to the canyon walls in front of us. 

The next day we broke through the Texas border, blasting this playlist we had been curating along the many hours in the car. We felt so grateful for the cool Colorado air that welcomed us to the Rockies. Our assent took us up through the Sangre de Cristo mountains and then down into the San Luis Valley before passing the Great Sand Dunes National Park (an amazing place we did not know existed before but made a note to camp there on the way home). we passed town after town with large historic locomotives on display in their village square.

Finally we arrived in Antonito to begin the real reason for this trip, boarding one of the most historic and iconic steam engine trains in existence and leaving all of the worries of 2020 behind. Pulling into the station our excitement began to build seeing clouds of smoke billow from the engine. Before boarding we had a chance to meet John and Veronica Bush, the general managers and stewards of the rail. They made us feel like part of the family as they told us stories of the trains history and welcomed us aboard the parlor car. 

We pull out of the depot, feeling the weight of all that steel beginning to pick up steam and roll down the line. It’s a narrow gauge rail which means that it’s only 3 feet wide, designed because it needed to clear the narrow passages cut through the mountain rock. Every part of the car showed you details of hand crafted wood and metal work that has been restored to it’s former glory. And in the time it takes you to look around and appreciate those little details, you’ve passed the railroad crossing in town where locals gather so they can wave you off out of the present and into the past. 

Then, instantaneously you are transported back in time over 100 years and experiencing what few people get to see, 64 miles of rugged and untouched wild American West. Clicking along at about 13 MPH, the heavy glass windows and open space cars turn your view into a rolling panoramic of wide open spaces and dramatic vistas. Both Colorado and New Mexico share this beautiful land but as you switch back and forth between both state lines there is a feeling that this place is something special and unique - as you can’t quite pin down the actual place and time you are in. 

Every person we ended up meeting who had a hand in running the train gave us such a feeling of pride in their profession. Both our conductors were third generation railroad lifers and beamed with joy over their life’s work. Tina the cart attendant had been working on the train for 17 years and told us the most amazing stories of the trains history, including when Willie Nelson, who holds a special place in our hearts, stared in the film “Where’s That Damn Gold” which had scenes on the very train we were riding. Then there was Chuck, who was in the 50th year of his marriage and the 50th year of being one of the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec whose mission it is to preserve the train and the way of life it creates. 

Our route on this particular day included climbing into the mountains, passing though the breathtaking Toltec Gorge, traversing a few tunnels and countless aspen and pine trees, before arriving at the Osier Train Station for one of the more satisfying meals one can eat. 

The all you can eat roasted turkey lunch is not only nourishing because the food is so delicious, but also because of the kind and wonderful staff who prepares the meal by smoking turkey at 6am every day as they await for your train to arrive. If the long days preparing meals is tiring, you would not know it by the smiling faces that await you to serve good ole fashion homemade county vittles to famished train travelers. While sitting in the dining hall and observing the guests interacting with staff and families relishing in the natural beauty around them, I truly felt like life had slowed down and this was the recharge that my soul was craving. 

On this trip, we did not continue on the rail to Chama, NM but instead made the return visit to Antonito. Heading back down through the pass gives you another opportunity to take in the landmarks that dot the journey including the Garfield Monument, Rock Tunnel, Father-Daughter Rock, Phantom Curve, Lava Tank, and Hangman’s Trestle. Each have their own unique story and history that give these features life, but to hear those stories from the staff who know them best is really the only way to experience it. And that is what we were left with most, an experience that was truly like no other. As we returned home and started back up our life that often includes constant change, it still feel good reminiscing about one piece of our past that stands beautiful and unchanging, the CumbreS & Toltec Scenic Railroad.