Highway of the Legends
Travel Blog 354: Lazy Dogs and Old Trains
Roadrunners RV Park, Santa Fe
Nice to wake up chilly! To take the Pups out for the early walk, I put a long-sleeve shirt on over my tee-shirt, but a jacket should have been my choice. We took our time preparing for the day, as we were just a short drive to our first Colorado destination.
When you get a chance, Santa Fe is a great area to visit, especially the awesome Saturday Farmers Market (and Tuesdays in the summer). This is a must if you can work it into your schedule (https://santafefarmersmarket.com). Alas, we had no time this trip.
Lazy Dogs
Jackson has always been comfortable in the coach when traveling.
And Toby continues to get better as well.
Luckily, now I have some time without a dog on my lap to work on the blog and other productive endeavors.
Conejos River Campground
We had an easy trip north of Santa Fe to our Conejos River Campground, 14 miles west of Antonito, Colorado, 7,890 elevation. We have stayed here many times before and loved the location and really liked the people who owned and ran the park. Our only regret was that all our previous visits were before the world-famous train trips were in progress. However, this year it was to be different, as we were arriving after Memorial Day and the trains were running. Even better, our son, Aaron, and our grandson, Austin, were driving down to experience it with us.
The Cumbres-Toltec
In the 1880s, the narrow-gauge steam trains that rolled along at 12-miles-per hour were the state-of-the-art in transportation, connecting regions, connecting towns, connecting people. The Cumbres-Toltec today is a great example of that lifestyle of the past that we can all relate to, experience, and connect with. The Cumbres and Toltec is a National Historic Landmark and authentic steam railroad that rides through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and New Mexico.
Interestingly, the railroad is jointly owned and jointly managed by the states of New Mexico and Colorado. Like so many organizations, COVID hit the Cumbres-Toltec organization hard, but they are now back almost to normal. I signed us up several months ago on their main offering from Antonito, CO, to Chamas, New Mexico, departing on the train at 10 a.m., stopping for lunch at Ostier, heading to Chamas, and then returning to Antonito via bus a little after 5 p.m. Unfortunately, New Mexico and Colorado had not yet figured out how to coordinate the bus travel, so a compromise was made—our trip from Antonito headed to Ostier for lunch, and then we returned on the same train back to Antonito. Not ideal, but much better than no train ride!
Our trip was favored with ideal weather and great scenery of mountains, valleys, streams, and forests. The eyes of the abundant aspens watched over us, and a palate of colors from wildflowers carpeted the meadows—Indian paintbrush, lupine, hairy false goldenaster, bindweed, spreading phlox, Spanish bayonet, globe mallow, dalmation toadflax, Carolina larkspur, milkvetch, antelope horns, purple locoweed, cow parsley, wild rose, wasatch beardtongue.
Note: Jan provided the identification and the wildflower pics.
Check it out at https://cumbrestoltec.com. Highly recommended.
Antonito Day Trip
The morning after the train trip, we had a traditional Mexican breakfast (Jan and I both had the Smothered Burrito with Sausage and Green and Red Peppers) at the Dutch Windmill in Antonito. Yes, you read that correctly—the Dutch Windmill serves authentic Mexican food. After our meal, Austin and AJ went on their way back home. After our great reunion, Jan and I and the Pups headed for a day-trip adventure exploring areas to our west.
Conejos River to Lathrop State Park
We got up early the next day, packed, and headed out to Lathrop State Park near Wallenburg, Colorado.
Arriving and setting up camp early, we had our lunch and then got into the Jeep. We took Highway 160 back west a few miles, and then connected with Highway 12, the Colorado Scenic Byway called the Highway of the Legends. With a vibrant background of green, the wildflowers showed off like models on a movie set. Gorgeous. We headed through the towns of La Veta and Cuchara, and then over and up to Cucharas Pass. Instead of following the tried-and-true Highway of the Legends south than east, we detoured into the Spanish Peaks, taking the dirt/sand/gravel/rock San Isabel National Forest Road all the way to Cordova Pass at 11,248 feet. The only critter we saw was a chipmunk, but the promised scenic views were scenic. It was here that Toby had his first encounter with snow. At Cordova Pass we turned back and retraced our tracks back to camp, stopping once for a beer/wine/chicken-wing break on the deck of the Dog at Cuchuras.
See you next time as we explore Chatfield State Park, one of the gems of Colorado.
PS: I was asked if it was OK to send the blog to others? Of course, and thanks for asking.
Nice to wake up chilly! To take the Pups out for the early walk, I put a long-sleeve shirt on over my tee-shirt, but a jacket should have been my choice. We took our time preparing for the day, as we were just a short drive to our first Colorado destination.
When you get a chance, Santa Fe is a great area to visit, especially the awesome Saturday Farmers Market (and Tuesdays in the summer). This is a must if you can work it into your schedule (https://santafefarmersmarket.com). Alas, we had no time this trip.
Lazy Dogs
Jackson has always been comfortable in the coach when traveling.
And Toby continues to get better as well.
Luckily, now I have some time without a dog on my lap to work on the blog and other productive endeavors.
Conejos River Campground
We had an easy trip north of Santa Fe to our Conejos River Campground, 14 miles west of Antonito, Colorado, 7,890 elevation. We have stayed here many times before and loved the location and really liked the people who owned and ran the park. Our only regret was that all our previous visits were before the world-famous train trips were in progress. However, this year it was to be different, as we were arriving after Memorial Day and the trains were running. Even better, our son, Aaron, and our grandson, Austin, were driving down to experience it with us.
The Cumbres-Toltec
In the 1880s, the narrow-gauge steam trains that rolled along at 12-miles-per hour were the state-of-the-art in transportation, connecting regions, connecting towns, connecting people. The Cumbres-Toltec today is a great example of that lifestyle of the past that we can all relate to, experience, and connect with. The Cumbres and Toltec is a National Historic Landmark and authentic steam railroad that rides through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and New Mexico.
Interestingly, the railroad is jointly owned and jointly managed by the states of New Mexico and Colorado. Like so many organizations, COVID hit the Cumbres-Toltec organization hard, but they are now back almost to normal. I signed us up several months ago on their main offering from Antonito, CO, to Chamas, New Mexico, departing on the train at 10 a.m., stopping for lunch at Ostier, heading to Chamas, and then returning to Antonito via bus a little after 5 p.m. Unfortunately, New Mexico and Colorado had not yet figured out how to coordinate the bus travel, so a compromise was made—our trip from Antonito headed to Ostier for lunch, and then we returned on the same train back to Antonito. Not ideal, but much better than no train ride!
Our trip was favored with ideal weather and great scenery of mountains, valleys, streams, and forests. The eyes of the abundant aspens watched over us, and a palate of colors from wildflowers carpeted the meadows—Indian paintbrush, lupine, hairy false goldenaster, bindweed, spreading phlox, Spanish bayonet, globe mallow, dalmation toadflax, Carolina larkspur, milkvetch, antelope horns, purple locoweed, cow parsley, wild rose, wasatch beardtongue.
Note: Jan provided the identification and the wildflower pics.
Check it out at https://cumbrestoltec.com. Highly recommended.
Antonito Day Trip
The morning after the train trip, we had a traditional Mexican breakfast (Jan and I both had the Smothered Burrito with Sausage and Green and Red Peppers) at the Dutch Windmill in Antonito. Yes, you read that correctly—the Dutch Windmill serves authentic Mexican food. After our meal, Austin and AJ went on their way back home. After our great reunion, Jan and I and the Pups headed for a day-trip adventure exploring areas to our west.
Conejos River to Lathrop State Park
We got up early the next day, packed, and headed out to Lathrop State Park near Wallenburg, Colorado.
Arriving and setting up camp early, we had our lunch and then got into the Jeep. We took Highway 160 back west a few miles, and then connected with Highway 12, the Colorado Scenic Byway called the Highway of the Legends. With a vibrant background of green, the wildflowers showed off like models on a movie set. Gorgeous. We headed through the towns of La Veta and Cuchara, and then over and up to Cucharas Pass. Instead of following the tried-and-true Highway of the Legends south than east, we detoured into the Spanish Peaks, taking the dirt/sand/gravel/rock San Isabel National Forest Road all the way to Cordova Pass at 11,248 feet. The only critter we saw was a chipmunk, but the promised scenic views were scenic. It was here that Toby had his first encounter with snow. At Cordova Pass we turned back and retraced our tracks back to camp, stopping once for a beer/wine/chicken-wing break on the deck of the Dog at Cuchuras.
See you next time as we explore Chatfield State Park, one of the gems of Colorado.
PS: I was asked if it was OK to send the blog to others? Of course, and thanks for asking.