What did we do this summer of 2013? Well, a road trip to New Mexico from our Texas hill country cabin. Luri and I drove to Albuquerque where we reconnected with family and had a few adventures, like riding the tram up to Sandia Mountain and having a picnic. What a view!
Or going to the St. John's Tearoom with big hats on, laughing hysterically as we devoured our appetizers like staving women. Note: eat lunch a couple of hours before you go!
The Cumbres & Toltec Railway is a charming chug through alpine forests and meadows up to Colorado where we disembarked, had lunch, then reboarded for a return trip back to Chama. We got up around 4:30 am to be sure we had plenty of time to make our boarding time of 9:00 am. We used Mom's outdated GPS which decided to take us through an old waypoint west of our destination. As the sun came up we were weaving in and out of the most gorgeous canyons and bluffs. I might want to add at this time, it only takes 2.5 hrs. to get there from Rio Rancho. So, needless to say we had some time to kill before we boarded even though we drove out of our way to get to Chama. We ate breakfast at Foster's
quaint cafe and looked around town, talking to a few locals. As we boarded our train car it was as though we stepped through time. The employees all dressed in period clothing as they told us about the history of the area and the old working rail line used for mining ore. Our seat mates were great as well. One man and his wife were taking their grandson, as they took their son years before. We were allowed to walk through the cars and visit, get drinks and snacks, and hang out in the open-air car to take pictures while listening to the guide tell us more about the landmarks as we chugged along. The coal smell and debris in the air coated every inch of us and made me think of how it must have been like to travel cross-country and why so many people wore hats. :)
Thanks, Mom, for giving us such a great adventure! We laughed, sang, teased each other and danced with life. That was one of the best road trips ever.
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