Larry Lamsa/Flickr Creative Commons
Well folks, it’s definitely starting to feel like a Texas summer here in mid-July! That oppressive heat and humidity that we all secretly started missing back in January or February has arrived with a vengeance after a super wet spring and early summer. When that hot, wet blanket settles over the Gulf Coast and you know it’s not gonna move along until October, my mind starts to drifting to the closest place I can go where it’s 65-70 degrees: New Mexico. So today we’re going to take a little trip to way north New Mexico, and a little tiny town called Chama.
Chama, NM is home to the narrow gauge mountain scenic railroad, the Cumbres & Toltec. If you’ve never been on a working steam train, you’ve gotta try it…it’s like stepping back in time 100 years. The Cumbres and Toltec was a working railroad called the Denver & Rio Grande originally constructed in 1880 and operating supporting mining and oil operations until it finally closed down in the late 1960’s. The States of Colorado and New Mexico purchased the portion of line between Antonito, CO and Chama, NM in 1970 for use as a tourist railway and tourist trips began the following year, 1971.
The trip from north our of Chama on the train is a long hard grind up over 10,000 feet through the Cumbres Pass and to a midday stopping point at Osier and the Toltec Gorge. Riders have the option to continue on to Antonito and return to Chama by bus, or catch a ride back to Chama on the train that departed Antonito and arrived in Osier about the same time. Pack a sack lunch and have a picnic by the gorge and wait for the train whistle that signals departure. The views are in credible, the experience of riding in the open top car at the back of the train is wonderful, but remember to not wear your best clothes because coal dust and soot end up all over you! As always, before you hit the trail, please hit us on the website for all your parts and accessories!