Fall Foliage on the Cumbres & Toltec
October 3-9, 2024
In 1986 on my — ahem! — first honeymoon, I visited the Southwest for the first time, and took a ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad. That was when I fell in love with the Southwest, although 14 years would pass before I managed to move here. Last year, for my 70th birthday, we celebrated by booking the parlor car on the run from Antonito to Osier. It was so much fun that we decided to do it again from the Chama side, repeating that ride from 38 years ago. We were joined by Tom and Ann, our old and very dear friends from Edgewood.
For this trip we took the RV so the cats could come along. They've turned into pretty good travelers. We try to keep them happy with lots of treats, cuddles and extra play time.
"Kitty wanna go for a ride?"
Madeleine loves to chase hair ties. I made "ear rings" for her. "Am I a joke to you, Marion?"
Glamour Pussy
As usual, we took the scenic route north, skirting the west side of the Gila on NM 180, and continuing north on NM 12, 36 and 117. We spent a pleasant night at one of our favorite spots near El Malpais, and then headed across the reservation, through the land of enormous skies and endless stairstepped mesas.
One of our favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants is hidden inside a Phillips 66 gas station in Cuba, New Mexico.
Two guys man the gas pumps, manage a small store, and prepare all the food! It's the best Mexican restaurant in Cuba according to Trip Advisor!
We camped where we've camped before, on a forest road near Gallina, and it's always been very quiet. But this time there was a constant stream of camper trucks and trailers, raising huge clouds of dust, well into the night.
We found peace and quiet by taking a sunset hike along a small stream, where we got our first glimpses of fall foliage.
Brightly colored rose hips on a Woods Rose.
Cliff Dwelling
A canyon that must remain unnamed has been on my radar for years. This was our chance to visit, leaving the highway at an oil tank graveyard and following a two-rut track to a trailhead located at an old well head.
It was a rough and steep but mercifully short hike to one of the best preserved cliff dwellings we'd ever seen.
Neither Puebloans nor Anasazi, the Gallina people occupied this area from 1100 AD to about 1275 AD, when they suddenly vanished.
None of today's Pueblo people claim the Gallina as their ancestors.
Crumbled foundations at the base of the cliff indicate that this was a much larger complex at one time.
We don't know if the spiral design is archaic or modern.
It's impossible to capture the majesty of the setting in a photo. A video is a bit more evocative.
The next leg of our trip was an eye-opener! I can't believe the badly rutted track, above, is a numbered state highway! I mean, it's not even gravel! Only in New Mexico!
But wait, there's more! After 16 miles of bone-jarring misery, we arrived at the El Vado dam. The road across the top of the dam is extremely narrow and so full of potholes that our rig swayed from side to side, threatening to pitch over the side at any moment.
Chama
We finally arrived in Chama and pulled into our spot at the Rio Chama RV Park. Like most such establishments, the spaces are tightly packed, but the park is well-treed and right next to the Rio Chama. The aspens were near peak color, the ground was strewn with golden leaves, and the scent of fall in the air was intoxicating!
Best of all, our campsite was right next to a bridge on the Rio Chama, and we arrived just in time for the evening train!
The evening's only project was to find a place for dinner, which turned out to be quite challenging. For one reason or another, nearly every restaurant in town was "closed for renovation". We ended up at a barbecue joint where there was an hours-long wait for a table.
But the time passed quickly with Tom and Ann for company!
Tom ogles Dennis' new mini amateur radio transceiver.
Never a dull moment with these folks!
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