On to Chama NM and the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad.

The next morning we headed west from Amarillo.

At last, we are welcomed by New Mexico. As we were about to pull out from the Rest Area, Mary Jane did a walk-around of her RV and discovered that a tire on the passenger side had literally disintegrated while we were sitting there. It was fine when we stopped but, better to have it happen while you are stopped. She called her roadside service so we decided to have an early lunch while we waited. We waited about an hour or so and she bought a new tire as her spare was not good. 

It is a nice rest area so sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.

Our next goal was Chama but it was more than a single day's drive. Initially our plan was to stay in a Passport America park in Moriarty. That would have brought us closer to driving through Albuquerque on our way north. With the delay coming into New Mexico, we checked out a rest area but it was pretty noisy so I did some more research. Cline's Corner originally showed up as a rather expensive RV park according to the reviews but that turned out to be false. All the reviews were from October while the balloon festival was going on and everything around there goes up in price then. we paid $20 for a nice level, full hookup site that was secured with a gate as well as being nice and quiet.  I was taking Harley for a walk around the park when I noticed this mound in the grass over by a bush. Good thing I decided not to investigate.

It turned out to be a traveling bicyclist with a one man tent. We were able to head north from Cline's Corner and completely by bypass Albuquerque. Santa Fe didn't slow us down too much as we drove through.

We had reservations at Rio Chama RV Park in Chama.

Everything around here has a railroad theme since this is the home of the Cumbres & Toltec railroad.

We checked in at the office and were each escorted to our sites where they managed to put us close together.

The RV park is very nice and woodsy with spotless sites. I was backed up to the river. There is a fence with a gate so that you can get to the river but it is locked at night for security.

Remember the railroad theme.

Mary Jane was backed into a site right next to me.

As usual, Carolyn was taking the picture. We had happy hour on a bench overlooking the river.

The next morning we drove the 1/2 mile into town. This is the real reason we came to Chama. We had reservations on the Cumbres & Toltec railroad.

The scenic journey started out as soon as we left the station. We went right past the RV park.

The foggy areas you see are actually steam from the train.

It wasn't long before we were making a steep 4% climb into the mountains. We went past a remnant of the historic Lobato sheep ranch. There were open places with meadows and areas with white spen trees with their simmering leaves.  As the train climbs higher, you can look backward and see the whole Chama Valley.

One of the unique things about the railroad is that many original buildings remain along the route. We crossed the historic Cascade Creek Trestle which takes you 137 feet above the creek below.

The conductor made his rounds collecting tickets well after we were rolling through the countryside.

We opted for the less expensive seats as this is a fairly expensive addition to a trip but the seats and car were just fine. There are several choices in the type of railroad car as well as choices in trips. In one, you ride the train from Chama NM to Antonito CO and then ride a bus back. Another has you ride the bus to Antonito and then take the train back to Chama. We opted to ride the train to Osier and then return on the train. Part of the reason was because Harley was waiting for us back at the park and 7 hours was about as long as I would leave him. The other trips took 10 hours. The second reason was that most of the reviews said we would be on the most scenic part of the trip with a different viewpoint going and coming. It turned out to be a great choice.

We stopped for lunch at the old townsite of Osier, Colorado. Cumbres Pass is the highest pass reached by rail in the United States at 10,015 feet.

The little orange car follows the train all the way up and back to ensure that sparks don't start any fires along the way. We filled up with water a couple of times along the way. This is a train run by steam so the water is the fuel.

This is the place for lunch in Osier.

You have a choice of a meatloaf or turkey dinner. Actually the conductor had already told us you could have both. They have three lines set up to accomodate the choices.

People were still coming in but they had the meals set up to handle crowds quickly and easily. We found out that they also had a salad and soup line on another floor. All the food is included in the price of your ticket.

We weren't expecting anything great based on the lunch choices but we couldn't have been more wrong. The food was absolutely delicious! It was also hot and plentiful and also included many different choices of desserts and drinks.

After lunch we boarded the train.......but it was a different train so it was a good thing we didn't leave anything in our seats.

And we were off. Things do look different from the other side of the train in afternoon light.

Another quick water stop.

We crossed a number of roads and everytime there were photographers there taking pictures of the train.

Almost back at the station, we passed the RV park where residents were waiting to wave to us. See Mary Jane's rig on the left and mine behind the bushes?

All three of us were very glad that we added the train adventure to our trip. It was unique and something we will definitely remember. And I actually found out about from other RVers.