Chuckles

[Diane Amberg]

 Bad, Teresa, Bad...Oh,boo!!                  When is a chair like a lady's dress?
                                                       When it is sat in. (satin)


When we took the Cumbres & Toltec train ride, there was a stop at the far end where we stopped for lunch before the return trip. There was a good sized building where they served a nice buffet, with seating inside and picnic benches outside. As we were taking our trays outside, to eat and enjoy the beautiful weather, we saw a contingent of cute ground squirrels headed up the train steps into each car. They went over and under every seat looking for any dropped goodies. As we started cleaning up to leave, here they came, bounding down the steps. As we got seated and began to pull away, there they were, under and over every picnic table  looking for leftovers.

[flo]

aren't those fun to watch 

[Diane Amberg]

     When is a sheep like ink?
      When it's in a pen.                                                                       

[Diane Amberg]

   How is a baby like a big storm?
   They both get started with a squall.

[W. Gray]

As an addition to Diane's railroad comment.

I think, the Granddaddy of them all is the steam powered Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge RR. The line uses nineteenth century type cars both open and closed.

Fares begin at $65 but can go to $200 each person depending on accommodations. There are as many as four trains a day, seven days a week. 

After an around 8:00 a.m. departure from Durango, the train arrives in Silverton, a former mining town, about noon and passengers get off to roam town and eat lunch. Silverton is a little larger than Moline but has many restaurants and shops that cater to a quarter million annual tourist trade, most of whom arrive by rail.

Silverton, the county seat, is the only town in San Juan County, the least populated county in Colorado. The total county population is just under 600 and not more than a handful of citizens live outside the county seat.

All the restaurants and stores we patronized had potbellied stoves for heating. The line has to shut down during dead of winter due to snow blockage.

Durango located in the southwest Colorado is at 6,500 feet and the rail line climbs to 9,300 feet at Silverton. (By comparison, Howard is at 1,200 feet). The roadbed and track were constructed by Chinese and Irish laborers. 

At one point along the line there is a five-star resort. The only way to and from the resort is by train. There is, however, a helicopter pad for those who have the means for such amenities.

The scenery is spectacular but the train ride combined with the altitude can be tiring. A good many people sleep the return trip.

There is also a ledge which terrifies many passengers. With little room to hold the narrow gauge track, the canyon wall goes straight down three hundred feet to the Animas River.

The steam powered Cumbres & Toltec narrow gauge is owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico. That line meanders in and out of those states twenty-six times. A trip begins either at Antonito, Colorado, at 7,800 feet or at Chama, New Mexico, at the same elevation.  Trains meet at Osier, Colorado, for lunch after which most people return to their departure point, although some continue on to the other end.  The line goes as high as 10,000 feet at Cumbres Pass.

[Diane Amberg]

 We started out at Chama and had lunch at Osier.That's where we saw those clever ground squirrels. We have the Durango and Silverton on our list, but I don't know if Al has the Stamina for it any more. I assume you are a train buff?

[W. Gray]

Yes, but unfortunately my wife is not. The last train ride we took was the Grand Canyon train out of Williams, Arizona, to the Grand Canyon.

That train was robbed by masked gunmen who came out of nowhere at a gallop firing at the run and boarding from their running horses. Fortunately, the sheriff was on the train and corralled them all during a gunfight. Kids from six to eighty enjoyed the ruckus. Part of the fare pays for their acting abilities.

Soon after, we were leaving Death Valley headed for another ride in Nevada but she pleaded no more and I can understand her view.

Also, in Colorado, there is a railroad tour that leaves Cañon City (Canyon City) and goes along the bottom of the Royal Gorge. (This area of Colorado was once part of the Spanish empire.)

One can look up 1,200 feet to the Royal Gorge Bridge and it seems like a toothpick. The bottom of the gorge is only fifty feet wide and both the train track and the Arkansas River share that width.

The Pike's Peak Cog Railway goes from Manitou Springs up to the top of Pikes Peak at 14,000 feet. It operates using cogs between the rails interlocking with cogs on the cars to help ratchet the train along.

The cogs allow climbing steeper grades than with a regular locomotive and help keep the train from being a runaway.

[Diane Amberg]

 I've done the Pikes Peak Cog Train too. It was high summer and we were the only people on board who had proper clothes. ( I had been on it before)  We have the photo of us standing in front of the altitude sign. 14,110 ft. What a beautiful view. We could see all the way into Kansas. The amber waves of grain.... We have our own steam train too. The Wilmington & Western. It goes from Greenbank station to Hockessin, all of 10 miles away. Every time they think they've raised enough money to add track, some tropical storm hits us and tears it up again. It's along a stream bank that floods like what Howard got.   
  I loved the Alaska RR too. Not steam, but what a trip.  We drove to Grand Canyon, but got to meet the train as it came into the village. Everybody was waving and having a good time. I still want to ride the skunk train. We saw Royal Gorge but didn't take the train. The Cripple Creek train does the train robbery too. One of the outlaws took a tumble down a huge pile of mining tailings; I don't know why he didn't break a leg.

[flo]

We didn't take the train from Durango to Silverton, opting instead to drive and I'm glad we did, although we paralleled the train many times.  We made a lot of stops to look at scenery, old mines, etc. and still got to Silverton ahead of the train.  We done the "town tour" and I was most impressed by the monument to miners at the north edge on the hill and looking down at Silverton from that hill.  I have many pictures in our scrapbook taken there.  One thing I do on our trips is take pictures.  Didn't take the train ride from Williams to the grand canyon either, drove it, but did take a plane trip out over the grand canyon.  That was awesome.

[Diane Amberg]

 Alright, now listen up. When Al went to bed last night he said, "This pillow feels really good." and I said  "Said Tom softly."   Do you remember those?   Now, Rudy and Frawg, don't you dare go where you could. Behave!!!
     "Dawn came too soon,"  Tom mourned.
      "That's the last time I'll ever touch a lion," said Tom offhandedly

Ok, take it away! Your turn.