Saturday, Project End, or Planes, Trains & Automobiles…

I am up before 7:00, rising without benefit of alarm… shower, stuff a few last things in the suitcase… then head downstairs… and spend a few minutes with coffee, checking email before the others joined me for breakfast at 7:30 (huevos rancheros, for this is the home of food smothered in green chilies and what is better than huevos rancheros smothered in green chilies…) Breakfast done, we check out of the Inn of the Rio Grande and say goodbye…  We are in the car and on the road by 8:30... Then, 200 yards later we stop for gas... Rushing to meet the day is not our strong suit….

Here in Alamosa, it's overcast and cold... Snow is expected...

We are headed south down Colorado 285 through the San Luis Valley, through La Jara, towards Antonito our work place for the last 10 days… this time we don’t stop to spend the day in Antonito, for today we are headed back to California…  At Antonito we turn west towards the mountains…

There was a sign at Antonito, suggesting chains may be needed ahead… our rental car we doesn’t have chains and we have probably signed a disclaimer saying we wouldn’t use chains… We are concerned but not worried… we have checked weather reports in detail and talked to friends who live in Chama about what to expect.  They have recommended this route.

 

The road rose as we climbed the along the Conejoes River, into the Rockies… the landscape changed from the dry flat San Luis Valley, to Mountains, with pines and aspen… the buildings change from farms and barns to vacation cabins… Vacation cabins are much neater than the farms and barns… it is clear who has money, and does not include potatoes. The rain started before Antonito (7,800’) quickly changing to sleet as we leave town, then to snow…

A little beyond 8,000 feet we hit the sign calling for chains... (there was no one present to enforce said sign, and as our car had all season tires we made an informed (or optimistic) decision to proceed) And, as if by design it started to snow harder.  There was no sign that anyone was using chains, so while we considered turning back, we did not, and westward we continued… From 8,000 feet or so the road climbed, now steeper… more snow on the ground, the snow falling with intent… but the road while snow covered was easy traveling as long as we took it slow…  We took it slow…

We saw a couple of snow plows and a number of people parked by the side of the road (none of who had chains on their vehicles) Many of the other travelers had snow mobiles (or “snow machines” in local dialect) on trailers.  Signs reminded you than when parking you must be at least 10’ away from the road… we wouldn’t want one of those messy snow plow and car incidents after all. 

We soldiered on… over La Manga Pass (10,230’) then over Cumbres Pass (10,022’) in a near white out… There was never more than about 4” of snow on the road, and conditions were not too slick… Between the passes we rejoined the Cumbres & Toltec railroad near Los Pinos…  The water tank standing ghost like in the snow…  Conditions were nasty so we didn’t stop for photos…. At Cumbres the station and snow shed were well snowed in…

From Cumbres the road and railroad drop steeply down towards Chama at 7,850’… it continued to snow, but there was much less on the ground, and road conditions improved significantly… along the way we slipped into New Mexico…

In Chama we stopped at the railroad depot to visit with John and report on the project status… Chama particularly the railroad yard is a spectacular time capsule… a narrow gauge railroad yard and helper station, filled with wonderful (old) things… locomotives and wooden railroad cars… a bit dirty and grimy in a way that speaks to age and authenticity…. This time, time was our enemy…  We have a flight to catch, and with road conditions an unknown, we have set a hard deadline for leaving Chama….  as the others walked to the car, I ran through the yard, taking pictures, reveling in the railroad yard in snow… 

Now back on the road, we turned south on NM 89 towards Espanola... Of course, still in the snow.   

Again, the landscape was changing...  The Rockies giving way to the aired southwest... Pines and aspen become pinion pine and juniper with cottonwoods in the river bottom, mountains become sandstone buttes… then, after 45 minutes the snow becomes rain as we drop in elevation.  Now firmly in the southwest, we pass Georga O'Keefe's home in Aliquie... I have visions of cattle skulls and flowers… I may be delusional…

We reach Espanola by 12:30... Kyle and I have been lost in Espanola before...  Twice... (the signs for the highway and the business route are confusing) This time mike spots the sign telling us to turn left, saving us a third chance to wander.

From Santa Fe to Albuquerque we make good time…  better time than expected… we find gas, turn in the rental and reach the airport early… check bags (note, the Southwest Airline staff were particularly nice, cheerful and helpful…)  Our flight is delayed... Our flight from Las Vegas may be delayed as well, or not.. (Gate staff in Albuquerque say we are…) once on board, If we check status based on our ticket and it is..  If we simply check flight status through the Southwest.com website we are not.  I suspect we might be...

We find lunch and a beer or two at the Rio Grande Brew Pub and Grill in the airport while waiting… They had a couple of particularly nice very dark beers… Something difficult to find in Alamosa (except for their local brewpub, The San Luis Brewing Co… they understood dark beers… a wonderful spot of darkness in an otherwise light beer city).

Now 4:54pm... On the plane (the first of two planes)... In Albuquerque... Southwest 3003... To Las Vegas... From there to Sacramento...

A bit over an hour later… Dropping down into Nevada.... The desert stark and wonderful... Lake Mead and surrounding hills gives way to boulder, then Henderson, then Vegas... It's raining... A rare desert rain...

We land, we head for the new gate... They announce our gate has been changed...  We check the time on our phones… and watch the time update as have now entered the Pacific time zone.  We find the new gate... They are deep in the boarding process...  they are well beyond our boarding numbers.... We get the last remaining row near the back of the plane...  When we checked in, (in Albuquerque) and were told our flight here was delayed, we were told that this flight was late, and the connection was not an issue.... But the second flight was not delayed... Luckily we went to the gate directly... Had we not, there might have been an issue...

Now, settled aboard... We are preparing to leave... We are now on time, per the guys at the pointy end of the airplane....  Time to power off...  As we climb you can see the Strip below, bright lights and crowds… not a place the three of us are drawn to, but still a bit compelling…

Now back above 10,000' somewhere over the Sierras.... It's dark outside... People are sleeping... The woman in the row behind is telling stories about how close she came to getting married while in Vegas.... A $29.00 margarita may have been involved...  Apparently you need a birth certificate to get a marriage license... She seems a bit disappointed… Such is the nature of overheard conversations...

We land a bit ahead of schedule… We recover our checked luggage… Mike says goodbye just outside the terminal… Debbie, aka Mrs. Kyle arrives shortly… we return to their home, I load my luggage in the Jeep for the drive home...  

I am home a bit after 10:00… It’s been 13 hours, 4 states, 345 miles by car (aka an automobile), a few minutes visiting the trains in Chama, and two flights for 875 miles by plane… all and all a good day.

The trip has resulted in two Picasa albums… 11 photos from the San Luis Valley and “February on the Cumbres & Toltec” including a cold day in Chama.

Travel well… Randy