Type: Photos
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Pikes Peak Lake Moraine
Read This Post: Pikes Peak Lake MoraineAs we continue up the Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway, we arrive at Lake Moraine, one of several high mountain reservoirs in the area.
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Pikes Peak From the Garden of the Gods
Read This Post: Pikes Peak From the Garden of the GodsBack at the bottom of the summit of Pikes Peak, we travel our way through the nearby Garden of the Gods. At High Point Overlook, we look back and see that the clouds have finally cleared from the summit (our luck, I guess) and can see it from all the way down here. What a…
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Colorado Springs from Pike’s Peak
Read This Post: Colorado Springs from Pike’s PeakAs we travel up the Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway, we finally emerge from the forest to the timber line and get a glimpse of Colorado Springs below. We’re roughly halfway through our journey and starting to get close to the clouds above. The view here is spectacular. But will we have as…
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Collegiate Peaks
Read This Post: Collegiate PeaksWe’ve reached the top of Pikes Peak at last! Unfortunately, the clouds obscure our view to the east and we aren’t able to see Colorado Springs and Denver. But the view to the west is clearer at least. From our perch 14,115 feet above sea level, we can look out and see the tops of…
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Gateway Rocks at Garden of the Gods
Read This Post: Gateway Rocks at Garden of the GodsWe’ve traveled now to the heart of the Garden of the Gods. Here we see the North and South Gateway Rocks in the golden hour light of the summer sun. These rock formations made of sandstone, conglomerates and limestone were formed millions of years ago. And now we get to enjoy this amazing view to…
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Windy Point on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
Read This Post: Windy Point on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RailroadWindy Point signals the nearing of the top of the climb at Cumbres Pass. We also get a glimpse of what to expect once we leave Osier as the terrain becomes less forested for a bit and rockier. Also, we will shortly be traveling along the top ridge line you can see, not the lower…
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Westbound Train on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
Read This Post: Westbound Train on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RailroadLooking back towards Osier and Chama, we can get a small glimpse of the westbound train leaving Osier and heading up towards Cumbres Pass. Soon that train will have the opposite problem we had this morning as it needs to navigate going down the steep grade into Chama. I hope you like the smell of…
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Los Pinos Water Tank on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
Read This Post: Los Pinos Water Tank on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RailroadThe Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad had to place water tanks at strategic points along the railroad for steam engines to top off their water tanks. While we didn’t stop at this on our trip, this tank at Los Pinos stands in near perfect condition today thanks in large part to the work of…
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Turn into the Valley on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
Read This Post: Turn into the Valley on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RailroadWhile the grade might have finally flattened out, the views continue to get more and more spectacular. The air is cool even at this point in July as the train drops down and begins to follow the Rio de los Pinos.
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Valley in the San Juan Mountains
Read This Post: Valley in the San Juan MountainsThe Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad was built in 1880 as part of the Denver and Rio Grande Western’s San Juan Extension narrow gauge line. The line we’re traveling on today connected with the main line in Alamosa and traveled across Cumbres Pass to Chama and then over to Durango with branch lines stretching to…
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Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad Train Ready to Leave
Read This Post: Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad Train Ready to LeaveCrew members of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad finish the preparations on engine No. 489 as departure time nears. The grade between Chama and Cumbres Pass reaches as steep as four percent, among the steepest narrow gauge track in the world. And everything will need to be in perfect working order to get our…
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Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad Navigates the San Juan Mountains
Read This Post: Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad Navigates the San Juan MountainsThe tracks of the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad wind their way through the San Juan mountains as we inch closer to Cumbres Pass. The extra horizontal distance we’re traveling helps lessen the grade need to get the 10,700 feet elevation to get over the pass. So far engine No. 489 is doing great hauling the…
