Autumn Road Trip

October 13, 2024  •  Leave a Comment

Autumn has arrived and we are heading for the end of the year.  This is my last blog for 2024 and it is all about a road trip to our timeshare cabin in Montana, that I endearingly refer to as “our place in Montana”.  It’s a long way to “our place in Montana” so we typically break the drive up with a number of stops along the way.  This year was no exception.

We started out with a short drive to Chama, New Mexico, a bit north of Santa Fe.  There we enjoyed a day-long adventure on the historic Cumbres & Toltec narrow gage railroad.  The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is America’s longest and highest narrow gage railroad and is designated a National Historic Landmark. We left Albuquerque early in the morning for the three hour drive to Chama to catch the ten o’clock train for the 64 mile journey to Antonito, Colorado.  The 1880 era, coal burning, steam Engine 484 pulled our restored Denver & Rio Grande carriages along the tight turns over the mountains from New Mexico to Colorado.  Jane had booked us in the Parlor Car where we marveled at the turns and twists of the narrow gage tracks and enjoyed mimosas while watching the scenery pass by.  The historic train journey ended at Antonito where busses were waiting to transport us back to Chama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After spending the night in Chama, we continued our road trip to Chimney Rock National Monument in Colorado, about an hour’s drive northeast of Chama.  The name suggests that this national monument is all about the outstanding geologic rock formation.  But that would be wrong.  Actually, this national monument is a one thousand year old archaeological site consisting of ancient dwellings, kivas and a great-house pueblo.  Archaeologists believe that the people who lived here a thousand years ago were part of the Chaco culture who inhabited Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. Jane and I hiked the steep Great House Trail to view the ruins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Chimney Rock, we drove a short distance to Arboles, Colorado, situated near the north end of Navajo Reservoir.  Arboles is a small, unincorporated community, with an estimated population of around 300 people.  Two of those people are my nephew Mike Riebeek and his wife Aneda.  I had not seen Mike for many years and had never been to his home in Arboles.  We had a great, although short, visit with Mike and Aneda sharing stories and talking family stuff.

After bidding Mike and Aneda adieu, we headed further north on U.S. Highway 550 to Montrose, Colorado.  The goal there was to spend a few days photographing at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  The canyon was not easy to photograph.  When the sun was low on the horizon, one side or the other of the extremely deep and narrow canyon would be in shade.  When the sun moved higher into the sky, the bottom of the canyon would have sunlight, but both sides of the steep canyon walls would be shady.  We hiked to most of the view points on both the South Rim and North Rim roads.  The most spectacular views were from Exclamation Point on the north side of the canyon.  From Exclamation Point we had several clear views up the canyon.  We thoroughly enjoyed the three mile, round-trip, hike to Exclamation Point.  The trail was relatively flat and traversed through pinyon- juniper woodland and the cool morning air was invigorating.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When arriving at Montrose, Jane noticed the Ute Indian Museum along the highway and we decided to make time for a visit there.  As the name suggests, the exhibits at the museum were all about the indigenous Ute tribes of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau.  Ute history, during the “westward expansion” of the 1800’s, parallels New Mexico’s Navajo and Apache history with their confinement to reservations.  In addition to providing insight into this sad history, the museum also provides contemporary programs highlighting Ute tribal activities.

From Montrose, Colorado, we continued are journey to “our place in Montana” with overnight stops in Casper, Wyoming and Great Falls, Montana.  In Casper, of all places, we discovered the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center located in a very avant-garde facility near our hotel. This impressive interpretive center highlights the “westward expansion” from the pioneer’s perspective. Exhibits documented westward migration along the Oregon Trail, California Trail, Mormon Trail and the Pony Express. So, Jane and I were exposed to the history of the west from two opposing viewpoints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since our stay at the timeshare cabin is two weeks long, it is not unusual for us to take a short overnighter to some nearby attraction.  This year we opted to visit the Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in the Milk River valley near Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.  The park contains petroglyphs created by nomadic Blackfoot tribes of the Great Plains.  The area is sacred to current Blackfoot tribal members and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Our guide for the petroglyph tour was a Blackfoot and he had wonderful stories to tell about the rock art and his personal experiences.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way to and from the Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, we sidetracked to Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada.  Waterton National Park shares its southern, international, border with Glacier National Park’s northern, international, border.  Together these two parks make up the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park: World Heritage Site.  We detoured to Waterton National Park in order to have lunch at the historic Prince of Wales Hotel.  Built in 1927, the Prince of Wales hotel is reminiscent of the great railroad hotels built in America’s western national parks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed our brief foray into Canada.  The drive along Chief Mountain Highway, in the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, is always a stunning ride especially when the hills are adorned with fall colors.  Eventually, though, the time came to head back south to New Mexico.  It’s a long way from Albuquerque to our cabin, about 3,500 miles round trip, including visits to Writing-on-Stone and the Prince of Wales hotel.  Jane had downloaded an Audible book on her phone and we listened to Anthony Horowitz’s novel Moonflower Murders (a PBS Masterpiece series).  At each stop along the way we would try to figure out who the culprit was, but we never did.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA We stopped in Logan, Utah, to visit with my sister, Neli, and my nephew, Bryan, and his wife, Margaret. Neli is now a young 97 years old and still doing very well, thank you.  She needs a “walker” to get around but is pretty sharp and delighted in sharing stories with us.  Bryan had arranged for the five of us to have lunch at Cody’s Gastro Garage, an actual auto repair garage turned into a trendy café, in Garden City along the west shore of Bear Lake.  It was a special treat for me to spend some fun time with my sister.

The next day, Jane and I headed home to Albuquerque.  We arrived back in time for the 52nd annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  Normally, we don’t get back to Albuquerque from our cabin in time for the Balloon Fiesta.  So, this year we were able to go out early a couple of mornings to watch the balloons launch into the air.  The weather in Albuquerque was particularly favorable for the event this year and there were balloons in the air most every day during the nine-day Fiesta.  We were fascinated by the special-shape balloons with their unusual, often whimsical, designs.

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2024Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2024Special Shape - Clown Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2024Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2024Special Shape - Sloth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn has arrived and a new year will soon be upon us.  We have started some early thinking and planning for trips in 2025.  So, stay in touch to see what we will be up to next year.

 


Comments

No comments posted.
Loading...

Archive
January February (1) March April (1) May (2) June (1) July (1) August September October (1) November December (1)
January February March (1) April May (1) June (2) July (1) August (1) September October (1) November December (2)
January February March (2) April May (1) June July (1) August (1) September October November (1) December
January February March April (1) May (1) June July August September October (1) November (2) December
January February (1) March April (1) May June July August (1) September October (1) November December (1)
January February March April (1) May (2) June July (1) August (1) September (1) October November (1) December
January February (1) March April May (2) June July (1) August September (1) October (1) November December (1)
January February March April (1) May June (1) July August September (1) October (1) November December