To all the fellow forum members,
After ten years I am still drawn to that little town in northern New Mexico!
Having started with participating in one of the last (the last?) TUT freight charters on the C&TS in September/October of 2008 this year will make it my fourth visit to the C&TS!
It is therefore not my first journey to the US and I kind of think I know where to go this time. Specially as this won't be an entirely railroad based vacation at all.
Let me introduce you to my itinerary first:
9/14 Flight from Zurich to Denver, get car, stay at Laramie WY for the night (might go to Cheyenne on the way there)
9/15 Travel to Yellowstone National Park, stay there until 9/19
9/19 and 9/20 Travel to Moab UT for Arches National Park, brake journey at approximately Salt Lake City.
9/22 Travel from Moab UT to Grand Canyon (South Rim)
9/24 Travel from GC to Page AZ, visit Antelope Canyon etc.
9/25 Travel to Kayenta, stay there to explore Monument Valley until 9/28
9/28 Travel Kayenta to Chama
9/29 Ride FOCTS Charter Antontio-Osier-Antonito
9/30 Ride Galopping Goose Chama-Antonito
10/1 Travel Chama to Cañon City
10/2 Travel Cañon City to Denver
10/3 Fly Denver to Chicago
10/3 to 10/5 revisit Chicago
10/5 Fly Chicago to Zurich
The part I need your help with is the "roadside attractions" if I am allowed to say so:
- As you can see I have again planned to see much of the C&TS and get off trains as often as possible to take pictures.
- It is planned to ride the Royal Gorge Railroad again, thus the overnight stay at Cañon City.
- At the moment I have no idea if we will have the time to visit either the CRRM or Georgetown Loop. I Might leave my colleage and do both while he explores Denver.
- If anybody here knew what locomotive is
planned to be operating that day, I would like to see Shay #9 operating on the Loop and therefore travel there to ride behind it.
- I don't think we will ride the D&S again this time, but if recommendet enough, we might consider squeezing it in on 9/28.
- Since my last visit to this area in 2010 Como kind of "popped up" on my map, we can easily include on 10/2 when travelling Cañon City to Denver. If anybody is available to give us a short tour I'd be very happy, but I'll be happy to have a look at it all anyway.
- I might ride the Grand Canyon Railway on 9/23 if bored too much from looking down into the canyon the day before ;-) Any recommendations?
Any hints on what I've missed so far? Is there anything of interest or a "must see" on our way, or not too far off the "direct path" from one point to the other?
Thank you for reading (and answering?) this!
Urias
