Chasing the Cumbres and Toltec, Summer 2021. Act 1: The train ride

After a long day of work (up at 2am), I hoped in the 4runner and headed South to Antonito. I was torn on stopping on my way up La Veta Pass as the evening light perfect, but I pressed on. For some reason, I didn’t realize I missed my turn in San Luis, CO, to start heading West to Antonito until I was already in New Mexico- the views of Ute Mountain, though fantastic, threw me off, knowing I should be seeing it from a different angle by now. After backtracking, I took a dirt path through Mesita, CO instead of going back to San Luis. This plan was goin well until I became distracted with the fields full of Wild Iris’s outside of Antonito, CO. Pulling over to take pics, I ended up sliding into the ditch on the soft shoulder. Luckily friends were already at camp and I didn’t have to hang out with the mosquitos long.

The train ride, as always, was a most enjoyable one. A little different than normal years, we rode the train from Antonito, CO to Osier and back to Antonito. Was fun to change things up. At lunch, they filled our belly’s- offering seconds to anyone who wanted. Note: two dishes of Meatloaf will make for a wonderful nap on the train back to town.

Stuck in a ditch and unable to use my new ComeUp Winch since there was nothing to winch to. Pulled over to take pics of the farm fields full of Wild Iris and got a bit to close to the shoulder and slid in. Luckily friends were close by to help rescue me.