SPAS, TRAINS, HIKING AND ANCIENT SITES IN CO, NM, UT 2014 day 2

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September 22, 2014
Our next destination was Chama, New Mexico (elevation 7,871’) to ride the famous train but for lodging we made the unfortunate choice to stay at the Chama River Bend Lodge, from the sublime to the ridiculous. First I will say that the staff at this motel “lodge” were very nice, BUT.... This is a 1960s-style non-renovated (except for new carpet) motel. Our room, number 113, had an old toilet, a tiny shower that has no light and will either scald you or freeze you intermittently without notice. The room was smelly and dusty. There were no towel replacements after two night’s lodging. The toilet ran both nights and kept me up but what was worse was the most uncomfortable bed I ever “tried” to sleep on. This place got good reviews saying it was quiet. It was (except for the toilet). But we spoke later to friends who took the train who stayed at the Light Heart Inn in Chama (575-756-1370). My friends said it was very quiet at this inn, lovely inside and out, great breakfast and they had delightful hosts. Plus you will get a 10%!d(MISSING)iscount off the regular room rates if you ride the train!!!

After settling into our lodging, we drove around town looking for a place to have dinner. The High Country Restaurant and Saloon was recommended by the people at River Bend Lodge as about the only place in town to eat. It did seem to be the only restaurant in town with cars lined up outside. It turns out that the previous train riders must have all driven up the this restaurant at the same time. It was so busy it took us 1/2 hour to get seated and then another 45 minutes to get waited on and finally get our food. Everyone seemed overworked and overly stressed. I understand that this is their busy season but they might have hired more help to get them through the post train rider-tourist rush. After all that wait the food was average in quality, not bad but not great. I had pork tamales with pinto beans, hominy and chopped tomato on shredded lettuce with a side order of green chilies that were not very hot. My husband had a grass fed beef hamburger, mashed potatoes and gravy and steamed vegetables. He reported the hamburger to be flavorless and a bit tough. I will say that we came back to eat here the second night we were in town and were seated and served right away. The young woman was very pleasant and our food was fresh and tasty. We both ordered Greek salads with chicken breast. The chicken was good but there was a meager amount of meat on the salad.
This is a very small town with few options other than a Subway or burger joint. If you want a decent meal you should make tracks fast to this restaurant if the town is loaded with tourists, otherwise you may find yourself standing outside in the cold waiting to get in.

Our mission in Chama was to take a trip on the highest narrow gauge steam railroad in the US. The train climbs to 10,015’ over the Cumbres Pass, through the Toltec Gorge to Antonito, CO. We were advised to take the train beginning in Chama and ending in Antonito to see the most dramatic elevation and topography changes and I think that was excellent advice since the Antonito side was less dramatic but after a day long trip we were grateful for being able to relax and enjoy the ride with less dramatic scenery.

Before our train departure we had breakfast at the Box Car Cafe in the center of town. The Box Car Cafe is perched on a little hill across from the Cumbres and Toltec train station. This restaurant has a fine view of the train tracks and the activity (including and occasional whistle) as they prepare for the day’s journey. Despite the number of people getting tickets and taking the train there were few surprisingly few people in this little restaurant. There are, in fact, several places to eat breakfast in town but for ambiance I think this is the best. It is clean, bright and spacious inside. We were seated right away (about 8:30am) in a window facing the train which was quite enjoyable. I had a cheese omelet with green chilies that had a surprising after-heat but could have used a bit more seasoning than just the heat of the chilies. The coffee was quite weak, a bit disappointing, especially for out west.

Whistles were blowing and steam was pouring out of the engines announcing the eminent departure of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. I don’t think there is a bad seat on the train but if you are not going to get up and stand in the open viewing car in the rear, or move around on the train at all, you might consider choosing a seat on the right hand side from Chama to Antonito. But I encourage you to get out of your seat because the views are extraordinary and constantly changing. Personally I found the open car to be too sooty and crowded with people. Instead, I positioned myself on the platform between the cars for the best views and photo options since I was able to move freely from one side of the train to the other.

We chose to take this train in the fall hoping to see the yellow aspens at their peak and we weren’t disappointed! Although fall foliage is never an accurate science, on Sept 23rd we were in Chama, NM with a smattering of fall color but as our train climbed up to the pass and the gorges we were rewarded with some of the most spectacular fall foliage on our entire 3 week trip. Brilliant spots of yellow and orange punctuated the dark evergreen forests on the surrounding canyons and mountains. As a bonus, along the way we passed horses, cattle, deer and herds of elk running from hunters in the valley below, with occasional hawks that flew overhead. I highly recommend taking the entire trip to Antonito, CO and the return bus back to Chama. Lunch is included on this trip, although that is not the reason to take the full journey since the lunch is over-cooked steam table food: meat loaf or turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes, and something green resembling green beans. I did see a salad bar downstairs that proved much better. If you are into desert though, don’t miss the coconut cake, that is quite good! But I digress, the real reason to take the entire journey to Antonito is that if you didn’t you would miss the Cumbres Pass and Toltec Gorge and some of the most spectacular scenery of the trip.

Make a day of it to really get the most of this wonderful trip back in time!

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Photos

Chama River Bend Lodge
Cute but very dated when we were there.