Blogs from Chama, New Mexico, United States, North America

Hello folks, from Chama, NM. Although Fi and I haven't covered too much ground since our last post, we've been pretty busy contending with high mountain passes, broken equipment, angry thunder storms, and angrier mice. More on that later. We left the great little town of Salida several days ago, tackling Marshall Pass, the first of several 10,000+ foot climbs. We had beautiful weather, and spent much of the day riding with Paul and Susan. The day ended with a great 10 mile descent on smooth gravel to our campsite, where we froze our bums off and got zero sleep. Still having fun though. Meandering through the high country of southern Colorado over the next couple of days (most of our riding these days has been between 8-11 thousand feet above sea level), our luck with ... read more

Built in 1880, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was part of the San Juan extension of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroads, with tracks running from Denver through the ore-rich Rocky Mountains to Silverton, Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Its path was carved through steep passes and deep gorges and was an engineering feat for the time. In the 1890s, the decline of silver mining ended the railroad's vital role and it was later abandoned in 1969, however the most scenic part of its route, its equipment, and its buildings were saved. Today, its a New Mexico & Colorado owned and operated tourist railroad. The railroad yard in the small picturesque town of Chama, New Mexico is open to visitors. One may walk around the area, which is filled with piles of coal and ... read more

le 3 aout Visite du Aztec Ruins National Monument C'est un grand village en ruines. Les murs de pierre sont presque écroulés mais il en reste beaucoup. Nous traversons une enfilade de pièces couvertes par un toit de bois. Les poutres sont environ hautes d'un mètre et je me suis fait mal. Il restait un certain nombre de kivas (temples ronds creusés dans la terre) dont il ne reste plus que les murs et le sol, soit dit en passant qu'il est recouvert d'herbe. Félix... read more

It was middle October and we decided to do something that is just around the corner form us - THE CUMBRES &TOLTEC SCENIC RAILROAD between CHAMA, NM and Antonito, CO. We got up at 5 in the morning and made the drive to Chama. It is quite the drive - especially that early in the morning. The red rocks after Abique takes on this incredible color at sunrise. Sort of Monument Valley-ish. So we made it to the train just in time. The trip was kind of just a spur of the moment thing so we really did not know what we were in for. Prior to taking off we just walked around the train yards. The trees were just starting to change colors (well they were probably half way there) so the foliage was pretty ... read more

Although I live in South Carolina, my father-in-law lives in Chama, NM and we visit every summer. This was my third summer visiting since we've been married and since I saw there were no pics of Chama, I would share some. Although the town/village is very tiny, it boasts a lot of tourists in the summer (for the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad) and in the winter (for snowmobiling and cross-country skiing). I have only visited in the summer so that is what I will share. ... read more