BigWeather's Blog

We awoke at 8a and were out and about by 10a.  After tossing our luggage in the car we walked to Alamo Plaza and visited Kings X Toy Soldiers shop.  The gentleman running the store that day was James, a Army recon veteran who served in Iraq around 2008.  We talked about the shop and his service, and about two bits of shrapnel that had shredded their vehicle that he was allowed to take home with him (with some amount of dealing with bureaucracy).  They had miniatures from every imaginable conflict but a particular focus on the Alamo (of course) and World War II.  I wanted a miniature that had significance to the place so chose Charles Henry Clark, a member of the mercenary group New Orleans Greys, who died at the Alamo.  Significant because not only was it related to the Alamo but also New Orleans.

Michelle, Genetta, and Addison had already headed out.  I eventually caught up with them and we went to Schilo’s Deli, a nearby deli founded in 1917.  After a short wait we were seated and enjoyed an excellent brunch.  Michelle had breakfast, Genetta couldn’t resist German food so had schnitzel and home fries, Addison had a patty melt with fries and cheese, and I had a breakfast sandwich on a croissant with two pieces of French toast with powdered sugar and cinnamon.  We all shared ice cream for dessert — breakfast dessert! — as they were out of apple strudel.

About 1p we made it back to the car and headed south out of town along the Mission Road that links four Spanish missions along the San Antonio River.  The fifth mission was located in San Antonio — the Alamo.  It’s easy to forget that it was a church with a walled courtyard that made it a great fort.  The other four missions were in better shape as they were spared the battle.  Surrounded by the suburbs some imagination is required to see them for what they were in the 1700s — islands of Spanish influence in a sea of often hostile (to them) tribes.  Tribes that had been displaced by more dominant tribes sought the protection of the missions and worked within them growing crops and helping maintain them.  The architecture of each was distinct and remarkable in their own right, with ornate details.

The first mission we visited was Mission Concepcion.  It had a large lawn dotted with a few trees and some palms and the remains of the quarry from which much of the stone used to build the mission came from.  Two towers rose on either side of the entrance.  Inside were some still colorful murals and a quaint church.

Next we headed farther out of town to Mission San Jose, which also housed the headquarters for San Antonio Missions National Historic Park.  We browsed the bookstore and, yes, bought a couple of magnets and some postcards for Genetta.  The mission itself look a bit like Mission Concepcion but it had only one completed tower.  There was an ornate stone carved window unique to this mission.  In terms of layout it was similar to the first — a church on one side of a large fortified compound, with storage, lodging, etc. inside the interior wall and room for crops within.  As it was so hot we didn’t linger long.

The third mission was Mission San Juan Capistrano.  It was bright whitewashed with three bells — one positioned over two underneath.  Mercifully the sky was threatening and the cloud cover had started to cool us down a bit.  The church inside was modest but had a really intricate wooden ceiling.

Our last stop was Mission San Francisco De La Espada, Texas’ oldest Spanish colonial mission, established in 1690.  The mission had a similar form to Mission San Juan Capistrano but was more exposed brick and not whitewashed at all.  It had a pretty courtyard with plenty of flowers and bushes and a quaint well.

About 3p we headed out for Austin, first on I-10 then I-35 to Congress Avenue in Austin to avoid a couple of accidents.  We crossed over the Congress Avenue bridge famous for having over a million bats and into downtown where we located our hotel.  The parking deck wasn’t ideal — crowded with tight spots with pillars all over.  I was able to back us into a spot though and we went to check in.  Some interesting folks in the elevator busy keepin’ Austin weird!  We relaxed for a few minutes then about 6:30p headed out to nearby Stubb’s BBQ.  Michelle had pulled pork and fried okra; Genetta ribs (very tasty), onion rings, and macaroni shells; Addison also had ribs, brisket, and fries; and I had brisket, mashed potatoes, and potato salad.  The brisket was great as well.

We got back to the room at 8p but Genetta wanted to visit 6th Street and Austin nightlife.  We headed out about 9p and stopped first at San Jac Saloon.  It (and 6th Street) was pretty empty at first but opened up as the night progressed.  Genetta and I went upstairs for a couple of drinks and enjoyed a three-piece band playing covers of fairly mellow music.  We could hear the more rocking (and loud) band downstairs as well.  By the time we left San Jac it was crowded enough that we had to wade slowly through to get out into the still steamy evening air.  We headed to Voodoo Doughnuts and got a bite to eat.  Their donuts were like little works of art, one had a pentagram symbol drawn with icing, another was iced up to look like a little voodoo doll with a pretzel stick.  The decor was very eclectic.  About 12:15a we pushed through the now very crowded street.  Music of various genres blasted out of various clubs and some clubs had dancers in their windows.  Very bizarre.  In addition to the clubs we saw a billiards hall, theater and a bar called “Bat Bar”.  Once we got north of 6th Street the neighborhood was a bit rougher at that late hour but we made it back to the hotel safely and went to bed.

We slept in a bit late as the last few days had been really hectic with lots of activities (train, Great Sand Dunes NP, Roswell, Carlsbad Caverns NP) and quite a bit of driving.  About 10a we set out for San Antonio on I-10 east.  It was quite a long drive, about four hours, but the 80 mph speed limit really helped speed things along.  Big Bend country was very beautiful with many mesas dotted with cacti and other plants not seen in our part of the woods.

After a couple hours and switching drivers a couple of times we arrived in Junction, Texas at a BBQ joint that Google reviews seemed to like.  It was called Lum’s and wasn’t much to look at, basically a lunch counter in a gas station convenience store.  We ordered and got our food but didn’t receive a ticket or have to pay; the gentleman just said pay later and it’s good.  The food was wonderful!  Michelle had sausage, creamed corn, potato salad, and chocolate pie.  Genetta had ribs, potato salad, and macaroni salad.  Addison had a half pound of brisket and Doritos.  I had brisket with raw onions (that seems to be a thing in Texas and Oklahoma), potato salad, baked pinto beans, and pecan pie.  We settled our bill and got a magnet and hit the road again.

Another couple of hours of driving and about 3:30p we arrived in San Antonio.  The traffic wasn’t too bad which was great as we circled the block a time or two to find the garage entrance for the Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk (a sign with the arrow pointing the wrong way was to blame).  We parked at the top of the deck with no one else crowding us then checked in.  We went up to our room but it was being cleaned.  Waited a few minutes before realizing it was the wrong room — ooops!  Got into our room and relaxed for thirty minutes before heading back out.  The hotel was really nice and a part of the river came into the lobby.

About 4:30p we headed to the Alamo.  The crowd wasn’t too bad, which was good as it was hot outside and the trellis to the side of the building offered interesting historical facts but scant shade.  Inside we couldn’t take pictures but enjoyed seeing the surprisingly small space.  When we were wandering around a guy asked Addison about the shirt he was wearing, my King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard concert shirt from Asheville the week before.  Turns out he was from Kinston, NC and was a tour guide.  Michelle and I gathered around the glass case containing a scale model of the Alamo as he went through the entire timeline of the building including the battle of February and March, 1836 and the aftermath leading to the capture of Santa Anna and the formation of the Republic of Texas.

At 6p we headed to the Riverwalk, a pedestrian walkway / shopping / restaurant strip below street level along the banks of the San Antonio River.  Walked a bit looking at menus before settling on Waxy’s Irish Pub.  Not my first choice — I mean, an Irish Pub in Texas?! — but it was quite good.  Michelle had fish and chips, Genetta beef stew, Addison ribs and cheese fries and veggies, and myself shepherd’s pie.  Not bad, though the tater skins appetizer wasn’t super.  After dinner we split up with Michelle and Genetta going shopping and Addison and I walking a bit.  Addison wanted to go back to the room so I headed back out to see the Alamo at night, encountering Michelle and Genetta.

We looked in the window of a shop called Kings X which sold metal military figures then got some ice cream at the nearby Haagen-Dasz (coffee for me, of course!) and ate it on a bench in front of the spot-lit Alamo.  The cool evening was very pleasant after the hot day and it was great to spend time with the ladies.  Headed back to the room about 9:30p or so to offload pictures and relax, going to bed about 1a.

As we had a long day ahead and on a deadline we were up and out before 8a, stopping by the fine Scot eatery McDonald’s for convenience.  After a quick wrong turn we recovered and headed southeast into the flat, dry scrub of New Mexico.  Absent were the winding roads and stands of pine and other greenery.  Long stretches of road with nary a building except in very small towns.  We did see a wild something — size of a deer and looked sort of like a deer but not quite.  Also saw a favorite from our 2013 trip about the southwest, the sign “Gusty Winds May Exist”.  I mean, isn’t it a proven fact that they do exist?  There were mountains far off in the distance, low gray humps nearly obscured by haze and dust.  As we neared our first destination, Roswell, we saw on each side of the road large (fifteen feet tall at least) cutouts of cowboys facing each other.  Stopped at a rest stop and stepped into the blistering heat.  It was pretty decent, though, and had some kind of flag pole / sculpture in front.

After nearly three hours, at 11a or so, we arrived at the outskirts of Roswell.  A strip mall on the north side of town had a delightful name — “The Landings at Roswell”.  We passed a McDonald’s which had some futuristic  UFO styling and buildings here and there had UFO murals and the like.  Conversely, other parts of town seemed somewhat aloof of the whole UFO affair — probably owing to the town existing well before 1947 and the supposed landing and even today being a hub of activity for the energy companies in the area.  We passed the New Mexico Military Institute, a beautiful complex of sandstone buildings with crenelations atop.  Downtown the lamp posts were topped with alien head shaped lamp shades.  We soon arrived at our destination, the grandly named International UFO Museum and Research Center.  We passed some people wearing tin foil hats (literally!) and stepped into the lobby.

The “museum” consisted of a large room separated into various rooms via plywood dividers that covered the 1947 incident, the supposed cover up, and UFOs in general — other sightings, types of contact, art, etc.  Included throughout were newspaper clippings, dioramas (including a couple of interesting ones of WW2 Germans and alien technology — I’m still bewildered by that), and a couple of displays of aliens (“grays”) that people snapped selfies in front of.  There were some props from the late-90s show “Roswell” as well.  Finally, there was a gift shop filled with about what you would expect, though there were a few neat things and a Coke vending machine with alien art on the front.  I’m certainly not a believer, but it does seem like something happened on July 2, 1947 and there are some awfully weird actions by the government in response that certainly fueled the conspiracy theorists.  It being the beginning of the Cold War I think the most likely explanation is that the government was working on something new technology wise and had to do denial / clean up.  I doubt we’ll ever know.  Regardless, it was a pleasant way to spend an hour or so.

About noon we headed back north of downtown to eat at D’s Downtown Dive.  It turned out to be quite excellent.  Michelle had this amazing Monte Cristo sandwich that ended up being like a beignet stuffed with ham and cheese and topped with raspberry jam.  The rest of us had tasty burgers with garlic Parmesan fries.  Highly recommended!  We got back into the car and headed to the north end of town where they had the cooler of the two Roswell signs (I had failed to take a picture on the way in) then took the bypass to the west of Roswell on our way to Carlsbad Caverns National Park about two hours on down the road.  On the south side of the road was the RIAC, or Roswell International Air Center, an airport used to test airplanes as well as a airplane graveyard of sorts.  As we got to Carlsbad there was a bit more vegetation and the terrain was a bit more hilly.

Just south of town we headed into the hills and arrived at the national park at around 3p.  A short (less than ten miles) drive through beautiful hilly terrain with cacti and small ravines led to the visitors center.  After briefly looking around the gift shop (and buying some shirts and magnets) we bought tickets for the caverns and took the elevator 750 feet down to the caverns.  The other entrance is a long walk with steep grades through the natural entrance.  Addison wanted the two of us to do that but there simply wasn’t time, sadly.  After a quick restroom stop (yes, they carved some bathrooms out of the rock down there but didn’t harm any of the actual cave system) we took a couple of hours to walk the route through the caverns.  Genetta and Addison ended up going at their own (faster) pace while Michelle and I enjoyed the cavern together.

It is hard to describe how amazing it was.  The main room, appropriately called the Big Room, was massive with an area of just over 350,000 square feet!  Everywhere we looked there were columns, stalactites, stalagmites, clear pools of water, and other various cave features.  We saw a ladder left by an expedition in the 1920s and overlooked a lower room not open to tourists.  We also saw a “bottomless” pit that it turns out was only about 140 feet deep but soft dirt at the bottom muffled the sound of rocks tossed in.  Formations in the cave had such colorful names like “Temple of the Sun”, “Chinese Theater”, “Totem Pole”, “Rock of Ages” etc.  It was nice and cool down there and surprisingly few visitors.  I guess it being the evening of July 4th cut into the numbers a bit.

About 5:45p we ascended via the elevator to the visitors center.  The cafe there was about to close but we luckily got some Mexican food to eat (queso with chips, tostadas, soft tacos) just before they did.  The gift shop was still open, however, and a metal bat caught Michelle’s eye.  Uh-oh!  One metal bat later Michelle and Genetta headed outside while Addison and I ran through the museum where they had a cool 3D map of the caverns.  After leaving I spent some time taking photos of the beautiful view into the flat lands beyond while the rest of the family walked toward the amphitheater.  I followed, descending the winding path to the amphitheater made entirely of stone including the benches overlooking the natural entrance to the cave.

A short while later a ranger started talking about the caverns and bats in general as we waited for dusk and the the bats’ emergence.  It was charming for a while but eventually we just wanted the bats to appear, haha.  We all turned off our electronics and no photography was allowed as it could disorient the bats.  Occasionally someone would break the rule (because they arrived late and missed the warning) and a couple were escorted away.  The bats emerged between 8:15p and 8:45p (our phones were off so no clock) and flew out of the cave after spiraling around a few times before heading off to reservoirs nearby for water and feeding.  It was really neat but a bit thinner than I thought it would be — not really a thick cloud of bats (it turns out for that you go to Austin where there are over 1.5 million bats living under a bridge, not the tens of thousands that Carlsbad has).  A continuous stream of hundreds of bats at a time spiraling out and streaming away.  Really neat.  Eventually dark came and we couldn’t see the bats anymore (though they still were leaving) so we headed to the car and for our drive to Fort Stockton, Texas.

Our destination for the night was Fort Stockton despite it being nearly three hours away because the lodging around Carlsbad was prohibitively expensive due not only to the park but mainly due to the energy boom.  Rooms in Carlsbad were $400 or so (for a Holiday Inn Express — more expensive than in downtown San Francisco or Hollywood!) and even an hour or so away were $250 to $300.  Plus, Fort Stockton was a good ways down the road to San Antonio, our next destination, and the route seemed like it’d be good as it was US-285.  Wrong!  Due to the energy boom the roads were in terrible shape due to heavy trucking — pot holes, covered with loose rock and dust, etc.  Despite this the speed limit was 70 to 75 during much of the stretch and the trucks that came up on us had no problem with that.  So we barreled through the night hoping not to lose our axle in some pothole, passing oil rigs, plumes of gas being burned off, temporary housing, etc. — reminded us very much of western North Dakota from last year’s trip.

As we neared civilization we passed a parking lot with numerous pick ups and people firing off fireworks around midnight.  We managed to get into a McDonald’s just before closing and get some drink to help us stay awake for the final push to our hotel.  We arrived at 1a, partly so late due to crossing back into CDT.  Exhausted, we collapsed in sleep.

We awoke at 7a and packed some, heading down for breakfast at 8a.  Ms. Young had laid out a spread of bacon and french toast with strawberry syrup and offered orange juice and coffee to drink.  As with the day prior it was excellent.  After breakfast the ladies went upstairs to pack and relax while Addison and I talked with Ms. Young about Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and life in general — including her service in the Coast Guard in Massachusetts in the 80s.  We wrapped up at about 10:30a, packed up the car, and hit the road by 11a, checking out Colorado’s oldest church, Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church (founded in 1857), on the way out of town.

Unfortunately we had to drive north (away from our eventual hotel stop for the night) an hour to visit our destination for the day, Great Sand Dunes National Park.  First, however, we passed through Alamosa and, as we approached the park, stopped to gaze at Mt. Blanca, the fourth highest peak in Colorado at about 14,300′.  There was an interesting information display as well about the valley and the people that had inhabited it over the years.

As we neared the entrance we could see the giant dunes rising pale yellow against the 14,000′ mountains behind them.  The largest dune was over 750′ high; for comparison Jockey’s Ridge in NC’s Outer Banks is only 100′ high.  Even Sahara desert dunes rarely top 600′!  We paid our reasonable entrance fee and rolled up to the visitor’s center where we watched a movie (a bit boring, I may or may not have nodded off), bought some magnets and postcards, then headed out to get closer to the dunes.  From the visitor’s center it is a not insignificant walk and with the heat we weren’t interested in that.  Luckily the road headed further north and closer to the dunes.

It was hot.  Like, really hot.  We spilled out of the SUV and walked past the sparse tree line and onto the dunes area.  The ladies didn’t make it very far but Addison and I walked quite a bit, to the top of the first ridge.  The sand was very soft and it was difficult to make fast progress.  There was a fallen log and, other than that, a few groups of people braving the heat and sand boarding / sledding.  We hadn’t rented either and that was probably a good call.  The sand was blistering (we could feel the heat through our shoes) and watching a young girl do a face plant while sand boarding didn’t make us want to do that activity!  We did pass a pretty hard-core chill guy — bearded, tie-dye, sandals.  Once we got to the top of the ridge I remembered there was supposed to be a stream but didn’t see any.  Turns out that we had crossed its bed but the stream, it being a drought, wasn’t running (normally in July it would only be a couple inches deep anyhow, with the primary flow in mid-May to mid-June).  We enjoyed the scenery then walked back to the car and sweet, sweet AC.

We left the park about 2p and ate right outside at the Great Sand Dunes Oasis campground, gift shop, and restaurant.  Michelle had a chicken wrap with salad, Genetta a ham and cheese with fries, Addison a patty melt with fries, and myself a bacon cheeseburger with fries.  For dessert Michelle and I had cherry pie a la mode (each, no sharing!) and Genetta a chocolate mousse pie.  The food was quite decent and the dessert was great, much better pie than at that Amish place in Kansas!

About 3:30p we headed toward Santa Fe.  A largely desolate journey, this time we went along the eastern side of the San Luis valley.  In Fort Garland we saw fire engines, etc. blocking the road east over the pass that we couldn’t use a few days before.  They also had a very brightly painted weed shop that I wish I had been quick enough to get a picture of.  Small mesas broke the monotony of the valley floor and we passed through the occasional small town.  After crossing into New Mexico we skirted Taos (sadly the Taos Pueblo was closed, I’d have loved to visit that) and took some back roads to avoid Taos proper.  They sure do love adobe buildings!  A dark scar snaked across the valley floor — the gorge of Rio Grande del Norte.  A number of rafters were on the river as we descended into the gorge on the approach to Santa Fe.

As we got closer there were a couple of bridges that were brightly painted with Native American symbols.  Genetta wanted me to snap a picture but I wasn’t quick enough.  I then had an overwhelming sense of deja vu and realized we’d seen them before!  Yep, in 2013 we overlapped our 2018 route for about five or so miles — the first time any of our trips have done that.  I even had pictures of the bridge in my blog from then, whew!  Arrived in Santa Fe about 7p and checked in to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express Santa Fe Cerrillos.  It was a nice room but sadly the dryer was broken so we couldn’t do laundry.  I off-loaded pictures before we headed out to Outback at 8:30p.  Dinner wasn’t bad and it was interesting as it was one of their test kitchens and they had menu options that weren’t normally available.  I had some Wasabi brussel sprouts that were excellent.  Other than that we had pretty standard Outback fare.  On the way back to the hotel we got gas.  The rest of the family hit the hay while I blogged from 10p to 1a.

I didn’t exactly have a great night’s sleep — woke up every hour but was up for good around 6a due to the bright sunlight blasting through the thin curtains.  Michelle, Genetta, and I went down for breakfast at 8a.  Sabra had a wonderful spread of bacon, eggs (a mixture of chicken and duck), and pancakes.  Additionally there was orange juice and coffee to drink and cherries to nibble on, should we want.  It was all very tasty and the conversation — about her life, cooking at high altitude (hint: it is harder), kids, and all of the places she has lived as well as of course our story.  She was a caretaker of the B&B up until the beginning of last year when the previous owner wanted to sell it.  She decided to take the plunge.  She also cooked for a few camps “in the area” (which, in this country, meant within a hundred miles or so) at higher altitudes.  San Luis Valley was at 8,000′ and cooking was manageable with a specialized cookbook but camps at 10,000’+ were beyond even that help and demanded that she do the baking at the B&B and take it with her.

We left shortly after 9a, arriving at the Cumbres & Toltec depot at 9:15a.  We bought some stuff (magnets) and got our tickets.  We then milled about a bit while I snapped some pictures of the locomotive and cars then climbed on board our Deluxe Tourist car, car B, shortly before the 10a departure.  We had two tables, each with two seats, so we all four had a nice window seat.  We ensured that Michelle was facing forward as well so she wouldn’t get sea-sick.  A hostess offered drinks (we each got a cool metal tumbler) as well as danishes and other snacks to tide us over until lunch.  Ours was the second-to-last car on the train.  This was great since the steam locomotive’s smoke was less likely to affect us (cinders in the eye really stink, something I learned on a steam train to Danville, Virginia when I was young).  Just in front of our car was an open air observation car with a docent present to point out things (the hostess in our car filled the same role when we were there).  The last car was the Parlor Car, but that was only for those over 21.

The terrain started out very desert-like — the San Luis Valley essentially being a desert (the highest in North America).  Very small bushes, stunted trees, and lots of sagebrush were common.  The docent told us about a movie that Willie Nelson starred in that filmed on the railroad.  A trestle was to be “destroyed” but they used way too much TNT and it was obliterated.  Willie came to the rescue, however, and paid for it to be rebuilt.  I spent the majority of the day standing outside “in” the observation car and would later pay for it with quite the sun burn.  Worth it!  A number of photographers, kids, etc. cycled in and out, including a group of Amish ladies.

As we proceeded on our journey from 8,000′ to nearly 11,000′ we required a number of bends to gain altitude.  Amusingly, we crossed the Colorado / New Mexico border eleven times.  As we ascended trees, small at first, rose out of the scrub, eventually becoming respectable stands of aspen and ponderosa pines.  Sheer cliffs formed by cutting into the rocky terrain loomed on one side while plunges formed the other.  That’s one of the best things about rail travel — it doesn’t require guard rails, gas stations, services, or any of the other necessities of road travel.  Just two narrow ribbons of steel snaking through the wilderness.

The trees finally thinned, growing short again.  Rather than the pale green sagebrush and dusty rocky landscape, however, we were treated to lush green grass and small dark green shrubs as we climbed above the tree line.  We passed through a small town named Sublette perched high in the mountains.  Detached from the road system, historically it had a very small population that existed to help the railroad.  At night the residents would hang a small lantern in a window so that lost hikers and travelers would know that food and shelter was found within.  The residents long gone, the windows of the abandoned town were painted with scenes from everyday life back then — a vase with flowers, a cat, and even a lantern.

We passed through two tunnels.  The second one was cut out of solid stone but the first one was cut out of much softer material that required shoring up with timber beams.  The ceiling was covered in sheet metal because a hot cinder from the steam engine had previously lodged in a roof rafter before the protective metal was added.  It caught the beams on fire shortly after the train had gone through, collapsing the tunnel.  Ooops!  As a further protection against fire from cinders or sparks a small rail trucked car with water followed a short distance behind along the entire route.  Another tunnel-based system was a bar with knotted ropes hanging below suspended above the track at just above the train’s height.  Back in the day train workers would walk along the car’s roofs and being hit with the ropes meant they had to get down or go prone before the tunnel started.

Shortly after Sublette the train stopped at the small outpost of Osier, where we spilled out into two lines for lunch: one for turkey and one for meatloaf.  Meatloaf being slightly, errrr, variable in its composition the four of us had opted for turkey.  Apparently the vast majority of the other travelers did too.  We made our way through the line, getting a tray with turkey (a mix of light and dark), stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, a roll, some cranberry, and chocolate cake for dessert.  It was quite good!  Afterwards we had a little time to browse a small gift shop but ended up buying nothing that I can recall.

Around 2p we piled back onto the train and continued on our journey.    Once cresting Cumbres Pass we began our descent toward the town of Chama, New Mexico.  Still above the tree line we saw large herds of cattle in the lush valleys as well as vacation lodges completely unconnected to the grid.

As we re-entered the forest, the docent told us to be ready for the “blowdown”.  Rather than clumsily describing what it is, I’ll take the liberty of quoting Wikipedia:

Boiler blowdown is water intentionally wasted from a boiler to avoid concentration of impurities during continuing evaporation of steam. The water is blown out of the boiler with some force by steam pressure within the boiler. Bottom blowdown used with early boilers caused abrupt downward adjustment of boiler water level and was customarily expelled downward to avoid the safety hazard of showering hot water on nearby individuals.

Anyway, it was awesome!  An impressive cloud of vapor and a loud hissing sound.

Near Chama the docent pointed out an old wooden structure straddling the track.  He said it was used in the scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when young Indy swings over the circus train (pulled by the very same locomotive) — cool!  On arrival at Chama around 4:30p we climbed onto a motor coach for a one hour ride back to Antonito.

Ms. Young had recommended a small hamburger stand, G-6 (from the metal door handles), near the train depot.  As there was no seating in the restaurant and it was waaaay too hot to eat outside on the patio we decided to get it to-go and eat it back at the B&B.  Unfortunately though we had a key to the front door the screen door was latched shut and knocking on the door didn’t meet with an answer.  Undeterred, we ate the burgers, fries, and onion rings in the car.  It wasn’t too bad at all, basically Char-Grill.  As there was still no answer to our knocking we headed off to show the ladies Cano’s Castle.  On return I finally called the B&B and she came out and unlatched the door.  She was very apologetic that she had forgotten to leave it unlatched.

Bushed, we staggered upstairs and watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on the DVD player in the ladies’ room.  It was amusing seeing the train scene go from desert (near Antonito) to forest (near Chama) instantaneously — which in reality took over six hours.  It was really neat when the B&B showed up on-screen.  After the movie I offloaded pictures and headed to bed about midnight.