Steam train, friends, La Junta, Bent’s Fort
August 7, 2009

A short drive ahead of us today, we will land in the KOA in La Junta, Colorado, around lunchtime.

Yesterday was a one-activity day, but still eventful. We rode my second-ever steam train (the first was the Grand Canyon Railroad; Chris remembers as a child riding commuter trains into downtown Chicago that were pulled by steam engines). Our journey was from Alamosa over La Veta Pass, elevation 9,900, in the Culebra Range on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad. At the time of the construction of the narrow gauge over that pass in 1877, it was the highest railroad track in the world. The standard gauge, the one we rode, was built in 1899.




As we waited at the station to board, we were chatted casually with another couple, and were very surprised to learn that not only were they staying at the same RV park as us, but were our next-door neighbors. Jim and Linda, residents of Estes Park, Colorado, were wonderful travel companions. By the time, we arrived back at our point of origin, we felt as if we had experienced the start of a great friendship.

We rode in air-conditioned comfort in what is called the dome car, an excellent way to view the sights from up high. A brief stop at the top of the pass reminded me of a special package they offer at times of combining the trip with an open-air concert up top. One we just missed by a week or so was a Michael Martin Murphey show; I would liked to have done that.

Our destination was the town of La Veta on the other side of the mountain. Like the little ditty, evidently the bear really did go over the mountain because a mama bear with three cubs had been scouting around town that morning. I wish that sighting had been part of my package tour.

We were given a map of the dining establishments in La Veta. Our new friends accompanied us to Nanda Ghan’s Mexican food restaurant, where we enjoyed lunch in a charming and pleasant courtyard surrounded by profusions of flowers and mint.

Francisco fort . . .
The lunchtime stop was just over two hours. A short stroll brought us to the historic Francisco Fort Museum, built in 1862 by Col. John Francisco, the 1859 sutler for Fort Garland. The accommodating staff gave us a half-hour tour of the various buildings and exhibits. The place was worth spending several hours perusing; however, the train wouldn’t wait. It would have been good if we had been informed about it on the train and could have allowed additional time.

Reversing direction to return us home, the train was required to stop at the siding atop the pass as we waited for a freight train approaching. That gave us time to disembark and wander a bit. I sent Chris up into the engine for a tour of our locomotive and a photo op in which he looked right at home at the controls.

The Rio Grande River is slow and wide as it flows through Alamosa. We spent almost no time in town, will definitely want to check it out more at another time. There are two colleges here - Adams State and Trinidad, a situation that typically enhances an area’s cultural opportunities.

Southeastern Colorado . . .
The helpful tail wind that boosted us up over La Veta Pass today became a troublesome swirling crosswind on the steep downhill grade. I was glad Chris was driving, but it’s difficult to be a passenger with no control in those circumstances. He brought us safely through that fairly short, but intense, experience.

Driving through Walsenburg, I add it to the Alamosa and La Veta list of places I’d like to spend substantially more time. Besides their lovely little historic downtowns, the countryside is rife with fabulous hiking, fishing and backroading opportunities, one of which is the old La Veta Pass road that takes one to UpTop, a three-building remnant of a ghost town.

As we leave the Rockies behind, we see some healthy corn fields before we begin our crossing of the Great Plains. Suddenly, we top out on a vast green grassy plateau from which our line of sight seems unobstructed.

Just about midday, we arrive at the La Junta KOA, nearly deserted, but find by suppertime that we have neighbors aplenty. This, too, is a nice spot, as most KOAs seem to be.

Bent’s Fort . . .
After setting up, we are off to Bent’s Fort. I had been there when Darren was a young’un. At that time (he’s now nearly 40), the site was basically just a site - ruins. How amazing to go there now and find a completely reconstructed complex.

The Bent brothers with their partners constructed the fort to serve as a trading post. The reconstruction, exactly on the foundation of the original, and furnishings are outstanding. Everywhere one looks there are sutler’s shelves neatly lined with yard goods, tinware and everything imaginable that could be wanted by frontier folks. Pressed and baled buffalo hides vie for space with various other animal pelts. The blacksmith and carpenter shops are fully stocked with appropriate tools, as are the kitchen and other quarters.

Because a recuperating military surveyor by the name of Abert drew detailed plans for the facility, the National Park service was able to be very accurate in rebuilding it. While wandering through the courtyard and in and out of the intricacies of the buildings, it was a short step to imagining myself back in time.

The Arkansas River flows muddily (at least right now) near the fort and through La Junta. There is a substantial railroad yard here; however, I have not learned what goods it transports, perhaps agricultural products, livestock? We see quite a lot of agriculture in the area: so far we have noticed mostly alfalfa, corn and melons.

As we drove the countryside today, we saw occasional signs declaring varying sentiments about land and/or southwest Colorado not being for sale to the U.S. Army. Very curious we thought, and looked up a website noted on some of the billboards: pinoncanyon.com. The upshot is that there is widespread opposition to the Army’s intent to expand a training site in Colorado, the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS), which the website states is under utilized.

It was 95 degrees when we arrived, a bit of a shock after our time in the mountains, but a nice wind was blowing and it didn’t seem too bad.