RIO GRANDE SCENIC RAILROAD

When I met up with a small group of fellow Golden Spike members in Alamosa, Colorado, we enjoyed riding on three railroads in five days. One of those railroads was the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad. We left the Alamosa station on a clear sunny day and headed over La Veta Pass to the small town of La Veta.

 



This was a short train of only three cars, but very interesting cars they were. The last car is a complete restored lounge/observation car from the train City Of New Orleans.

 

 

We had full access to the train, but the car we spent most of our time in was the center car. This was a car built in 1952 for the Santa Fe Railroad as a dome/diner car. The dome went the full length of the top deck and the entire lower portion was the kitchen and dinning area.

 

 

 

The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad is not only a tourist railroad, but also an active freight railroad. There is a large agriculture industry in the Alamosa valley as well as a few industrial sites. They run freight at night and passenger traffic during the day. The freight cars go down to the main line of the BNSF Railroad to be taken to their destination. They also do a good business of buying obsolete passenger equipment and restoring them to "like new" condition and sell them to individuals and other tourist railroads. While the rest of our group were having a grand time in the dome car, I went back to the check out the City of New Orleans car. I had the whole car to myself. It was like brand new! The center portion of the car was a bar and had a short menu of food, but the rest of the car was set up with a few tables and many  comfortable chairs.

 

It was strange riding in a beautiful rail car with nobody else in it. It rode so quit and smooth that it gave the impression that the car was stationary and the scenery was moving by the windows. I took many photos through the center window at the back end of the car.

 

Here are a couple of views from that window. 

 

 

 

We kept gaining altitude until we reached around 9,000 feet. It was here that we were all served a delicious meal of baked salmon from the kitchen down below.

 

 

The train stopped to do a "run-by". We all got off the train and it backed up about half a mile and then came back up the hill at full speed, making with the smoke, and rolled by us as we took pictures.

 

 

  Then it was down hill all the way to the La Veta station.

 

They uncoupled the engine from the train. They put the engine on a Wye to turn it around.

 

On the way back to Alamosa, we stopped one more time
so the train could do another "run-by".

 

Then it was through the tunnel and on back to the Alamosa station.

 

 

It was a beautiful and pleasant 6-hr. train ride with friends that will

not soon be forgotten!

 

These were just some of over 200 photos that I took

 while on this ride.

 

RENO BALLOON FESTIVAL



On my way from Oregon to Colorado this fall, I just happened to be in Reno on the weekend of their Balloon Festival. I arrived at the Balloon Park around 4:30 am to check out the festivities. Just after sunrise magic happened. The sky was filled with 100 of the most colorful balloons that I have ever seen.

 

There were about a dozen specialty balloons. People were able to walk around and watch them inflate these gigantic devices. There were many shapes and one balloon took up a couple and a minister and were married while floating above the park.

 

If you are ever in Reno around Labor Day, check out the Great Balloon Race

CASCSADES RAPTOR CENTER

While in Eugene, Oregon, I visited a facility that cared for injured or sick raptors. They had on display some 30 birds.



 

 

 

 The aviaries were large and although outside and under thick canopy of trees which cut off most of the sunlight, I was able to get some nice images. This was a test of what I could do and not do with my camera.

 

They were showing off one of  several varieties of falcons that were there.

According to their web site, several varieties of owls also call this place home.

 

Below is a White-tailed Kite

 Three of our National Birds were located at their facility.

 

 

 

 

 

Golden Spike Rally at Garibaldi, Oregon

A group from our Golden Spike train fan club met in Garibaldi, OR to take in the sights of the Oregon Coast in that area. One of the places we attended was the Tillamook Air Museum.



They claim this is the world's largest wooden building.

 

 

I just HAD to CHECKOUT the F14 that was on display. This is one of the few F14s that I have seen that still has the engines and at least one of the Air Inlet baffles in the intake duct. They say this one can still fly.

 

 

 The doors are 130 feet high and the building is 1000 feet long. You can fit 9 football fields inside.

We camped at the Old Mill RV Park in the heart of beautiful down-town Garibaldi.

 

 The sunsets were beautiful even though there was fog rolling in.

HECETA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE

While in Eugene, Oregon on a nice sunny morning, I decided to drive to the coast and go to the recently renovated Heceta Head Lighthouse. When I arrived at the lighthouse at 9:00 am, it was surrounded by thick fog.

While waiting for the fog to lift, I took the lighthouse tour. The lighthouse had reopened after a two-year, 1.6 million dollar makeover on June 8th of this year.

I climbed the stairs to the ever rotating Fresnel lens with its powerful 1000 watt lamp.

After the tour, I spent some time watching the Common Muers and Cormorants that were nesting out on the adjacent rocks..

 

 Every ten seconds the lens will rotate from one target on the lens to the next.

Watching the waves crashing against the rocks is always interesting.

Even with all fog it was a very interesting day at the Heceta Head Lighthouse.