I combined a work trip to Denver, Colorado with a trip for a Santa Fe Workshop class, "A sense of place". There was some time between those activities that allowed me to visit a couple of sites. Driving from Denver to Santa Fe, I stopped in at the Great Sand Dunes Park. I took the back road that took me past the park and into Taos. It was a very scenic route, much better than the drive up along Interstate 25. This also took me through Cumbers, Colorado where I saw the railroad stop.

Doing some research that night, I realized that I could take the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad from Chama with an early morning start. I got one of the last tickets to the deluxe car which gave me decent views from the train, but I was really on the wrong side for the scenery. Luckily, there was enough room to move around to get some decent shots. What I really needed to do was to be able to chase the train. For the first half of the route, the train is visible at different points from the road, so that will be the plan next time.

The workshop subject was a sense of place, the history, art, landscape, etc. of Santa Fe. We visited many places that I had not been to before around Santa Fe. We visited Abiquiú, the White Place, Bandelier, Pecos National Historic Park, and El Rancho de las Golondrinas a historic ranch and stop on the Camino Real. On my return trip home, I decided to visit some new sites along the way. I had been to the Acoma Pueblo many years ago. They were less restrictive about cameras this time, but you still have to go with a tour group. Since my last visit, they have added a very nice visitor center and museum. From there, I took another loop that took me to El Malpais National Monument. I was able to see some of it from the road, but there was a fire in the area that closed the trails. This park is about lava fields, cinder cones and lava tubes. From there I went to El Morro monument. There is a fresh water spring here that made it a stopping place for anyone in there area. The rock here is soft sandstone and the visitors have left there mark.