State 23 - Colorado

Upon arrival in Santa Fe we visited the visitors centre (primarily to do some geocaching). However in examining a map it was determined that we were extremely close to Colorado. In fact with a 4 hour drive we could get to the crossroads of 4 states - Arizona, Utah, Colorado and NM. At that point we could stand be in all 4 states at one time. As enticing as that sounded, another 8 hours of driving just to make a point didn't seem so fun (esp. as we had already been to Arizona and obviously NM)

The more pleasant option was to drive 2 hours north to Chama NM and take the scenic train ride to Osier Colorado. The drive from SF to Chama was indeed a beautiful one and we passed right through a Georgia O'Keeffee landscape.












So we boarded the Cumbres & Toltec scenic railroad, America's longest and highest narrow gauge railroad. We rose about 3000 feet to Cumbres Pass at 10,015 feet above sea level and arrived at Osier for lunch before returning home. In fact we were so high in the mountains that we saw snow!

Once we passed the Colorado state line we entered rolling green hill country. The views were amazing. Lucy loved being on the steam engine and got quite a shock when the engine released steam and the wind blew it up and over the train which made us very wet. The viewing carriage allowed us to travel outside and enjoy being on a train.

And that is the story of how we made it to our 23rd state. And yes there is SO much more to Colorado. Maybe one day we'll be lucky enough to get back there.