Choo Choo! "All Aboard!"

Wednesday July 23, 2008

Good morning everyone! Are you ready for Train Day?? We all got up this morning excited. Going on the Cumbres & Toltec train was the activity we planned to do altogether as a family.

So, 11 people up, fed, dressed, and out the door a little after 8:00. Whew! We piled in the cars. JC and mom rode with Andrew and I. Quick stop for gas and directions, then onward to Antonito, Colorado. There was a pretty view of the mountains around Taos. It was cool because it appeared the clouds were sitting on the mountains. Then you can see the bright blue sky above. We arrived a little after 9:00, so had plenty of time to see the train, the gift shop, and take plenty of pictures. The Hughes kids were very excited and looked so cute in the conductor hats grandpa bought them. We all took many pictures of the engine getting ready for the journey!

The train left the station promptly at 10:00. The whistle blew and we were off! Our destination was Osier for lunch. Then we'd take the same train back. That would be ok, because as we found,everyone's favorite part were the tunnels. So now, instead of having 2 tunnels to go through, we would get 4! :o) Yay!

Everyone found their way to the observation car pretty early into the journey. I was with JC most of the time who wanted up, but clung very tightly so as not to fall over! He had a great time looking at everything around him. And boy, did he love that whistle. His eyes got real big every time it went off...but he always had his hands on his ears. Very cute! We arrived in Osier. On the menu for lunch was turkey with potatoes (that were very bland!), rolls, and green beans; all served cafeteria style. We snagged a table big enough to sit all of us. There was a high chair for Jetta, but no way to secure her in. So, dad took off his belt and we belted her in. It worked very well, and we were all glad that dad's pants didn't fall off during the process! Yummy dessert-chocolate cake-and then back on the train. The whistle blew again and we were off.

One thing Jennifer and I wanted to make sure of was to get a good shot of the view before the first tunnel. We didn't get a good look the first time because everyone had already crowded. So, we knew it was coming and got there early. It was a spectacular view of the gorge-600 feet down!

Then Andrew and I headed to see the view from the very back of the train. It was nice because there weren't people shoving elbows around to get a better view. It was kind of nice to see "where we had just been." It was a different perspective of the journey. Towards the end of the trip, it started to rain. Glad that it was so close to the end. It was pretty to see all the clouds roll in, and the storms around the mountains we were traveling in. There were some great shots of the scenery we saw...those are all below. Enjoy! Dad and Julia rode with us on the way back to Taos. It didn't take Julia very long to fall asleep. The train ride and all the excitement wore her out! We had a nice trip back. Dad decided that Julia would be more comfortable sleeping in his lap, so that was sweet to see, and I think Dad was right.

We got back home and decided that a swim would be a perfect way to wash all the cinders off our bodies and out of our hair. So everyone except Jeff got their swim gear together and headed for the pool. Jeff went and got pizza for dinner while we swam. The pool in the community was nice. The one complaint was that the room it was in was freezing! It made it very hard to get out of the pool - or even keep your head abouve the water for any amount of time. JC held onto whoever was holding him like a little monkey. He had fun squirting water guns. I had fun bouncing/jumping with him. Julia has turned into a good little swimmer! And Jetta did a good job of letting someone put her on her back to swim. It was a fun evening.

We headed back and had dinner, put the kids to bed, then busted out Battle of the Sexes. It was a re-match of the game at Christmas. The guys won then, and unfortunately, won again in Taos. I think the questions are easier for the guys. What do you think ladies - 3rd time's a charm??

This might've been my favorite day because it really was everything done as a whole group.