Chama, NM - Durango, CO – Farmington, NM

September 15-16, 2018

 

The middle of September is a great time to travel north from Albuquerque to visit southern Colorado. Plus, we had picked up something from the Vasa Museum to give to my mother, making a return trip through northwestern New Mexico just the thing. As neither of us could remember the last time we had visited Chama, NM, we decided to pay the little town a visit too. Like a good many small towns in the vast, arid landscape of Northern New Mexico, the place got a serious boom, and most of its current infrastructure during the rail expansions of the 1800s. Chama is still the western terminus for the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, which is all that remains of the San Juan extension of the Denver and Rio Grande. We visited the eastern terminus, Antonito, Colorado this summer, and it’s on our bucket-list to actually take a ride the living-history museum train to learn about the area’s wild frontier days. That trip is for another summer, though.

 

As with all our domestic caching trips, we were up before the sun and out on our way to adventure. We did a quick search on Google Maps to find the most direct route between ourselves and Chama, before looping up and across southern Colorado to Durango. Google proclaimed that taking US 550, then NM 96 and 112 through the tiny towns of Cuba, La Jara, Regina, and La Puente was 20-odd miles shorter than the usual route through Santa Fe, Espanola, and Tierra Amarilla via I-25 and US 84. Since we like visiting the out-of-the-way places in the state, we figured we would take the more direct, but also more scenic route.

 

Sandoval County, NM

Chama was to be only a 3-hour drive, and we figured that stopping for only a couple caches on the way wouldn’t expand that a whole lot, so we decided we would have breakfast in/near Chama and not stop to grab anything in Cuba. We stopped for maybe a snapshot or two driving across the vast and mostly unpopulated range lands after we turned off from the familiar US 550. There are not many geocaches at all along this scenic backroad, most likely due to the low population and long distance needed to maintain them. Alas, we blinked our eyes and missed the towns of La Jara and Regina as well. We did not, however, miss the signs about 15 miles down NM 112 which proclaimed we were about to run out of pavement. We did too, quite abruptly.

 

Rio Arriba County, NM

Unpaved roads in New Mexico fall into two categories, the first are maintained with periodic applications of fresh grading and gravel to keep them passable for the frequent but incredibly light traffic expected through a given area. The second type were carved once, then forgotten completely and only continue to exist because the exposed stone or sunbaked river clay is hard enough to withstand the inevitable erosion by high surface winds, significant temperature fluctuations, and infrequent precipitation. The 25 miles of unpaved highway between the middle of nowhere and El Vado dam fell into the first category, though it had obviously been quite some time since the last grading and graveling. We bounced across the washboarding and hard ruts baked into place since the last rains in the region, being grateful every second that the Geosuby has excellent ground clearance.

As we celebrated the return to pavement at El Vado reservoir, we also took a moment to snap a few pictures of the impressive breadth between the old high-water marks and the new level of the lake. I recall bringing people to camp near these waters about a decade ago, and that our campsite was in the trees, just short of the water’s edge. There is now what looks to be a half-mile of open ground between the water’s edge and the nearest trees. It was hard to believe my own stories about having lazed under the thick canopy of evergreens while listening to the fish jump a few feet away as I gazed at the nearly dry basin.

 

Chama, NM

We didn’t quite make it all the way to Chama proper before our bellies began their voracious protests, but just as signal returned from the great cellular silence that is rural New Mexico, we saw a review for the Elk Horn Café. We needn’t have been so vigilantly searching the roadside, because you simply cannot miss it. There are large signs for the café, and then the lodge of the same name. We were headed through at the beginning of hunting season, so there were huge banners over the lodge gates welcoming hunters to the cabins. Walking inside the café, I couldn’t help but grin at the unabashed presentation of being an old hunting lodge’s café. Antlers, rifles, and some impressive examples of taxidermy festooned the wood-paneled walls of the spacious dining room. Being a bit late for breakfast and a bit early for lunch, we had the run of the place, which turned out to be a very good thing since one server was hopping along on a sprained ankle and the other was nursing a recently dislocated shoulder. These weren’t work injuries, but issues arising from hard, rural living. We had a pretty good conversation with the owner of the place, and learned a good deal about the local goings on. I’m not related to anyone in Chama, so far as I know, but brunch at the Elk Horn was a lot like stopping in at a cousin’s place to catch up on family gossip. It’s an experience that I was used to back when I lived in one of the tiny, rural towns along the Rio Grande, but I hadn’t run across such an example of small-town hospitality in most of a decade before we stopped in. I’m pretty sure most of the urban-born individuals I know would have been utterly baffled by the experience, but Raz was right at home, since his native culture is extremely gregarious by American standards.

 

After brunch, we finally made it to Chama proper, and spent some time looking about for caches while admiring the quaintness of the town. One cache in-particular stood out since it required knowing a code for a lockbox to reach the log and pen. We figured that was the perfect way to insure that the cache didn’t run away in a random pocket during the height of tourist season. Nearby the cache was a gift shop that I insisted we enter due to the wonderful Halloween display I could see through the doors. It was a pretty place, and we were quite tempted by the unique haberdashery available, only managing to talk ourselves out of a tooled leather top hat because we really have no place to wear it. We did give into the temptation for some of the handmade chocolates, and got an assortment of unique flavors and seasonal designs to serve as a long, drawn-out dessert as we wended our way up through southern Colorado.

 

Colorado Delorme page 89

Our first stop after Chama was a little trek up NM/CO 17 and just across the Colorado border to find a cache. In working on the Delorme atlas challenge, we were missing a couple pages along the southern border of Colorado, and we were hoping to catch the first of the autumn color change in the mountain forests. We got the find for the page, and managed to capture not only some of the glorious early-autumn colors, we also managed to find a cache at an excellent vantage point to catch the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad making its way from Chama, NM to Antonito, CO.  All in all, it was one of the more opportune and photogenic caching experiences we have had in the US.

 

 Colorado Delorme page 87

After a short dip back through northern New Mexico in order to have roads to travel on, we hopped back over the border on a new page, stopping to find a cache hidden near the Colorado welcome sign. We very much enjoy the state border welcome signs. Most states have simple, metal signs proclaiming the name of the state you are entering and potentially its motto as well. The signs at the New Mexico border crossings for Colorado, however, are fortified wooden structures, carved and stained. The three-foot carved letters spelling out Colorful Colorado are then painted white so you can see for miles before you cross that you are about to leave the Land of Enchantment. New Mexico once had similar structures, but most of our border crossings are now simple steel signs in bright yellow with our unmistakable red and green chiles bidding visitors and residents welcome as they cross.

 

We stopped a few more times for caches, to insure absolutely that this page is counted when we trace where we have been by atlas pages. For the most part, though, we drove through the foothills of the Rockies, admiring the mostly green, alpine-type evergreen forests with the occasional splash of bright yellow of aspens and cottonwoods, and bold crimson of oaks going through their seasonal wardrobe change. Scrubby planes interspersed each forested stretch until we passed Pagosa Springs. After that turn in the road, it became almost entirely mountain forests with the occasional delightful pond, lake, river, or tiny gorge.  Feeling the miles stretching out before us as the sun crested its zenith and began filtering through the branches ahead of us, we reduced our number of stops, hoping to reach at least Durango before nightfall.

 

Durango, CO

We did indeed reach Durango with several good hours of daylight to spare. I grew up about an hour from this old mine and rail town, and have always loved its character. Sometime, long before I was even a twinkle in my mother’s eye, the heavy mining in Colorado stopped, and ore was no longer hauled out, ton after ton, by rail. The rail lines that were the life-blood of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico were replaced here and there by winding automobile paths, some paved and some not. The populace of many of the smaller mining towns simply loaded their belongings on the last train leaving their stations, the buildings boarded and abandoned to whatever critters might find them. Durango was one of the towns lucky enough to maintain industry significant enough to keep going. Additionally, they kept at least a portion of their rails intact, so that future travelers to the area could see what it had been like to voyage through on the old iron horse. The other terminus of Durango’s train is Silverton, a town that was all but ghosted itself while I was a child. Both sides of that tourist train have flourished in recent years, and like the Cumbres and Toltec, the Durango Silverton Narrow Gage Railroad is on our bucket list, though not for this trip.

 

Instead, we took note of the thriving art culture of Durango and the surrounding area, as there was a sizable fair and exhibition taking place in Durango’s historic district as we arrived. We wandered the stalls, admiring the works and debating whether any of the pieces would make appropriate Christmas presents for the people on our list. Yes, it wasn’t even Halloween yet, but the commercials for Christmas were already airing, so we make no apologies! What we did find at the art fair was the perfect birthday gift for a good friend.

 

After the hours of driving, caching, and then shopping, we decided it was time for some eating, and wandered the downtown historic district in search of some vittles. It is wise to note in visiting Durango that the downtown historic district is tourist-central, and there isn’t a clear tourist “season” as there are in many places that make the bulk of their income off visitors. In Durango’s case, this is because as soon as the snows threaten to fall and stop the running of the trains (as well as make it too cold for hiking, biking, fishing, and hunting up in the surrounding mountain ranges), the skiers begin dusting off their poles and planning their vacations to one of the many nearby winter playgrounds. There are a few weeks in the early spring and late fall when the weather is not quite nice enough to want to engage in outdoor summer sports, and not quite bad enough for winter pastimes. We were not visiting in those weeks, and so we knew we would need to slip into a restaurant relatively early to manage to eat without a reservation. Our timing was perfect, since we reached the randomly selected venue right as it was opening for dinner service. We were much impressed with El Morro Spirits & Tavern. Much as the town itself, the restaurant preserved its historical ambiance even while bringing in modern efficiency and flare. We left well sated, and opted to wander Durango just a bit longer, taking in the Victorian charm of the old stone buildings, and the wild-west holdovers including stagecoach tours through the older parts of town. We stopped and had some delightfully modern small-batch ice cream, and picked up some French pastries for later at an old-fashioned inn and tavern, complete with a live pianist playing ragtime in the entry foyer. Full of smiles and feeling accomplished at our two new pages checked off, we headed south to Farmington and our lodging for the evening.

 

Farmington, NM

I am not ashamed to admit that I avoid the town I grew up in. I mesh with the society of Farmington much like oil meshes with water, which is to say not at all. That being said, there is a lot to recommend the place to travelers. First off, lodging is very affordable, since the town makes a not insignificant amount of its income on overnight visitors who come from up to 200 miles away for large-scale purchases like automobiles, farm equipment, livestock, and major appliances. Fortunately for Farmington, the rural parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona that travel here to shop still aren’t able to get everything they need delivered rapidly and inexpensively through online retailers.

 

Though the extreme drought conditions that have been only increasing over the last score of years have gravely impacted the once lush river valleys that lent themselves well to fishing and camping, the high desert of the surrounding hills is still starkly beautiful and well worth seeing. Plus, the extreme terrain is absolutely perfect for those who love the thrill of taking off-road vehicles where driving was never intended. There are also Aztec Ruins, Salmon Ruins, and Chaco Canyon that are all day-trips through history with the most practical lodging for all of them being in Farmington. As for me, I visited all of these sites, the nearby badlands, and just about every other natural and cultural attraction one could think of in the area.

 

Thus, the reason we came and stayed the night was so I could see my mother and give her the souvenirs acquired in Europe. We opted to do that in the morning since I prefer to be well rested and completely on my game when seeing my family. The breakfast at the hotel was so impressive that I was also thoroughly fortified with vitamins, minerals, and protein before the visit as well. The visit went well, and we kept it a reasonable length, which was no small relief to me.

 

US 550

US 550 from Farmington to Bernalillo is a long stretch of highway with a great deal of barren landscape along its length. Seeing it for the first time was incredibly impressive when I was a child, and the sudden transitions from desert to farmsteads to full-on desolate badlands to mountain forests were likely what inspired me to want to travel and see all the world. However, I have driven the stretch of US 550 between Farmington and Bernalillo more times than I can remember, and impressive as they are, the various features of the landscape do not change from trip to trip. Thus, in order not to fall asleep at the wheel, we opted to place a series of caches along the return route. The process of choosing locations to hide our caches, and creating a name for the series kept us alert and enthused for the entirety of the return trip. Only in attempting to publish the caches did we run up against the reminder that several political boundaries of sovereign Tribal lands crisscross the US 550 easement. As we would need direct permission from the various tribal councils in order to get approval to post many of the caches we intended, we ended up with a greatly abbreviated series, and an excuse to travel back up US 550 to retrieve unpublishable caches. Not to worry, though, this is simply a greater challenge to keep us awake on the next repeat of this stretch of road.