The Royal Gorge

Today we had two wonderful scenic train rides.  The first route was along the Arkansas River through the Royal Gorge, starting at Canon City. The photo shows our train about to enter a tunnel, just before before passing under the road suspension bridge 1,000 feet above.

It is one of the wider sections of the gorge! At the narrowest  point , the track is suspended above the river, parallel and close to the rock wall of the canyon (last extra).

The second trip, on the Rio Grande Scenic Scenic Railroad, was quite different, but just as scenic. The track follows a serpentine route from the town of La Veta over La Veta Pass — an elevation gain of more than 3,000 ft. — to Alamosa. For miles we passed through areas that had been burned by huge forest fires — see first extra.

I enyoyed a local beer in the luxurious lounge car, one of three  origially used on the City of New Orleans train (second extra). The composer of the eponymous song is alleged to have been inspired by riding in this car.

P.S. Sorry the extras are not in sequence -- I added a couple more after the original posting.