Whiskey, Texas

Spring Break breakdown - 4.3

Railroad jewels & Rail Runners

On to Albuquerque...

We were fortunate to be in New Mexico during the Alvarado Hotel exhibit at the Albuqerque Museum of Art and History. The Alvarado Hotel was one of the famed Harvey House hotels of the Santa Fe Railway. Opened in 1902 and located in downtown Albuquerque, the hotel provided train passengers and other travelers with first-class lodging and meals through its closure in the 1960s. It was demolished in 1970.

The museum exhibit featured artifacts and memorabilia from the hotel and from the railroad during the Harvey House era.

The exhibit runs through June 7; I'd highly recommend it if you're in the area. Check the Albuquerque Museum's website for more information: http://www.cabq.gov/museum/featured.html

Next, it was back to trackside to accomplish our next goal: shooting the Albuquerque Rail Runner commuter trains on the new line to Santa Fe. When Miss C and I visited New Mexico last November, we were about a month too early to see the Rail Runners on the new extension. Rail Runner service to Santa Fe commenced in mid-December, on a route that included several miles of newly constructed railroad, built expressly for the commuter train service. The line featured some impressive engineering work, including a stretch down the median of Interstate 25.

C gets some practice with my Canon gear near Belen.

A southbound Rail Runner arrives in Los Lunas.

"Next time, take the train!" This southbound Rail Runner, about 20 minutes out of Santa Fe, paces vehicle traffic on Interstate 25. The new line runs down the I-25 median for several miles southwest of Santa Fe.

Catching the last rays of sunlight near Santo Domingo Pueblo. This is the former BNSF Glorieta Subdivision, now owned by the state of New Mexico.

Coming next: ghost hunting and sand surfing. Stay tuned...

WSC

np: Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane - "Them wheels don't roll"

Labels: albuquerque museum, Albuquerque New Mexico, alvarado hotel, el camino real, Los Lunas New Mexico, RailRunner, road trip, santa fe new mexico, train photos

Spring Break breakdown - 1

Beware the Ides of March...

The kids were on Spring Break from March 16-20 and joined me for a trip to New Mexico with Miss C (her son was on Spring Break also) to do some skiing and sightseeing. We hit the road on Sunday, March 15. Mom joined us, also... she and M left the day before we did.

Ready to roll: my double-cab Tacoma would be cramped quarters for two adults and two kids...

US 84 between Snyder and Post

Group benching effort: rolling by a BNSF grain load near Post

Striking a pose at the state line

last leg to Ruidoso: dropping into the Hondo Valley

Stay tuned... coming next: tire swings and snow tubing.

WSC

np: Baboon - "Why'd you say die?"

Labels: Albuquerque New Mexico, BNSF Slaton Subdivision, post texas, road trip, Snyder Texas

Fall colors and more

Tuesday, November 4 in the Albuquerque area...

Spectacular fall color near the Rio Grande in Los Lunas.

A close-up of the cottonwood leaves.

My morning got off to a rocky start when I discovered I had a flat tire. I've had that Toyota for 4 1/2 years and this is the first flat I've ever had to change! And on a set of new tires, yet! But in less than an hour, I was good to go.

Miss C. and I enjoyed lunch at Blake's Lotaburger in Los Lunas while Discount Tire patched up my flat...

Later, we explored Albuquerque's downtown area...

Kress 5-10-25 cent Store

Kress storefront, downtown Albuquerque.

Later, we set up near Isleta to photograph the late afternoon RailRunner to Belen (see previous entry). Then we headed to Belen for some dinner before we continued on to Ruidoso.

On tv when we arrived in Ruidoso... the election returns. (Yes, I voted -- a couple weeks early, since I knew I'd be out of town on Election Day.) Even though I wasn't an Obama supporter, it was hard to ignore -- and be less than a little awed by -- the historical significance of his election. I probably won't support ALL of the changes the Obama Administration will bring to America... but at least we didn't elect Hillary.

Up next... two days in Ruidoso. Stay tuned...

WSC

np: Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions - "Charlotte"

Labels: Albuquerque New Mexico, fall colors, Los Lunas New Mexico, Obama, road trip

RailRunners & Santa Fe relics

Ever since passing through the Albuquerque area during the last week of October about 8 years ago, I had wanted to get back and re-experience the fall color along the Rio Grande in that area. What better trains to photograph than the Albuquerque RailRunners, whose colors complement the cottonwoods, and which run on predictable schedules?

A southbound passes a colorful cottonwood near Isleta on November 4.

Mingling with BNSF traffic during a station stop at Belen

Departing Los Lunas, heading north in "push" mode...

A Southbound kicks up leaves as it approaches Isleta

Southbound in the late afternoon near Isleta.

Between RailRunner shots, we found time to discover a few Santa Fe relics around Albuquerque, including...

I thought I had found a nice GP30, until I came around to the engineer's side and discovered it had been hit by taggers. I'd love to see one of these repainted in BNSF "Heritage" colors (or even a fresh coat of blue and yellow) but its days on the BNSF roster are probably numbered.

SD40-2 # 6958 was in better condition...

Derelict Albuquerque shops building

Santa Fe logo at Albuquerque shops.

Coming next - more from Albuquerque, including ghost signs, fine dining, more fall color, and a flat tire. Check back in a few days... and Happy Thanksgiving.

WSC

np: Robert Nighthawk - "You call yourself a Cadillac" (from Mississippi Delta Blues Vol. 1)

Labels: Albuquerque New Mexico, Belen New Mexico, fading ads, fall color, ghost signs, Isleta New Mexico, Los Lunas New Mexico, RailRunner, road trip, train photos

Hiking to Monjeau

On Saturday March 22, M joined me for a hike in the Lincoln National Forest. We decided to walk to the Monjeau lookout tower, a National Forest tower where forest rangers watch for fires. Normally you can drive right to it -- and we had driven there a few years ago -- but this time the road was still closed for the winter so we had to walk. The distance was about 2 1/2 miles from the point where the road was closed, a round-trip distance of 5 miles. It was a beautiful day and we got a nice workout.

hiking uphill

We found a lizard that kind of looked like a horned frog -- I didn't know they had those in New Mexico.

almost there - climbing the steps to the tower

Monjeau Lookout Tower - Lincoln National Forest, NM

M really wanted to go up into the tower...

We had to settle for this view instead.

Did I mention we were above the snow line?

Hiking back to the truck. This is one of those pictures that makes me realize M isn't a little kid anymore -- in fact, he had his 7th birthday during our trip.