Cumbres and Toltec Railroad

How does the expression go – it’s better to be lucky than good? That sums up my chance encounter with the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. This narrow-gauge railroad is part of the same network that also comprises the Durango and Silverton narrow-gauge railroad, the only other section still in service.

We were taking a detour on our way home from New Mexico to check out fall colors and locations for future trips when we briefly pulled over at a viewpoint and heard a train horn in the near distance. I didn’t even think the train was still running this late into the season.

I raced to grab the camera and wait, wondering if it was actually coming our way. A minute later when it appeared around the bend, I shot several photos and thought I was lucky to get even one view of it. Then, I realized how slow it was moving and that we could easily keep up with it while it headed down the valley. We turned around and stopped three more times taking photos from different viewpoints.

I’ve planned shots like these before, researching possible locations via Google Earth, looking up train schedules, and figuring out the roads on how to get there. Then I’d wait for the train that turned out to be delayed, while I stood in rain and snow, to get only one shot. But this day, we just happened to show up at the right place at the right time. I couldn’t have planned it better had I tried.

Black Hills

After Devils Tower, we continued to the South Dakota Black Hills region where we spent several days doing the tourist circuit: Badlands, Custer State Park, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and even Wall Drug. I’ll spare you photos of the latter.

Last time I shared with you the history of the Devils Tower name, I thought I’d continue that this week with background on the Black Hills name. I was actually curious as to the origin of the name and assumed it was related to the minerals in the ground (historically the region’s economy was built on extractive industries, though it has shifted to tourism – essentially the story of so many western towns). It turns out that the hills just look black from a distance, due largely to the evergreen tree cover (see the first photo). I guess the name Really Dark Green Hills didn’t flow as well.

The Lakota name, Pahá Sápa, I think is arguably the even better name, meaning “the heart of everything that is.”

Devils Tower

Devils Tower, a National Monument in eastern Wyoming, is small in terms of footprint, but big in terms of geological history, Native American culture* (the original name was more accurately Bear’s House or Bear’s Lodge), and, later, pop culture (Close Encounters of the Third Kind).

I had only been here once before and while that felt like yesterday, when I stopped to think about it, it was actually 21 years ago. It was great to return and I’m glad we had such great conditions for camping and photography.

*The Devils Tower name came from a misinterpretation of a native name to mean “Bad God’s Tower” which was changed to Devils Tower. And for your fun fact, the apostrophe is omitted as the US Board on Geographic Names discourages the use of an apostrophe and has done so since its inception over a hundred years ago, but no one knows exactly why that original decision was made.

Istanbul for a day

I’ll start by saying, you shouldn’t only spend a day in Istanbul. A city of its size and history deserves so much more. However, you also shouldn’t spend a day at the Istanbul airport, no matter how big it is. That’s the situation I found myself in this spring. I had booked a flight connecting in Istanbul with a short layover, but the airlines canceled the earlier connecting flight and rebooked me on the evening flight, 12+ hours later. Faced with a day, jetlagged, in an airport or going to see the town, I chose the latter.

I hired a guide who specializes in layover tours to meet me at the airport, show me a few sites, and take me back in time for my flight. The weather was about perfect. The tulips were in full bloom. And the coffee was, luckily, strong.