Dreams Not Yet Achieved

The start of 2012 was going to be a new me, a new outlook on life and all around better life.  Now I know what you're thinking, how long did that last?  You also may be thinking that's what everyone says at the start of a new year.  Then they fall back into their old habits and life continues on the same path.  Well that wasn't the case this year.  I started out focusing on me.  What I wanted to achieve, how to get there and what mattered to me the most.  Like many people, I looked at my health and realized I needed to do something about it.  (Just for you neigh sayers out there, I managed to lose 30lbs and I'm still losing.)  The next step was to write out my goals that I felt were achievable in the span of 12 months.  I really wanted to take my photography serious and finally start pushing it instead of letting it slide.  I wanted to focus on my writing, another area I had let slip.  Both of these things are very important to me and I would like to establish myself in the world.  I put these goals on post-it notes on my closet door.  Every morning, I wake up and see them, reminding me what is important to me.  I bet you're wondering what this has to do with train chasing.  Well I'm getting there.

In pursuing my photography, I wanted to visit new trains.  I felt I was in a rut chasing the same trains over and over.  It became a goal of mine to visit one of the most renowned trains in Colorado: The Durango and Silverton.  I decided I wanted to visit this train in the winter and get shots of an old steamer in the snow.  Pretty awesome idea right?  There's a few problems, 1) I drive a Honda Civic, not the most compatible vehicle for driving in Colorado winters and 2) Durango is five hours away from where I live, which means I would have to stay for a few days (did I mention I'm a starving artist?).  Since my parents are supportive of my goals and aspirations, they managed to secure me a hotel for the weekend.  My dreams were going to come true and I was pumped.

The day arrived to leave and I managed to convince Carrie to go with me.  I wasn't keen on going alone.  Like most days in February and March there are chances for snow storms, but this is Pueblo, the donut of Colorado.  Everywhere else gets the snow, but we normally don't.  We planned on leaving a little later in the morning, because we would be catching the train the next day.  Surprisingly, it had started to snow when we were eating breakfast and by the time I got out of the shower, the deck was covered in snow.  We needed to get out of Pueblo and fast.  Remember that little tid bit of information about driving a Civic?  Well try driving one in a blizzard with old tires; it was a nightmare.  As we got into town the roads and visibility were getting worse.  Still we pressed on (yeah, I was insane).  We reached the outskirts of Pueblo and things got even worse.  I could barely see the front of my car as I gingerly made my way up the interstate.  Semi-trucks blared by me, forcing me closer to the edge of the road because they wouldn't get over all the way.  My windshield wipers froze up and were struggling to keep up with the snow and ice.  I had no idea where I was, all that I knew was that I was somewhere between Pueblo and Colorado City.  I hit this patch of ice and my car just start gliding off the road.  Hitting the breaks only made it worse and I was pretty sure we was going to end up in the ditch.  We had seen close to 10 cars in the median or side of the road.  It looked like a parking lot because people were going way too fast.  I don't know how I managed it, but I got the car back on the road and going straight.  Carrie suggested going back, but I just couldn't give up my dream even if it killed us.  My knuckles were white and I felt like Ed did back in November.

I pulled off at Colorado City.  I needed to unfreeze the windshield wipers and clear my windows from all the gunk it had accumulated.  I also needed a quick break from being behind the wheel and the wind on my face was just the ticket.  Something weird happened at the top of the hill, the snow quieted down and roads were starting to melt.  The closer we got to Walsenburg, the easier the road became.  Soon the snow had stopped and the road was clear.  The worst is over....or so I thought.  It was clear until we got closer to La Veta.  Then we were hit with the same road conditions back in Pueblo, except this was a little worse because I was approaching La Veta Pass.  It was slow going, but we made it up the mountain without any accidents and were finally getting out of the storm.  It just had a few more surprises for me.  While coming off the pass the wind began to howl, creating a whiteout effect I've never experienced before.  Sometimes the wind would whip so fast I couldn't see anything but within a few seconds my vision would clear.  I figured it couldn't be as a bad as the drive but then the wind whipped up and wouldn't stop.  I couldn't see behind me nor in front of me.  I had no idea where the edge of the road was and was hoping with all my might that there was no one behind me.  I came to a complete stop near the side of the road (I doubt I was on the shoulder).  All we could do was wait and wait.  The wind died down and I was able to move on, but my nerves were shot.  I had been in the car way too long, but I knew we are almost done.  We reached Fort Garland and headed to Alamosa, there wasn't any snow on the ground but the wind was still howling.  Instead of a white-out, we hit a sand storm so thick and black, it was blowing my car to the side and causing horrible visibility.  I have no idea how we survived all that, but we did.  We stopped in Alamosa for a much needed break and this is what my car looked like after all that:

It was smooth sailing all the way from Alamosa to Durango and I couldn't wait to soak my bones in the hot tub.  Upon arriving at our hotel, we were shocked to find out that the pool and the hot tub were out of service.  Give me a break will you!  We wandered downtown Durango and went to bed early.  I was dead dog tired, but the realization that I was this close to achieving my dreams made it impossible to sleep.  I tossed and turned and got zero sleep, but the next morning I was ready to roll.  I planned on getting to the station early so that I could take photos without other people in my way.  I was loaded down with gear, but not enough clothing.  I had underarmor on, a long sleeve shirt, a fleece jacket, a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, regular socks, a hat and gloves.  (I road on the platform car from Durango to Cascade Canyon.  I never budged and I should probably get a medal because it was one of the coldest rides of my life.)

When we got to the station, they had the doors to the platform outside locked.  This is one of those things you just don't do to me.  They said that they would unlock the doors about half an hour before we were to depart.  I wasn't happy but figured I would still have half an hour to take photos of the train while the others boarded.  The time came and went and the crowds began to fill up the depot.  I felt like a caged animal and began to pace, this certainly wasn't the way my day was supposed to start out.  Finally they unlocked the door, but ushered everyone into the cars.  I was having none of that and went to the front of the train.  They had caged me enough.

I managed to take many photos before I had to get on the train; Carrie had boarded earlier.  It felt like eternity before the train pulled out of the station, but when we finally got underway, it was awesome.  The tracks go right through the middle of downtown and we got to see the sights via train.  I had never been on a coal burning train before and laughed when they said we should wear glasses while riding the train because the embers from the engine fly back into the open air cars.  I wasn't laughing ten minutes into the ride.  The embers burned and I ended up breaking down and buying some sunglasses they were selling on the train.  These have become my official train chasing goggles.

This train is probably one of the coolest you can ride in Colorado, if not the United States.  One of the reasons why I feel this way is when you go around this curve you can look straight down and see the water.  There is only a few inches between the track and the edge of the mountain.  For those of you who are afraid of heights this is probably not the ride for you.  The history of this railroad is pretty amazing too.  They started building this railroad (without dynamite) in the fall of 1881 and completed the railroad in July of 1882.  For those of you who know what Colorado winters are like in the mountains, you can appreciate what kind of feat this was.  Upon arriving in Cascade Canyon (the threat of an avalanche keeps the train from going all the way to Silverton), the passengers disembark and eat their lunches.  They back the train in when you first get there, much to my sadness because I wanted to take photos as it backed up.  I guess you can't have everything, so I decided to lay down in front of the train in the snow to get a shot (don't worry, it wasn't moving).

During the ride back, I was pretty cold and decided to stay in the car more than I did on the ride up.  On the ride back we were able to see bighorn sheep which made the ride even more amazing.  Back at the station, we were able to go visit the museum and get another sense of history.  The next day, we chased the train out of town before heading back to Pueblo.  Although the tracks follow the road for quite some time, it is challenging to get a clear shot of the train without a house or cars in your shot.  However, just as we were about to go home, I saw a pull off on the side of the highway.  It enabled me to see the curve of the track as it came underneath a bridge.  Probably the coolest place to take a shot between Durango and Cascade Canyon.

Going home was a lot easier than it was coming, there was no snow or icy conditions on the way back. The only problem that we encountered was that Carrie had to pee as we came back across Wolf Creek Pass and pointed out all the "pottys" she saw.  I should clarify here, the "pottys" that she saw had five feet of snow in front of them and were currently out of order.  We finally managed to find a potty and continued on our way.  The only other issue that we encountered was a dust storm but nothing like the drive to Durango had been.  

This was probably one of the best experiences I've had.  It allowed me to start on my journey to better myself and achieve goals that I had set.  Despite the rough start, this trip gave me the confidence I needed to continue.