Recharging in Chama

Downtown Chama across from the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR station

After almost 2 weeks in forest campgrounds it was definitely time to charge up the electronics and apply a little soap and water to all those dirty hiking clothes.  In the forest, water is not always available or potable if it is available, so only those things that must be washed everyday are washed and everything else gets a little attention if there is some spare water.  Our solar panels do a great job of keeping things running in the RV if there is sun and if we conserve power.  However, we must use batteries to run the computer, camera, etc. and charging batteries for all the electronics can be a problem.  (What ever happened to the days of double A s?)

RV sites by the Chama River at Sky Mountain RV

The plan then, was to spend a couple of days in Chama, NM to clean up and charge up.  We have been through Chama many times but were always in a rush to get somewhere else.  This trip we decided to make a little time to explore Chama while getting our chores done.

Our RV, Silver, faces the Chama River

We stayed at a commercial RV park, Sky Mountain Resort RV that was located about a mile south of town on the Chama River.  Our camping spot was next to the river, with great views and lots of shade -- just perfect for our needs and there was even a free pancake breakfast in celebration of Father’s Day.  We couldn’t have asked for more.

Owner, Bill, makes good pancakes!

Between laundry, buying groceries and cleaning poor old dusty Silver, we did some sightseeing in Chama.  A scenic little village with several historic houses and buildings, Chama is best known for the narrow-gage section of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad that runs from Chama to Antonito, CO.  Known as the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, it used to support the mining operations in the San Juan Mountains but today it is a tourist train.  Yes, this is a ‘sister’ line to the Chili Line that ran from Santa Fe to Antonito, CO that I talked about in my last blog.

315 Steam Engine

It was interesting to see the station and the rail yard in Chama, especially after learning about the Chili Line and trying to visualize what the Tres Piedras stop might have looked like back in the day.  At the Chama station, there are several steam engines and cars on display and one box car that you can enter.  The railroad yard itself is one of the most physically complete train yards from the steam train era.  It made me appreciate that time in railroad history.   

The rail yard at the Chama Station

A restored box car

Every morning during the season, one train leaves the Chama Station and one train departs the Antonito station.   The trains make a stop half way and passengers have the option of riding all the way or changing trains and riding back to their original station.  The route is through the San Juan Mountains and it looks like it would be a beautiful ride.  We couldn’t leave Maya all day so we didn’t take the train this time, but it sure would be a fun thing to do.  Durango has another branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad that also operates as a tourist train, so there is the possibility of some serious steam train riding one of these days…

No, it isn't snow, but it is cottonwood "snow."

Many cottonwoods grow along the Chama River