Rio Grande Explorations

RV Trip to the High Mountains

Day 12 - October 3, 2018

Chalk Creek - St Elmo - Como - Cotopaxi

The rain and storms the previous day were gone and the atmosphere was stable, yielding us an absolutely beautiful clear and cool fall day in the high country. Sometimes life is just .... GOOD.

This day largely focused on locations of the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad. At least, it did for for me. We camped at Nathrop (a junction on the South Park), then drove to St Elmo (a helper station on the railroad), then drove over to Como (a division point on the line). The DSP&P was a very special railroad and I've got a growing love for it. Sharing my first ride on the only operating section of narrow gauge trackage with Noah was remarkably special and a trip highlight.

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7
Day 8	Day 9	Day 10	Day 11	Day 12	Day 13	Day 14

Once again, I got up first and got some pictures of the campground.

We highly recommend the Chalk Creek Campground.

Neat little irrigation stream just behind our spot.

Sometimes you get lucky with the camera.

This is a good one.

Chalk Creek originates up near Alpine Tunnel.

The mainline of the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad ran roughly parallel to it all the way to St. Elmo.

Departing the campground for our final full day in the mountains.

A few miles after turning off of US 285, we left the pavement for the final time and easily cruised up the well-maintained gravel road

to St. Elmo. As soon as we parked, Noah was out the door and running around.

Heading into town to find some chipmunks!

Other than the General Store, most of St. Elmo is a ghost town. Seasonal residents only...

...and Locals!

I set off to find the old DSP&P Railroad Depot, if it was still standing. I took most of these photos to analyze later in hopes of determining if one had been the Depot. But, it turns out that it's gone. And, it hadn't been located in town. The grade is on the hill to the south of town and that's where it once stood. I didn't intend to include all these shots, but after editing them I decided to. It's a neat little town with lots of character.

Restoration work

Chalk Creek

Possibly a locomotive boiler repurposed as a stationary boiler for mine work.

Heading back down. Momma took the passenger seat to get these photos.

Incidentally, I washed off about 8" of gravel and mud from the front of the RV after getting home.

The mud remained in the driveway for weeks as a reminder of this day.

Chalk Creek

Local

Back on pavement.

George really wanted to see these pronghorns.

Heading towards Buena Vista in search of lunch.

Colorado Midland Caboose #425

CM Depot

This was a pleasant surprise.

It's been 22 years since the last train ran these rails to the legendary Tennessee Pass.

Looking south (railroad east) towards the Royal Gorge

We got some lunch and coffee here. It was excellent.

Como is a special place. Like Chama, it was a division point, a locomotive helper terminal, and had full shop facilities (including a roundhouse). Unlike Chama, Como was abandoned in 1937... far too early for any preservation efforts. Fortunately the Depot, hotel, and stone roundhouse were left standing as lonely monuments in the vast expanse of the South Park. When I first saw it in 2011 the depot was about to fall over, the hotel was under restoration and the roundhouse was fenced off. Since then a volunteer group has assisted the owners in completely restoring the Depot, opening the roundhouse, laying track, and even bringing in a steam locomotive. In the coming years they plan to restore most of the yard tracks, the water tank, and about a mile of track out to the wye. Noah and I will definitely be back. I'd love to help lay some track!