Last fall I read a blog post about a local family that went to ride the train in Cripple Creek at the end of September. The blogger talked about how pretty the leaves were and what a great trip it was for the kids. I immediately decided it was something that we should try and it's been on my radar ALL summer. Last weekend we made the trip. And we called it an early birthday outing for Finn (since Reid's at work and Kai's in school on Finn's actual birthday).
The drive was a bit longer than I was expecting, but it was quite pretty. Too bad those pictures are on Reid's ipad and I don't know how to retrieve them. When we arrived it took us some time to find a parking spot as it seems everyone thought it was a good weekend to check out the leaves and the train in Cripple Creek. We finally found a spot and then went to buy our tickets for the train. At that point, a train was just pulling away and we saw a whole heck of a lot of smoke....I mean A. LOT. Our immediate concern was for Finn. Reid seemed willing to give up the train ride, but I had promised the boys and I didn't want to back down. So, I turned to the cashier and told her I had a son with a lung disease and was wondering if there was any way to avoid as much of that smoke as possible. Maybe an enclosed car? She thought for just a second and then answered that they did have an enclosed car and it was on the train that was departing at the time we were buying the tickets for. She also told me exactly what time to arrive to make sure we got a spot on that car and right where to sit so that we could close the doors to the car as needed. It made my day and made me realize that there really are understanding people out there. Not only did my kids get to ride the train, but we did it nearly 100% free from the smoke of the coal. It was great! Granted it did get hot when we had to close the doors to the car, but hey, we survived. And there was just a moment or two where I held Kai's jacket over Finn's nose so he wouldn't breath the smoke that was blowing in, but Finn did great and we all had a good time. We even walked the town and bought candy, popcorn, and water for our journey. It was a fun Saturday afternoon and I'm so glad that I just asked!
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| At the station |
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| On the train |
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| Both boys were curious to see the coal and watch it being shoveled into the engine |
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| I love ALL of my boys! |
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| Our engineer and tour guide |
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| My 3 handsome boys! |
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| The ride took us through old mining country. Who knew there was so much gold in Colorado?! |
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| The remnants of a mining community |
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| What remains of the "town" of Anaconda |
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