Like Kissing the Earth with your Feet – New Mexico

I have a selfish and protective instinct about Americans

co-opting the beautiful places and culture of Mexico

Kevin Kennelly
(American friend living in Mexico)

Cumbres & Toltec narrow-gauge train stopping to get water

Yellow water tank in Antonito, Colorado

In 1989, millions of film aficionados were introduced to the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad when one of its trains starred as the ‘circus train’ in the blockbuster movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. 

At the beginning of fall, I, too, embarked on the Cumbres & Toltec scenic narrow-gauge journey aboard train #488 for the 64-mile journey, crisscrossing the border between New Mexico and Colorado eleven times on my way from Antonito, CO to Chama, NM.  The train chugged its way up and over the famous Cumbres Pass, at 10,015-feet high.  Bring a warm jacket, the railroad cars are not heated and several windows no longer close!

I wanted to see the leaf colors shift from greens to yellows and oranges but it’s a tricky game to time that accurately.  I looked at the weather daily, trying to guess the best window of opportunity while not waiting too late and having the trip already booked or cancelled by snow. 

My guess was almost right.  Two nights before my trip, heavy frost blanketed the mountains and the leaves swiftly turned color.  I arrived in the middle of the amazing yearly transformation, with about half the trees dressed colorfully, the other half too timid or willful to show their full hues yet. 

Considering I’m a weather amateur, I think I did quite well.  The following week saw snow and the possibility of a trip annulment.  I was therefore lucky to enjoy a space where no automobile can go, traveling through time and an off-the-grid wilderness, experiencing deep canyons, unexpected ridges, narrow rocky passages, a couple of tunnels, high trestles (one at 100 feet, the other at 137 feet), and an open expansive nearly barren plain. 

At top speed, the train only goes 12 miles per hour, giving one plenty of time to see the surroundings, enjoying nature in its full glory: aspen groves, wildflowers, wildlife, meandering rivers, the sky…  A couple of the thirty available volunteer docents helped along the way – they can answer any of your questions and guide you as to what to look for, what not to miss (and on which side of the train), or when it’s a good time to take a break.

The Galloping Goose, built 1933, Motor #15

In 1927, outfitted with Pierce Arrow Series 36 limousine front

In 1946, limousine front replaced with a Wayne bus body

Lost profitable US mail contract in 1950

Sold to Rotary Club for $250, restored 1987

Ran on Cumbres-Toltec narrow-gauge line for first time in 1998

Thanks to the Dolores Galloping Goose Historical Society

Trip on this train is more expensive and there are no restrooms

Don’t drink too much before boarding!!!

Longest and highest narrow-gauge steam railroad in the US

Starting in a vast open plain of the San Luis Valley, near Antonito, Colorado

The steepest grade is 4%, breaking down those hills can be quite noisy

Going up those same hills can be quite slow

National Historic Landmark, 2012

Before the widespread use of gasoline and electric engines, it was steam that powered America.  Steam engines powered farm machinery and manufacturing and transported minerals, the products of the land, and people.  Before good roads connected the small towns of the Rocky Mountains with larger urban centers, it was the railroad, powered by steam locomotives that moved people and commerce across the tracks that are today the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

Originally built in 1880, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was part of the Rio Grande’s narrow-gauge San Juan Extension, which served the silver mining district of the San Juan mountains in southwestern Colorado. The inability to interchange cars with other railroads led the Rio Grande to begin converting its tracks to standard gauge in 1890.  Like all the Rio Grande at the time, it was built to a gauge of 3 feet between rails, instead of the more common 4 feet-8 inches that became standard in the United States.  It was built that way so that it could make tighter turns in the mountains, reducing constructions costs.  A few names along this railroad attest to that: Phantom Curve, Tanglefoot Curve, as well as Whiplash Curve…

It hauled passengers, baggage, mail, agricultural products, livestock, lumber, coal and ore, but in 1893, the Sherman Act was repealed, and the federal government stopped purchasing silver.  This brought disastrous decline in the railroad’s revenue.  Low amount of traffic over the San Juan Extension failed to warrant conversion to standard gauge. In the decades that followed, the railroad was mostly stagnant.  Good times in the 1920’s brought about its last major upgrades in ‘modern’ equipment and infrastructure which are still in use today!

A post-World War II natural gas boom brought a brief period of prosperity to the line, but operations dwindled to a trickle in the 1960’s. Finally, in 1969 the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) granted the Rio Grande’s request to abandon its remaining narrow-gauge main line trackage, thereby ending the last use of steam locomotives in general freight service in the United States.

Most of the abandoned track was dismantled soon after the ICC’s decision, but through the combined efforts of an energetic and resourceful group of railway preservationists and local civic interests, the most scenic portion of the line was saved and is today one of the best preserved narrow-gauge railroad in the US.  In 1970, the states of Colorado and New Mexico jointly purchased the track and line-side structures from Antonito to Chama.  They began hauling tourists the next year.

Not sure if the town of Chama, NM (population 1,200) would exist today without this tourist attraction even though it only runs from May through October (snow to snow)…  I camped overnight in Chama and took a bus from there to Antonito to board the train there…  The combination bus/train was a good choice as the bus driver shared a lot of local and historical information not found on the train.

Letting go of extra steam as we go downhill,

the engine not needing to work as much

Brakes squealing loudly. 

Downhills give the coal hewers a bit of a break from shoveling

For the duration of the trip, we were followed by a firespeeder:

A small motorcar full of water in case coal cinders

would ignite a fire behind the train

During the half day trip, the train saw 9.5 tons of coal and 5,000 gallons of water go up in smoke and steam.  Keeping up with shoveling the needed coal is not for the faint of heart.  Two very large burly men were in charge of that function on the trip I took.  At each long stop a man went around marking each wheel with a colorful dot.  These dots would allow him to easily visualize if any of the wheels didn’t turn properly as we would begin the next part of our trip.  Safety first!

Speaking of stops, we had to wait about 15 minutes for cows to get off the tracks.  They are absolutely unphased by the train, its whistle, its steam, or people yelling at them.  Nature first?

La Cueva Picnic Site, east side of Albuquerque

Small shelter built in 1930’s by CCC

Great hike at the base of the Sandia Mountains

Piedras Marcadas (Marked Rocks)

Petroglyphs by Ancestral Pueblo People

1300 – 1600 CE

West Mesa, Albuquerque

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center – Outdoor murals

Run Away, northern deer dancer by Thomas Montoya, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (L)

Eagle Dance, Zia eagle dancers by Jose de la Cruz Medina, Zia Pueblo (C)

Horses by Manuel ‘Bob’ Chavez, Cochiti Pueblo (R)

Revolt

Po’Pay (leader) entering Taos Pueblo

By Thomas Montoya (Than Ts’áy Tas)

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo

In 1680, Pueblo People joined together to expel Spanish oppressors

They lived free from Spanish control until 1692 (12 years)

Po’Pay sent runners carrying knotted yucca cords to all the Pueblos, one knot was to be untied each day until the day of the planned revolt (8/11/1680).  When two runners were captured and tortured, the revolt was moved up to 8/10/1680.  It was a ten-day offensive that led to 12 years of freedom.

The reconquest happened in 1692 but this time, the Spanish rule granted Pueblos a greater degree of autonomy.  Today, each Pueblo chooses a Governor (runs 1-2 years).  Each Governor receives a silver tipped cane, symbol of their governing power. 

But what is a Pueblo?  For one, it is the Spanish word for small town, village, or, people (as in Spanish Pueblo, Spanish People).  The word’s initial use in the American Southwest was to distinguish the Native Americans living in villages from the more mobile hunter and gatherer groups.  It has since been used to stereotype and homogenized a large group of distinct cultures in the American Southwest.

Some say that the difference between a pueblo and a reservation stems from the fact that the Pueblo Indians had their land granted to them (as did the Mexican residents of New Mexico) in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo between the U.S. and Mexico, whereas most Indian reservations were established in treaties between the U.S. and the Indian tribes themselves. This gives the Pueblos a slightly different status in the eyes of the U.S. government. In most cases, however, this is simply an academic distinction which doesn't have many practical ramifications today.  Others say that Pueblos are normally located on their original land whereas Indians were moved to reservations created for them but not necessarily on their ancestral land.  It is difficult to get a consensus on this topic.

Striking retablos created by Charles M. Carrillo, Santero

(Santero – a person who makes religious images or carvings)

Devotional art representing the 19 pueblos of New Mexico

Using natural pigments, homemade varnish, and hand-daubing

Saints of the Pueblos is an exploration of the connections between Hispanic and Pueblo cultures, delving into the Hispanic devotional images of saints and Pueblo pottery traditions. It shows that these two cultures are truly intertwined.

For the most part, the santeros led holy lives; it was thought that

the more religious the santero, the more powerful his saints.

There simply were not enough priests to minister to the devoted

in this large geographic area.

Chuck Rosenak

‘The saints were made for one purpose and one purpose only: to tell stories. 

We see them as artwork nowadays, but historically they were made to tell stories

to pass along values and morals and religious philosophies. 

I think it’s important that kids of different faiths, different backgrounds,

whether they’re Jewish or Buddhist or Muslim or even Protestant,

get an appreciation for the longevity of the tradition in New Mexico

and get an understanding of a people’s culture and tradition.’

Charles M. Carrillo

El Coronado State Monument, north of Albuquerque

Adobe structure slowly decaying

Pre-contact Tiwa village, Kuaua Ruins

Named after Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, Spanish Conquistador

When Coronado arrived, the population was at its peak, about 20,000 people along 30 miles of the Rio Grande.  The area was continually occupied from 1300 to 1600 CE.  After a tough winter (1540-41) and especially when not finding gold, Coronado didn’t stay long, he returned to Mexico, his dream of finding one of the Seven Cities of Gold shattered. 

Excavated between 1934-39, over 1,200 surface dwellings and storage rooms were found along with six underground kivas (ceremonial rooms), and three plazas.  Most has been reburied for protection from people and the elements.  What you now see is a rebuilt representation on the footprint of the original village layout.  

Tall ladder to get into kiva to see the inside mural

Detail of Kiva Painting, Coronado State Monument

Kuaua Pueblo, Late 15^th, early 16^th century

MIAC/LOA Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe

One of the many painted layers (17 to 80 layers found)

No pictures allowed in kiva

Kuaua Pueblo, Jackrabbit mural

Kuaua = Evergreen in Tiwa language (not as likely as this is grassland)

Or South Place in Keres language (more likely) as

it is the southernmost village among the Keres

Being near Rio Grande River, very lush area

In most Pueblo languages, there is no word for goodbye.  Because we believe in the cyclical nature of our existence, we know we will meet again, whether soon or at a time far off.  We prefer to say, ‘See you next time’, ‘see you later’, or ‘until we meet again’.

Jemez State Monument

Ruins of Guisewa (place of boiling water – hot springs nearby)

prehistoric village (1350)

17^th century Spanish Mission San Jose de los Jémez

Abandoned in 1639

Less than 45 minutes from Albuquerque, in the Cañon de San Diego, you will find the Jemez Pueblo, one of the 19 pueblos left in New Mexico.  Jemez is the only tribe that speaks the Towa language and traditional law forbids the language from being recorded in writing in order to prevent exploitation by outside cultures.  Photos are also forbidden in the pueblo other than at the mission.  From 30,000 at the time of Spanish contact (circa 1541), there are now only 3,400 Jemez people.  

Six to eight-feet thick walls

Friars relying on memories of fine European churches

tried emulating them using local

building materials and techniques in different landscape

of sandstone and adobe bricks

Founded 1621-22

House of worship built with defensive measures in mind

Had a thing for number 11

Door: 11 feet wide, Length: 110 feet, width: 33 feet

Soda Dam

Travertine formation deposited by hot, carbonated spring water

Right next to the road in Cañon de San Diego near Jemez Springs

How about a quick Santa Fe detour with a couple of friends?

Meow Wolf, Santa Fe

Neon trees welcoming you in

It is very difficult to describe what this place/experience is…  Some compare it to a computer game, others to nerdy or immersive art, as only good for stone people, a sensory overload (especially for small children), akin to a carnival fun house, interactive experience, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, gory wax museum, nonsensical, kitschy, escape room, trip to another dimension………….  I describe it as going down the rabbit hole in the complete chaos of Alice in Wonderland where nothing is ever what it appears to be. 

To appreciate, one must let go of trying to make sense of it all and just enjoy, feel, sense without pretense or pre-conceptions.  It is definitely non-linear – very difficult to tell if you have seen it all, if you are seeing it again, what you may have missed, the links between anything? 

From a nearly normal Victorian home to Star Trek like ship or from deep jungle to black and white cartoons you never know where the next portal leads you until you are upon it.  From bus to tree or psychedelic colors to the house of mirrors…  It can get a bit overwhelming but there are many places to sit and wait it out while you watch odd white tutu creature slowly meander by. 

Crystals glow in the dark.  You touch them and music begins or did it?  Who/what actually started the music?  Try again to discover cause and effect. 

Red lasers in a foggy dark room that play notes when ‘touched’, fridge door leading you into another world, sliding down a washing machine, illuminated mushrooms, live ‘critters’ walking, playing music, dancing, or just watching you…

I loved that at the end, in the gift shop, there was a washing machine full of single no longer paired socks for sale!  Clever and fun… 

Glowing musical mushrooms

‘Touch’ the red light, make music

In an otherwise completely dark hazy room

Are we in a cartoon of life?

There is an amazing amount of creativity and passion in New Mexico.  I love the energy of it all.  When I say, ‘It’s like kissing the earth with your feet’, I mostly refer to how connected one feels to everything that is here, whether nature, art, history, land, or more…

And, there is more to explore.  Next post…