Smiths spend seven days on railroad, sightseeing tour
Forrest and Joyce Smith of Marion, along with other Kansas residents, returned to the state Sept. 16 after spending seven days on scenic Colorado railroads and sightseeing tour.
On the first day of the tour, they traveled to Evergreen, Colo., on motor coach. Some of the highlights included visiting Buffalo Bill Museum and gravesite at the top of Lookout Mountain near Golden, traveling through the mountains to the Silver Plume Depot where they rode the Georgetown Loop Railroad on a 1920s steam-powered train through silver mining country, and toured and shopped in Breckenridge and spent the night at Canon City.
The next morning, they drove to the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park where they viewed the world's highest suspension bridge built in 1929. Returning to Canon City, they boarded the Royal Gorge Scenic Railroad for a 24-mile journey between Canon City and Parkdale following the Arkansas River through Royal Gorge and under the Royal Gorge suspension bridge. They traveled on to Durango and spent the night.
The group drove to Mesa Verde National Park Visitor Center on Saturday and took a guided tour of the cliff dwellings. Returning to Durango for the night, they were entertained by the Diamond Circle Melodrama and a Cole Porter Reveue with singing, dancing, and comedy in the historic Strater Hotel.
On Sunday morning, the group boarded the coal-fired Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge railroad and traveled through the mountains of the San Juan National Forest following the Animas River to Silverton. The railroad has been in continuous use since 1882.
After lunch, the group traveled from Silverton, through Ouray, on highway 550 to Grand Junction and spent the night. Part of highway 550 is known as the Million-Dollar highway.
The Smiths and the rest of the group drove on Monday to the Colorado National Monument Visitor Center near Fruita and later drove to the National Monument on Rim Rock Drive which skirts the edges of the canyons.
The group drove to the AMTRAK Station in Grand Junction where they boarded the train for a trip through the Rocky Mountains to Denver having lunch and dinner in the dining car. Arriving in Denver, they were met by the bus and taken to their motel for the night.
Tuesday morning, they boarded the motor coach and traveled through Colorado and Kansas to different drop off points.
