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Tonya Meyer, director of the Bluffton Senior Citizens Center, provides us with a minute-by-minute trip to Colorado taken by 40 area residents.

By Tonya Meyer

Bright-eyed and ready for adventure, 40 friends of Bluffton Senior Center boarded a Buckeye Charter bus the morning of July 20 heading for Chicago and parts West.

It was a sizzling hot day as Chicago greeted us with temps topping 100 degrees.

But that only slightly dampened our visit to Navy Pier and a double-decker bus tour of downtown Chicago. Fortunately, the air conditioning at our Fairfield Inn cooled us off enough to enjoy dining out in a variety of good restaurants near our hotel.

The next two days blurred together, as we boarded our Amtrak train at a very crowded Union Station (our train was delayed three hours, as were two other trains that afternoon).

Once on board, we checked out what the train had to offer - observation car, lounge, dining car. Some of us had reserved sleeper car accommodations, the rest of us managed to get some sleep in our seats (much more roomy than airline seats, by the way).

We got our first glimpse of the majestic Rocky Mountains when we were about an hour east of Denver - a sight that promised more intimate contact as the week progressed.

Arriving at the Denver Amtrak station early afternoon, two shuttle buses from the Red Lion Hotel picked up our luggage (and us), depositing us at our first overnight stop in Colorado.

That evening we met Ken Thompson, our personable and well-organized tour leader, and heard more of what World Wide Country Tours had planned for us.

It was also our introduction to higher altitudes - Denver is a mile high, and we would be touring in areas up to as much as 14,000 feet. "Drink plenty of water and pace yourself when walking," our leader cautioned.

Next morning, July 23, we met Gary, our experienced and most helpful driver, who stored our luggage in his comfortable motorcoach. Colorado Springs was our destination for the day.

Garden of the Gods was our first stop, where a film and a step-on guide introduced us to the history of that area. We marveled at the beauty of the massive red rocks pointing to the sky.

Our afternoon adventure was a cog-railway trip to the top of Pike's Peak, elevation 14,110 feet. On the way up, we spotted a gathering of about 50 elk, plus a few marmots as we got to the rocks above tree-line.

We had enough time at the top to breathe in the rarified air, take a few pictures, and treat ourselves to the famous fresh doughnuts they bake every day at the top of Pike's Peak. Our home-away-from-home that night was the Radisson at the Colorado Springs airport.

Ca~non City was our first stop on July 24, where we boarded a narrow-gauge railroad train (with diesel engine) for a trip through the Royal Gorge. We had the choice of standing in an open car or sitting on the padded seats of one of the restored cars.

It was a beautiful ride along the Arkansas River - tall cliffs on one side, white-water rafters on the river, and the Royal Gorge highway bridge towering 1,000 feet above us.

We stopped for lunch at Salida (served promptly, efficiently and cheerfully), then made a stop at tiny Saguache where we toured an interesting historical museum.

Our route then dropped out of the mountains into the wide San Juan valley, where irrigated fields were green and white with blooming potato plants.

Monte Vista was our overnight stop, at the Movie Manor Inn where we could watch the big outdoor movie (Cars II) from the comfort of our rooms. However, most of us "hit the hay" before the movie finished.

Next morning, after an early breakfast buffet, we left for tiny Antonito where we boarded the Cumbres-Toltec train. This was the first of our two coal-fired "puffabillies."

The land looked flat and uninteresting when we started, but the train kept climbing and chugging, doing tight switchbacks, crossing back and forth between the Colorado and New Mexico borders, until we were soon high in the mountains.

We had breath-taking overlooks of the ranchlands along Rio de Los Pi~nos (River of the Pines) far below us.

The train stopped for lunch at Osier - there is no town there, but only a stopping place for the trains. A few miles farther, we reached our peak altitude on this trip (over 10,000 ft.) and began our downward trek to the end of the line at Chama, New Mexico.

Gary had the bus waiting for us and we headed to Durango, our stop for the night. Our Best Western hotel was just a stone's throw from the train station and several restaurants.

Tuesday morning, July 26, found us boarding another "puffabilly" for a 3 1/2 hour trip up, up, up along the Animas River. High above the rushing water, we marveled at the amazing scenery and the scary overlooks.

The train ride ended at Silverton, an old mining town that has tried to keep its century-old character for the tourists that flock to the area. Our bus ride out of Silverton was plagued by rain but Gary, our driver, did a great job of getting us over Red Mountain Pass for a stop at the Russell Stover outlet at Montrose (where we enjoyed Blue Bell ice cream).

Then on to Grand Junction, located along I-70 not far from the Utah line. The land here was drier and much more open, with the largest mesa (flat-top mountain) in the world just to the north.

Next morning we visited Alida's Fruit Farm in the Palisade fruit-growing area. The patriarch owner talked to us about what they grow - mainly peaches but some other fruits and vegetables (of course, their gift shop was open as well!) Orchards and vineyards dotted the countryside as we headed east on I-70.

Then, onward and upward into the mountains (there was still plenty of snow on the peaks) to our lunch stop in historic Leadville. Another train ride was in store, this time with a diesel engine pulling our narrow-gauge railroad cars.

It was a lovely, scenic trip with plenty of wild flowers in bloom and the Arkansas River valley stretched out far below us (the same river we first saw on our Royal Gorge train trip). From Leadville, our bus headed for Dillon and our last overnight in Colorado.

We still had a special treat in store for us on Thursday morning, July 28, when our bus took us to Georgetown, another historic mining town. A talented storyteller, Leon Joseph Littlebird, entertained us after breakfast with songs and stories of his combined Native American and Irish roots.

We then toured the turn-of-the-century Georgetown Hotel (it still has the original furnishings) before boarding the bus for our tour's final destination - the Denver Amtrak station.

However our adventure was not over! Some of us headed to Denver's 16th St. Mall for last-minute shopping and a bite to eat. The rest of us stayed in the air-conditioned train station (we had been enjoying the cool breezes of the mountains for a week, after which the Denver sun was mighty warm).

Our train, coming from San Francisco, was an hour late - but no problem. The problems started when, just after we got underway, our train was delayed for a couple of hours by two freight trains (freights have the right-of-way, unfortunately).

This hold-up caused us to "lose our slot" in the process, and we found our train sitting on sidings at many intervals over the next 24 hours. We finally arrived in Chicago at 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning, July 30 - 10 1/2 hours later than scheduled.

Fortunately our bus was waiting, ready to provide the last leg of our journey. We arrived back in Bluffton at 8:15 that morning, tired and happy to be home.

But a myriad of special memories (plus all the pictures we took) will keep us entertained well through the rest of this year - or until the next trip comes along.