Day 6 - Train to Glenwood Springs

 

We had a nice, relaxing morning since we did not need to get to the Rocky Mountaineer Guest Center until 1pm, just had to check out of the hotel and turn in the rental car.  Then we were notified of a delay until 2:15 pm.  But we kept with our original schedule and just had more time in the guest center.  We boarded the bus for a 15 minute ride to the train, where we got on board and set out on our train ride.

As expected there was lots of amazing scenery.  We even saw a small group of antelope (click to enlarge, photo on left).  They were on the move, but paused just so I could get this picture!  We both took lots of photos but this one will have to suffice. 

One area that took us by surprise was going through Ruby Canyon.  While much wider than Glenwood Canyon, it had a lot of different geological features including some very high cliffs and different colors of rocks.  No roads go through it so it is only accessible by train or the river.   We were both enjoyed watching the scenery so much, that we only took a few pictures, so these will have to suffice. You can click the Ruby Canyon link to see more courtesy of Wikipedia.

After clearing Ruby Canyon, we saw a lot of smoke in the distance.  It turns out we were passing very close to an active wildfire!   Reportedly it had grown from 20 acres to over 600 acres today.  There were lots of firefighting planes flying around it and we even got to see a large C-130 drop fire retardant.  It was rather exciting to watch.  The cloud of smoke from the fire was drifting east so we passed underneath it as we headed into Glenwood Springs.

Due to our late start we did not arrive in Glenwood Springs until 9 pm.  That was a bit late to stop by my favorite brewpub for a Hanging Lake Honey Ale, but that's how it goes sometimes.  We walked to the Hotel Colorado where our luggage was waiting for us.

Tomorrow we only need to be back to the train station by 10:40 am, so we'll have some time in the morning to spend in the town before heading on to Denver.