Tree by Train...

We got our tree by train. That is the Durango Silverton Train up in Cascade Canyon, where the trees near the tracks needed to be thinned out, since hot coal ash spits out along the tracks. So early in the morning we drove over the snowy pass....

to Durango and load up in a sunny enclosed car.

Where on the outskirts of town, we were greeted with a show, and a nifty form of advertising...

Though the inside cars were warm and sunny, we opted for the outside observation car, since we were dressed in about three layers, ready for snow and harsh conditions...

Ahhh, not, our breakfast was  champagne mimosa and yummy sandwiches from Breads back in Durango, their turkey cranberry is like Thanksgiving between two slices of bread...

The views were amazing for the hearty, climbing up past Missionary Ridge...

Picking up passengers at Rockwood

The cars were full, but only thirty of us had tree permits. We were dropped off...

but the train kept going a little bit farther to the Cascade stop where the passengers could sip hot cider and warm themselves around fire pits, while we found our trees...

We took our chances with one that looked good on the front, but was crammed up against other trees, since it has to go up against a wall, near a pathway in our house. We were a little worried about getting back to the tracks, since the train is the only way out. We could have taken a little bit more time...

Here is video, love the sound of that whistle blowing, especially when it is your only way out of a deep snowy mountain canyon! 

or click HERE for the video of the train coming back to pick us up...

And then we headed home...

And Jon carried the tree through downtown Durango to the truck.

The red Christmas ornament was soooo not my idea, makes the elk skull look like a combo of  Zero and Santa's reindeer from the Nightmare Before Christmas...

Continuing the HolidayEating in Santa Fe...

Friday, we drove down to Santa Fe, like we do so many years, getting into the square as the sun was going down and the town was getting ready to light the plaza, and welcome Santa...

We ate New Mexican food coming down from Colorado, at the Chaco Grill, at the Phillips 66 gas station in Cuba.  Then once in town, we ate at Maria's Kitchen, a locals favorite for about 40 years and Robert Redford's when he comes to Santa Fe... 

Then Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Market in the Railyard and ate some more- apple epinadas, breakfast burritos, samples of fresh apples and cider. But we were mainly there to get more New Mexico red chili powder from our suppliers in Chimayo, who bring it in green lidded rubbermaid tubs and sell it in ziploc bags, 1 pound for $18 dollars. Down in the plaza, small bags sell for $25 in posh stores. 

There were other good finds from the vendors outside and the holiday mercado on the other side of the tracks...

But we didn't get cheese and you need cheese to go with the glorious bread we also purchase, so then it was off to Whole Foods, where allergic to dairy, all I could was watch others delight in the cheese choices and then go off and find some hummus and salami

After our bread and cheese picnic, we headed back down to the plaza and pursued shops and museums....

 including Design Warehouse, a staple for Santa Fe's  infamous lit paper stars.

Then we ate at the Burrito Company, not that we were hungry yet....

but, who can resist handmade tortillas, chicken fajita tacos with Spanish rice and black beans, burritos and nachos?

So then we walked it off, the others going to more museums and me, well, I strolled up Canyon Roads, spending as much time as I liked in the many art galleries..... ahhhhhhhh! 

Where even the old adobe buildings themselves are a beautiful thing to ponder, with uneven floors and narrow doors.

Then back together we went to a movie, ate popcorn, cause how can you not eat popcorn watching Daniel Craig, well, be James Bond...

Also how can you love it when Jame Bond saves the girl, at the same time hate it James Bond has to save the girl?

Well, that pondering is for another post, but after the movie we did go back to the Railyard and eat at the Second Street Brewery, where I partook of hard cider this time and Jon proved he can distinguish the subtle woody, fruity or hoppy flavors of several micro brews, presented to him in one sip taster glasses. Daughter #2 did do the driving back to the hotel. Garrett's Desert Inn, which is cheap in comparison to the other hotels down town right off the plaza.

Of course, Sunday, stuffed or not, we walked over to our and everybody else in the knows, place to go for breakfast, Pascals. Part of the fun is the waiting outside and people watching and listening  to the conversations, I confess.

Inside, it is their Mexican hot chocolate drinks, cornmill blueberry pancakes, huevos rancheros, and breakfast plates that make the wait forth it....

Then we headed back to Colorado, but did stop in Cuba at the Phillip 66, at the grill, about 2 hours later for beans and onions wrapped in some more fresh made tortilla.