Fly into Denver (or drive if you are nearby) and take the transfer van over to our hotel. Arrive if you can, by late afternoon as our welcoming dinner will be this evening, when all the questions get answered and we begin to make new friends. Hotel: Doubletree Hotel

After breakfast we began our first adventure with visits just west of Denver where we will find many places of interest, (trains you can ride on and a few that you can simply see and take pictures of), but old trains nevertheless. For train buffs the name, Georgetown Loop, is important because of their antique train. We continue onto Leadville which will take us up and down a nearby mountain where the opportunities for photographs are excellent. We stay at an historic hotel, the Delaware.

We have a little longer ride today as we head for Pike's Peak, where you will be rewarded with a completely different train ride up the famous mountain. We also visit the Garden of the Gods with their 300 foot towering sandstone rock formations and the visitor and nature center which offers interactive exhibits. We spend the evening exploring the little town of Manitou Springs, the site of our hotel.

A nearby vislt to Cripple Creek, a very unique town because it has 975 residents and 9 gambling casinos, It also has a narrow gauge train which, with open cars and an old steam engine which will take us on a 45 minute ride through the countryside which they describe as a beautiful and fascinating experience, filled with a rich history that only a dynamic gold town could produce. Our hotel is the Holiday Inn in Cagyan City.

The Royal Gorge Railroad takes us on a unique ride up a narrow canyon on a narrow river, a spectacular train ride through the Colorado Rockies, in comfort and style. Then down the road a very few miles, to the top of the gorge, where we can look down on that same river, 956 feet below us. The day continues with a drive to Alamosa, where we will find an old train and nearby, a good display of the trains and other interesting sites in that area. Our hotel is Holiday Inn Express.

The day begins with a bus ride west, heading for Durango and a great steam train, as well as the Train Museum which we will visit.

And then it's up the mountain to Silverton, time there for lunch and a visit around the town and then another great ride, this time down the hill. We will be staying at the Strater Hotel.

A little break from trains, that is what we have today. We are very close to some of the historic ruins that still exist from one of the native American cultures that called this area home. Seeing them.