Fun in the snow!

[Nighthawk]

Yesterday, I spent the day at the Colorado Railroad Museum and the rebuilt historical Fort Lupton. Thought I would show off a few pictures!

They fired up a steam engine for the Santa Train! And as you can see, we had a lovely fresh blanket of snow on the ground. The sky had just cleared and the snow had just lifted, making the lighting beautiful!







The model railroad had one miserable night!





Our first ride, we sat in the open-air car. The crew thought we were nuts...



My dad.



Jackie and I:



For our second ride, we rode in one of the coaches. The crew thought we had regained our senses...





More to follow!

[Nighthawk]

I would draw your attention to the lovely lamp overhead. The museum went to a lot (and I mean a lot) of time and expense to recreate those. They are beautiful!



These cars also have functional coal stoves, so it was nice and warm in there.

We ran across the museum mascot, Spike:





And of course, Santa Clause!



Onto the Fort!

[Nighthawk]

The party at the Fort was a fur trapper era events, meaning 1840's. I don't have any period-appropriate clothing that is warm- all my 1800's period clothing is PV, and it was really cold- so I went psuedo-historical. I wasn't accurate, but I was warm! And I was a big hit.

These pictures were taken in the lookout tower.



The Fort grounds, as seen from the tower, which by the way is now complete. I haven't seen it since they finished it!



The courtyard, with wreaths on all the doors!





The Christmas tree:


Another feature of the Fort that I haven't gotten to see completed and in use before is the fire place. It was a welcomed thing, I'll tell you!





Mom and Dad sitting on Santa's lap:



Wonder what mischief Dad is stirring up... Come to think of it, I don't want to know...

One fat man sitting on the lap of another...



This is the third time this year I've seen Santa. Wonder if he thinks I'm kissing up!

[Nighthawk]

Family picture with Santa!



My mom joined in with the carolers:







The lady wearing the green jacket always hunts me down in order to sing that song about the drunken Scotsman when I'm there with my reenactment group. Luckily she opted to not sing it last night...

So- it was a spectacular way to kick off my Christmas season. Hope you're all having some fun, as well!

[mookien]

Nice wintry pictures. Thanks for posting them. They made me shiver, but then again we have a few inches of new snow outside, too. That fireplace looks great, and warm.

I've taken rides on the Chama to Antonito and the Durango to Silverton steam trains in warmer weather, but never to Ft. Lupton.

Love the steam coming off the boiler. Your dad looks like a natural railroad man. I also like the ones of you and your dad with Spike, and your family with Santa. Merry Christmas to you all!

[Oddern]

Great pics! In the part of Norway where I live we have no snow at all. That is quite unusual.
Skål!

[Nighthawk]

Nice wintry pictures. Thanks for posting them. They made me shiver, but then again we have a few inches of new snow outside, too. That fireplace looks great, and warm.

I've taken rides on the Chama to Antonito and the Durango to Silverton steam trains in warmer weather, but never to Ft. Lupton.

Love the steam coming off the boiler. Your dad looks like a natural railroad man. I also like the ones of you and your dad with Spike, and your family with Santa. Merry Christmas to you all!

My dad helped to restore the Cumbres & Toltec back in the 60's and 70's. I was born in Las Alamos and lived in Chama for a long time. We used to have winter specials. I remember riding the C&TS when it was cold and snowy. Watching those rotary's throwing snow (what looked to me like) hundreds of feet in the air is a memory I'll never forget! And my dad will never forget firing the things... He seemed to think he was going to get himself killed if he did it very often.

[Panache]

Looks like a splendid time Travis

...

They fired up a steam engine for the Santa Train! And as you can see, we had a lovely fresh blanket of snow on the ground. The sky had just cleared and the snow had just lifted, making the lighting beautiful!

I absolutely love this shot.

Winter wonderland indeed!

Happy Holidays

Cheers

Jamie

[McClef]

Riding in open carriages must have taken some endurance!

[Nighthawk]

Riding in open carriages must have taken some endurance!

Nah- I was covered in wool! I was plenty warm. Those gloves that Mrs. Newsome makes are nice!