Start the Touristy Day

After Estes we relaxed for a day. We went down and saw my SIL's art at a coffee shop in Longmont. It was very fun to see her great art on the walls of a business all displayed fancy like. It was on display along with a photography art show that closed main street in Longmont. We wandered up and down the street, listening to music and looking at inspiring photos in various businesses.

We were up early the next morning for an adventure for Jason and I. Up at 5am to drive down to his place (Shawn slept), load into his car (Shawn slept) and drive out east to catch the old steam train heading up to Cheyenne for Cheyenne Frontier Days (once again Shawn slept).

While Jason and I waited outside in the nice crisp, morning air (Shawn was sleeping still) I snapped a couple of photos around the spot Jason had scoped out. I got a couple of birds with one being fed. I haven't researched any of the species yet, so feel free to add some input on that.


The weeds growing along the track. You see the bright red all over the place. I really like the perspective.
Then came the main show. Here's an excerpt from the Union Pacific website about this engine:

"Steam Locomotive No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad. It was delivered in 1944. A high-speed passenger engine, it pulled such widely known trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger.

Many people know the engine as the No. 8444, since an extra '4' was added to its number in 1962 to distinguish it from a diesel numbered in the 800 series. The steam engine regained its rightful number in June 1989, after the diesel was retired.

When diesels took over all of the passenger train duties, No. 844 was placed in freight service in Nebraska between 1957 and 1959. It was saved from being scrapped in 1960 and held for special service.

The engine has run hundreds of thousands of miles as Union Pacific's ambassador of goodwill. It has made appearances at Expo '74 in Spokane, the 1981 opening of the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans and the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Los Angeles Union Station in 1989.

Hailed as Union Pacific's "Living Legend," the engine is widely known among railroad enthusiasts for its excursion runs, especially over Union Pacific's fabled crossing of Sherman Hill between Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming."

After checking out the train, which blew by very quickly. We headed back to the highway and down to Colorado Springs to the Garden of the Gods and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. By the way, Shawn slept the whole way.