There's no doubt this train ride would be spectacular any time of year, but to take it in the fall...oh my! I spent the whole trip in the outdoor gondola, and the wonderful docent we had was out there narrating. The car was full, of course, and when everyone spotted a stand of colorful trees, we'd simultaneously point, and ooohs and aaaahs would come bubbling out of our mouths. But more than once, only five words would come from the docent's mouth: "You ain't seen nothing yet!"

There are various combinations of train and bus that one can take on the all-day trip between San Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico. My route was from San Antonito to Chama by train with a 1.5-hour return by bus.

The train hits several highlights as it travels through the San Luis Valley and the Toltec Gorge where the Rio de Los Pinos is 600 feet below. It snakes through two natl forests, hunkers through two tunnels, braves the Cumbres Pass which is the highest point on the 64-mile journey and crosses the border between New Mexico and Colorado 11 times.

You really don't know which state you're in unless you're keeping track of the little white border signs along the side of the tracks. If you're in the Carson National Forest, you know you're in New Mexico, but if you're in the Rio Grande National Forest, then you're in Colorado. Not that one forest looks any different than the other: they are both spectacular, and at this particular time of year, glimmering in reds, oranges and yellows for as far as the eye can see.

Lunch in Osier, Colorado awaited us part way on the trip, and the return bus ride was along the Highway 17.