Animas Canon

Northward from Durango the train traverses the beautiful Valley of the Animas - the full Spanish name being "Rio de las Animas Perdidas," or "River of Lost Souls," - with its fields of waving grain, its well kept orchards and gardens and its thrifty homes. Soon the valley becomes more broken and contracted, the approaching walls grow more precipitous and the smooth meadows give place to stately pines and sighing sycamores. The road climbs and clings to the rising cliffs, and presently the earth and stately pines have receded and the train rolls along a mere granite shelf in mid-air, but the startled traveler quickly loses all apprehension in the wonderous beauty and grandeur of the scene.

Turn the page.

Return to Dome Car Front Page

All text and images Copyright 1995 by Darryl Van Nort