The Cumbres-Toltec as it winds around a curve (Photo By Randy Jones)

On June 28th, my wife and I took a ride on the historic Cumbres and Toltec Railroad, which runs from Chama, New Mexico up to Antonito, Colorado. The scenery is stunningly beautiful as the antique steam locomotive winds back and forth along the New Mexico/Colorado border. It’s a full day of Rocky Mountain splendor rolling long at about 15 miles per hour.

The locomotive itself was built at around 1925 and has been in continuous service on this narrow gauge line ever since. It’s quality machinery built when America really built things. The engine is coal fired and steam driven with an expert crew. As they say, it literally is living history.

A view from a trestle along the route (Photo By Randy Jones)

Plus there’s a lot of romance involved in riding a train like this one. The passenger cars are of three different types. There’s a coach class with bench seats along both sides, a tourist class with heavy wooden chairs and a bit more luxury, and a deluxe class with antique parlor cars decked out with hardwoods and plush chairs. Any of them will afford you a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Highlights of the trip include two tunnels that were dug straight through the sides of mountains. One is a mud tunnel that is reinforced with concrete lining. Back in the early days of the railroad, it was prone to frequent collapse. The other tunnel is through solid rock.

The most spectacular view is Toltec gorge dropping hundreds of feet below the rails. It’s a dizzying view but one not to miss. There’s also a Garfield presidential monument along the way, and the aspens, firs, and pines of New Mexico and Colorado are photographic musts.

Toltec gorge (Photo By Randy Jones)

Check out my gallery of photos below, and if you want to book a trip, I guaranteed a wonderful vacation experience.   I highly recommend it.  Book the full day version and the train stops in Osier, Colorado where they feed you a free lunch.  You can go to the Cumbres-Toltec website here at CumbresToltec.com.

Thousands gathered to watch the blast off, the final of the 30-year-old shuttle program, CNN reported.

NASA via Getty Images

The four-member crew is embarking on a 12-day mission in which they’ll deliver supplies to the International Space Station.

The space shuttle program was commissioned by President Richard Nixon in 1972, three years after a man was put on the moon in the Apollo program.

Columbia, the first shuttle, went into space in 1981, and in 134 missions, five shuttles have carried 355 astronauts into space.

[CNN]

Chung Sung-Jun, Getty Images

Pyeongchang beat out contenders Munich, Germany and Annecy, France, CNN reported.

The city lost to Vancouver, Canada by three votes to host the 2010 Olympics and four votes to Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 games.

The 1998 Summer Olympics were hosted in Seoul, South Korea.

Pyeongchang is located in the country’s Taebaek Mountains region and is the most famous winter sports center of South Korea.

[CNN]

Famous moms deserve just as much thanks as others. Here’s a list of famous moms and their kiddos, from the First Lady to the Material Girl.

On Monday night, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted several more music legends into its ranks, including Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Darlene Love, Tom Waits, Jac Holzman, Art Rupe  and Leon Russell.

The ceremony included performances by the inductees, with appearances by Elton John, Bette Midler, Paul Simon, John Mayer, Neil Young, John Legend and Rob Zombie.

Baseballs are in the air again!   I can practically hear the crack of the bats, the distant sound of pretzel vendors, the roar of the crowd.  Yep, baseball season is upon us! Here is a taste of the upcoming season with a gallery of Spring Training pictures. Play Ball!

Here is a gallery of pictures from the 2011 Academy Awards Red Carpet.

Here’s a gallery of the Great American Race, The Daytona 500.

It was a wild night at The Grammy’s and here’s the photographic evidence

President Obama gave his State of the Union Address…and here is a gallery from the night!

This week in sports, the contenders for the Vince Lombardi trophy were whittled down to four, tennis stars competed for the Australian Open title, and snowboarders defied gravity at the Snowboard World Championships in Spain. These are some of the weeks best moments caught on camera.

It’s been a tough winter so far, with the raging blizzard and global deep-freeze, and all. But the human race perseveres! How? By building cool snow and ice sculptures worldwide. Check them out!

It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since the horrific earthquake that shook Haiti. After the tragedy, Americans pledged over 1 billion dollars — 32 million dollars by text messages alone. But has it made a difference?

In this series of compelling composite photos, we get to see locations in Haiti both then … and today. You decide.