This is our road trip from Albuquerque to Salt Lake City - goal 2 historic steam trains and 3 National Parks - 2 weeks journey.

Flew into Albuquerque from Boston and picked up our rental car, overnight in Albuquerque at the Hampton Inn North. Typical Hampton Inn (which we like), restaurants nearby. Next day we drove north to Chama, NM, about 3 1/4 hours, home of the Cumbres & Toltec Steam Railroad. Had booked two nights at the Rio del Vista Motel which was clean and well located (looked like the best choice in the area). Chama is a small and friendly town but other than the train, doesn't offer much (probably hiking and cross-country skiing in the winter).Had a very nice dinner at the High Country Restaurant - one of the few in town. Do eat by 8PM as things close early. The C&T train offers 3 choices of ride: 1. Chama to Osier round trip; 2. Chama to Antonito by train, return by motorcoach; 3. opposite. All choices offer a wonderful lunch (full turkey dinner or meatloaf or soup & salad)at Osier which is included in the ticket price. How they handle the meal at Osier which is 17 miles from a real road is amazing in itself. We chose the Osier round trip as it is the shortest and we knew we would have a long day on the Durango-Silverton train 2 days later. Train is comfortable and scenery beautiful and I must mention, they have great docents to narrate interesting information on the history, etc.

From Chama, we drove to Durango, CO, normally about 2 hours, but we added a side trip from Pagosa Springs to South Fork for the scenery. The Hampton Inn in Durango was my favorite of the hotels we chose - very professsional staff, well located 2 mi north of town (quiet), comfortable rooms and good breakfast. We were there 3 nights.
Our 10 hour trip on the Durango-Silverton train was fun and just fabulous scenery. We chose the Silver Vista car and it was the best. Silverton is a small town, the 2 hours we had there was plenty. One must remember to wear jeans or other dark casual clothes, sunglasses or other eye protection, and a hat on these old steam trains - they are dirty and sooty.
The 2nd day we spent at Mesa Verde National Park. We have see pueblos before, but it was interesting and the drive scenic. We ate dinners at the Himalayan Restaurant, Ore House, and Shanghai Pearl. The first 2 were great, last one okay. Durango had many choices and downtown was "dead" after 6PM, reservations were unnecessary. I loved Durango.

On to Ouray, Co, for 1 night at the BW Twin Peaks. Enjoyed the outside mineral spring pool and rooms were comfortable (best pillows of anywhere). Unfortunately, my husband was hit with a bout of Acute Mountain Sickness which spoiled our time in Ouray and we couldn't wait to leave in the AM. We sea level folks can have a hard time over 6500 ft. The drive to Ouray was beatiful and I love that kind of driving up, down, around mountain roads. As was the drive beyond it as well.

Moab was our next stop (4to 5 hours) and we took the scenic route. My husband felt better once we decended but it took a couple of days to be "himself". Moab is an oasis in dry, rocky country, a treat. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express 3 nights and it was very nice and comfortable. Our goal was to see Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. It was very hot (101)so we just did the arches close to the road, but that was plenty. Canyonlands, we decided to do the 4 hour morning Jetboat trip on the Colorado River which was great and went into Canyonlands. How many red rock formations can one look at? We decided not to drive to Canyonlands. Dinner at Buck's Grill House - great. Also ate at Casannas (Italian) and Moab Brewery which were good. Again, reservations not required, not enough people around.

We debated keeping our plans to head for Bryce Canyon due to the 8000 ft elavation and decided to try it. The almost 6 hour drive was beautiful and we stopped here and there). We were scheduled for 2 nights at Ruby's Inn (Best Western). We have been to BC before and took the afternoon to walk and tour the rim, have dinner at Bryce Canyon Lodge. The atltitude was taking another toll so we cancelled the 2nd night and drove on to Salt Lake City (almost 5 hours)the next morning. We stayed 2 nights at the Airport Hilton which was as comfortable as expected, relaxed, read, enjoyed our extra day there. We had been there before so no need to tour the city. Returned the car and headed for home - the best place of all.
Happy to answer any questions or give more details if needed.

Thanks for the trip report. I hope to do Moab and the national parks of Utah some day. Sounds like August was pretty hot. Other than the weather, did it meet up to your expectations?

Thanks! I want to share this with my brother, he's a real railroad buff!
Meanwhile I've got to read up on acute mountain sickness, new to me.

Ncountry - Yes, it met my expectations. We are in our 60s and not much for long hikes, especially in 106 temps. I was amazed to see a number of folks with NO water at all. Crazy. Most of the "big name" arches seemed to be miles of walk into Arches. But, there are plenty just off the road -how many can you see and say "WOW"? Bryce Canyon is still our favorite.
jojo46- your brother would really enjoy these 2 trains. Well done and cared for, interesting folks to talk to whether employees or volunteers, fabulous scenery, etc. We thought the parlor cars (most expensive on both) were not worth the money - crowded with table & chair seating. We live on Cape Cod in MA, so we are sea level people and many of us just can't deal well with altitudes 7000-10,000ft for a week. Mountain Sickness is not fun and there really isn't much you can do about it. Look up AMS - Acute Mountain Sickness for more info.

Thanks Charli. I am looking forward to exploring that terrain.

I forgot to mention that the drive on Route 12 from Torrey towards Bryce Canyonwas quite an exciting drive (at least for us low-landers from the east coast). If heights bother you, you might let someone else drive. I loved it, especially the part where it drops off on both sides of you. Beautiful country.
C.

Thanks for your very informative trip report, charli! We hope to head in that direction soon.

A few comments: Downtown Durango was packed with tourists at night when we were there in September a few years ago.

I am interested to hear that there is a Moab Brewing Company.

I thought that all beer in Utah was 3.2, but this may be East Coast ignorance, and I would be happy to be informed that this is not true.
I have been over much of your route and hope to do it again. If I had to leave Nantucket, it would be tempting to move to northern New Mexico or southern Colorado.

I find that discomfort in the mountains is more or less related to the speed with which I get there. I have not had trouble in Santa Fe (7500) but got a headache at Santa Fe ski area (maybe 11,000?). Similarly, I was fine in Estes Park after a few days in Denver, but if I had come directly from sea level, I don't think I would have liked it since I got a minor headache up around 10,000.

Sometimes, altitude problems may indicate underlying cardiac issues. More usually, it is just body makeup. A good friend in excellent shape had a hard time making it to the top of Kilimanjaro while her hiking companion, in less good overall shape, made it just fine.

I really admire your willingness to be flexible and change your plans.