Passenger Trains > Amtrak in Ruby Canyon

The Colorado River runs through Ruby Canyon for 25 miles, straddling the Colorado/Utah border. My son, his girl friend, and I did a rafting camping trip here, and for part of it, the UP (D&RGW) tracks run right along the river. We saw the California Zephyr a few times.

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This was further down the river.

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Canyon light can be tricky for #5 -- by the time it came though, we were in shadow. One night we barely had time to unload our "kitchen" before it came by. See also https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,4882498,4882498#msg-4882498.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/19 18:53 by symph1.

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Some really nice photographs of a great train! Thanks for sharing!

Interesting to note that some of the CA Zephyr trainsets had three sleepers in the consist, while a couple had only two! Change of the guard from summer (peak) to fall (off-peak). 

Great photos, that would have been an awesome rafting/camping trip.  I still remember my on ride through there on the Zephyr, that might be one of my favorite stretches, especially looking up out of the Sightseer lounge straight up the cliffs.  Will never forget that.  Was your raft trip fairly recent?  How was the water flow, and the temperature?

Nathan

It was a week ago today. The water was pretty tame, and we had to avoid grounding the raft in shallow spots. No whitewater. My son and his girlfriend kept going downriver, having switched to kayaks, to run the whitewater stretches. Luckily we all got out before the mid-week snowstorm.

At midday the temps were fine, and when we hiked a couple side canyons. I was comfy in shorts and a tee shirt. It went down to freezing overnight, though. Cozy sleeping bags under the stars!

symph1 Wrote:
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> At midday the temps were fine, and when we hiked a
> couple side canyons. I was comfy in shorts and a
> tee shirt. It went down to freezing overnight,
> though. Cozy sleeping bags under the stars!

Sounds like an awesome trip!

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

Ruby Canyon, in my opinion, is a really pretty area scenically!  Back in college I followed the D&RGW mainlin on topography maps and didn't see any main roads - it must not be easy to get to.

SPDRGWfan Wrote:
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> Ruby Canyon, in my opinion, is a really pretty
> area scenically!  Back in college I followed the
> D&RGW mainlin on topography maps and didn't see
> any main roads - it must not be easy to get to.

Nope, no roads at all. But it's easy on a raft!

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symph1 Wrote:
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> SPDRGWfan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------

> Nope, no roads at all. 

Incorrect.  There are some  4WD roads that do access several locales in Ruby Canyon.  I've personally driven several of them.  They are challenging in dry weather and can be nearly impassable in wet weather, but they are there.  The roads are not shown well on many maps and are often poorly signed on the ground.   I got to know most of them through my friendship with  D&RGW guys that worked out of Grand Junction.