The Moose Odyssey ..CO-NM-AZ-UT in Misc. Thoughts opinions, the whole trash can.

Moose the Labrador, is going on the big Road trip. We left July 25th and headed for Albuquerque. Maria has a step sister there, as well as a niece. Her sister’s ex-Husband lives there as well.
Pinion Rest Area, CO:

That was going to be the first stop for Mr. Moose. Guess what closed. Oh well, plan B. Onward to Pueblo, and a stop at the Starbucks, off I-25 and Eagle ridge Parkway. This was a block from where the railroad put us up, at the La Quinta. Coffee, and pastries..off to a small park off of 29th Street and Elizabeth. I knew this area, from 30 plus years of crew changing in Pueblo. Moose walked around, lots of new smells. We did get him to pee. The rest area, south of Raton, NM is the next stop. 40 minutes later, HI-BALL.

The run into Pueblo-Trinidad, CO was uneventful. Noticed BNSF had cars stored in the sidings at Mayne and Lynn. Mostly Hoppers and Gons, but at Lynn, was two rail trains, buckled together, with cars behind. When they need these rail trains for relay, they will be picked up and head to Pueblo. The Y-101 job will drag up to Minnequa yard, and the C&W will deliver to the rail plant. They will load welded rail, and they will go to destination.

Over Raton Pass, road construction. Mr Moose is asleep in the back seat. Been and hour and a half. This rest stop is 25 miles south of Raton. If you want a precise location, 3rd subdivision, siding Schomberg, LOL

We make the rest area, Moose smells..people, they are here for Moose (Not). He did finally settle down and did his business…or in Texas lingo Bid-Nez.

The clouds are rolling in. There is a Thunderstorm brewing. Between Maxwell, and Wagon Mound,NM we get pounded with heavy rain.. We went from 87 F to 62 F in mere minutes, 2 more hours a fuel stop and a Sonic drive in for a meal at Las Vegas, NM. We’ll make the blast into Albuquerque. Corrales,NM is our stop for lodging, AQ is close.

Moose is asleep, and Corrales,NM is our destination for this leg. The AirBnB, folks are contacted. We arrive, our hosts and GiGi and Yogi the dogs. Moose is in dog land. Can run about, and friends. GiGi likes Moose. She howls outside our place. LOL Was a good time. We walked the canal trails, we met Terri, her step sister and dog. Not to be mean, Terri, I love her but she is my grandma… We will meet here at this place…your dog, will meet my dog. Okay we met. The so called dog park.. well not a dog park. All went well.

We’ll meet Phil, Maria’s sisters, ex-husband, later on in the day. He did a great BBQ, ribs and chicken. Jack the dog, Maria’s niece dog , is a total disaster. A yapper and and a problem, he provoked Moose… I had to grab him… This isn’t Moose, but this dog is a shit head. All went well. Had dinner, and back to the Air BnB. Ready, for the trek west to Heber-Overgaard.

I-40 west:
Terri, God love her.. go here and here catch I-25 to I-40, LOL lemme loose 60 minutes. I took a route due west of us, and hit I-40, Arizona here we come.

We grab the BNSF mainline..west of Rio Puerco. It is calm. We are in that grey area of east meets west Belen,NM east.. Winslow, AZ west. How they arrive and are called out. The southwest Monsoons, are here too. There are pools of water, around and near the interstate. There is a work train around Bluewater,NM. I chuckle a C-44, they would crucify you using a C-44 on a work train, when I did power, unless it was a shut down emergency. Times have changed. The “maze”, around East and West Baca, East and West Pegs and Thoreau, and there is activity. Lots of stack, and intermodal, and a Coal train in the mix. That coal train a 55 mph, boat anchor in the mix. This will be low priority, till the fleet passes.