GC2895W Traditional Cache 348 D&RGS Hesperus Station ~ Chasing the Rails
Type: Traditional | Size: Small Small | Difficulty: 2 out of 5 | Terrain: 2.5 out of 5
By: Mr.Skully @ | Hide Date: 05/09/2010 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N37° 17.611 W108° 02.743 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
Dogs  Recommended for kids  Takes less than an hour  Scenic view  Not Available during winter  Not Wheelchair accessible  Not Stroller accessible 


Third in a series of caches called "Chasing the Rails" of The Rio Grande Southern Railroad.

This is a small cache, will hold GeoCoins and Small TB's and has a log. PLEASE Replace how you found it or better if left out. Thank You! As soon as I find a larger one for here I will replace this one.

PLEASE Be very aware of the traffic, there is a nice spot to park just East of C.DOT.


If any one ask what you are doing. You are "Chasing the Rails" of The Rio Grande Southern Railroad of course.

Standing at the cache and looking to the East into that open area is about where CR 124 and the Rail Line crossed back in the day, you are standing on or near the old CR 124 alignment, the rail goes up thru the C.DOT Yard, cuts it right in 1/2. Over on HWY 140 just South of 160 is where the bed crossed the now HWY 140 and that is where The Old Hesperus Station is, the first building on the left is the Old Hesperus Rail Station and on the right is the Old Puetz Saloon, the Water Tower was just North of the Saloon across the tracks near the Station, did the HWY take it out? Not Sure! South just a bit you can see the Old Church it is very near the rail bed and also on private property. From where you are the tracks climbed the hill to the West near Montoya's place, then back into the hills from there holding the same elevation the top top of Mancos Hill. Just a little ways above the ski area the tracks cross 160 and you can see the bed from there to the top of the hill.

These image were taken at The Hesperus Station back in the day. Click to VIEW Image! and Second Image

Here are images of the Old Hesperus Station and the Puetz Saloon today, both private property. As you pass between these buildings you can see the old rail bad.

Some YouTube Clips I Found.. From the Cab of the Gallaping Goose and the Galloping Goose Running the Track Near Durango, Co

The Rio Grande Southern was one of the most spectacular narrow gauge railroads in the world. It provided heavy transportation service for the west side of the San Juan mountains and traveled through spectacular scenery that, prior to the railroad, was only accessible by the most determined traveler using horses, wagons, or even basic foot power.

The Rio Grande Southern Railroad (RGS) ran from Durango to Ridgway in the western part of the US state of Colorado. Its right of way can be traced by going west from Durango to Mancos, then to Dolores, north across Lizard Head Pass (10,222') to Placerville, with the final leg to Ridgway.

The route passed over Dallas Divide west of Ridgway and over Lizard Head Pass north of Rico. The most famous structure on the route was the Ophir Loop near Ophir. At this point the railroad was built up a narrow mountain valley and looped back up the other side to gain elevation over several tall trestles.

The RGS filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission for abandonment on 24 April 1952.

Details for Benchmark near this location: Benchmark HM0048 and Benchmark HM0049

This image was taken at Benchmark HM0049.

This page shows Remnants of the Rio Grande Southern Out Along The Line that are still standing.

Next Stop, Montoya's.. ALL Aboarrrrrrd!!!!!......
or Old Hesperus Hill.. ALL Aboarrrrrrd!!!!!......

Be sure and check out the WILDCAT RGS VIEW and A Funny Way to Ride the Rails #2 while chasing the rails.

Also see The Rio Grande Southern Railroad - History and Time Lines.


FTF was YotaCacher w/ Kingbee
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One Foot West of Post under bush and stick.

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Driving Directions

 Logs

11 Logs: Found it 11  

Found it 06/08/2019 By HTBob
The wifey (dfay1165) and I are heading out of town (Las Vegas) for vacation in Colorado and google maps brought us on this route. This was just a short walk from parking and I wandered through some "terrain", hoped over a small stream / ditch, then hoped another one, then gingerly made my way carefully along the fence to make the find. I finally spotted it tucked safely away. Contents of the container was pretty damp, but at least the log was dry. We put the cache container back where we found it and made our way on down the road.

So, I will apologize right now, because everything from here on is here solely for the purpose of increasing my word count average. It seems that there are caching statistical challenges that look at the word count averages in our “Found It” logs.

And now for today's trivia ...

BEST FRIENDS DAY
On June 8, honor your closest and dearest friend on Best Friends Day.

The relationship between best friends is often fierce and can withstand distance, storms and silence. Whether we’ve known them all our lives or they are more recently acquired, best friends make tough times bearable, fun times memorable and memorable times priceless.

Maybe there are several best friends in your life. No matter how many there are, get together and celebrate the day!

HOW TO OBSERVE

Celebrate National Best Friends Day by letting your best friends know how much they mean to you!

TODAY IS ALSO ....

NATIONAL UPSY DAISY DAY
Each year on June 8, National Upsy Daisy Day is set aside to encourage you to face the day positively and to get up ‘gloriously, gratefully and gleefully’ each morning.

Every day is a gift and if we remember that as we rise each morning, it will help us carry a good attitude throughout the day, whatever the day may bring us. Life is full of challenges and bumps in the road, and it is our attitude that helps us over the bumps and through the challenges to move onward with a smile.

Give it a try. Be grateful and thankful for what you do have such as a bed to sleep in, food to eat, friends and family. Try a smile and see how it feels. It may surprise you that it feels good on the inside also and how other people will smile back. You may just brighten up their day! Upsy Daisy!

HISTORY

National Upsy Daisy Day was created by Stephanie West Allen is 2003. Her desire in creating National Upsy Daisy Day was to make humor, laughter and a positive attitude part of the Upsy Daisy Day way.

Found it 05/25/2019 By dugeagle
Here visiting Pagosa Springs from Colorado Springs. It is great to be able to find this cache and we are really enjoying the scenery. Thanks to Mr.Skully for the cache.

Found it 05/25/2019 By Liz and Bruce
We are staying in Pagosa Springs for a week at a timeshare with friends Dugeagle. Today we went geocaching between Pagosa and 4 corners and this was one we targetted and found. There is certainly a great selection of hides and some creative and difficult to find ones had us going. Thanks to Mr.Skully for hiding this cache and adding to our enjoyment of the area.

Found it 05/19/2019 By Gp30sieb
For an old guy with an arthritic knee from a low altitude area this is Terr 4. The jump across the stream hurt, but all in the name of getting a smiley. TFTC

Found it 11/03/2018 By nmsunsets2
SL. TFTC

Found it 09/05/2018 By AutumnEB
Tftc!

Found it 08/23/2018 By fam2go
We were on the way home from T-ride trying to decide if we were going to stay the night in Durango so while we were waffling, we stopped for a few caches and chase sime rails!

Found it 07/27/2018 By msmosier
My imagination just couldn't picture a station here.

Found it 07/27/2018 By jasperdakota
Thanks for the cache! Found on way to Mesa Verde.

Found it 07/25/2018 By YamaGypsy
Very neat series! Thanks for the history lesson. Last cache I needed for the hidden creatures challenge.

Found it 04/08/2018 By byonke
This morning we left Cortez, CO and took a scenic route in a generally easterly direction. We even took a bit of a detour down into New Mexico. We finally stopped in Alamosa. We drove a lot of miles, but we didn't get a whole lot closer to home. Tomorrow we will continue in that direction.

This was just a quick stop along the road. We found the cache in great shape. We signed the log and returned the cache to it's hiding spot.

Thanks
Brian and Carlin
Liberty, MO