The Name is Dolores

It is interesting that the name Dolores is a Spanish baby name. In Spanish the meaning of the name Dolores is: Sorrow. From Maria de los Dolores (the Virgin Mary, or Mary of the Sorrows.). So this leads us to how Dolores, Colorado got named. From the history of the Town of Dolores:  The Dolores River was named by two Spanish Catholic priests, Francisco Anastio Dominguez and Silvestre Valdez de Escalante, as they passed through the area in 1776. On their journey to find a route from the missions of Santa Fe, NM to California, they discovered the river and called it "Rio de Nuestra Senora de las Dolores" or the River of Our Lady of Sorrows. In 1891 the railhead was established at the present site of the town of Dolores. The inhabitants of Big Bend moved everything lock, stock and barrel, to the new site at 6,982 feet elevation and named the town after the river that passed through it. So our pictures today come from the Mapleleaf Mafia Module - a long, long module that tells the Dolores railroad story.

Train Narrow Gauge Convention 2014

We were in Kansas City for the Narrow Gauge Train Convention last week.  There were lots of trains to see and things to buy.

Here are a few of the trees you can buy.  I really enjoyed the little Cypress Gardens scene with the palm trees and bikini girls.

This is the module that Gerry and the Maple Leaf Mafia group have created - a tremendous length!