San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad
LaVeta to Alamosa to Antonito
alamosatrain.com; 877-726-7245
Fifty years have passed since tourists last laid eyes on the stunning views the Denver & Rio Grande railroad billed as the “Scenic Line of the World.” On Thursday, Southern Colorado tourism folks got a glimpse again, aboard Colorado’s newest excursion train line, the San Luis Express, which links LaVeta and Alamosa. The rest of us can get a ticket to ride the Express and the Toltec Gorge Ltd., which runs from Alamosa south to Antonito and links with the Cumbres & Toltec line, starting Memorial Day weekend.
“L” OF A TIME
tHERe Coffee Bar
1526 E. Colfax Ave., Denver
303-830-8437
Drop the search for a place to check out “The L Word” without entering into a LTR with your TV. Girl-powered tHERe Coffee Bar, on East Colfax between Humboldt and Franklin streets, has made the premium cable channel commitment so you don’t have to. The hit sapphic soap, renewed last week for a fourth season on Showtime, is screened at 8 p.m. Sundays. Arrive early, though. On “L-Word” night, seats at the chic little slip of a coffee house fill up fast with folks looking for good Italian coffee and a little loving feeling.
LASTING ROSES
Sam Westbrook Studios
Genesee; 303-526-5261
Why make the last-minute Valentine’s Day gift be a short-lived real rose when you can give one that lasts forever? Genesee painter Sam Westbrook’s large-format oil paintings are so vibrant and intimate, you can almost smell the perfume. Westbrook works mostly in the rose garden, but his artistic bouquet includes a few other blossoms too. Expect to invest $500 for a 2-foot-by-2-foot bloom, more for a bigger canvas. And, like all the best florists, Westbrook delivers.
