The things I live for when traveling are rarely found in guidebooks. They’re typically not expensive either. The memories I hold dear are things like a special meal enjoyed in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park or a chat with the woman who runs an Indiana soda fountain. The unplanned, unexpected things that can’t be recreated are the very best experiences if you ask me.

We had a couple of those moments on this last trip that reminded us exactly why it’s so important to say yes when there’s opportunity.

We were headed down Route 285, a scenic route through the mountains we chose in lieu of the interstate when heading toward Durango. There was a sign for a Historic Railroad Roundhouse that pointed right. I asked “can we?” and Johnna said sure!

This choice took us to a spot-in-the-road called Como which I found positively enchanting. Less than a mile off the highway and in the Rocky Mountains, Como has the air of a ghost town. Yet, a handful of people do reside in Victorian era cottages and homes in this collection of dilapidated buildings.

There’s a restored train depot and an old hotel that operated until the owner became too ill to keep it open. The roundhouse is simply beautiful and is a hub for numerous restoration projects being undertaken by a band of volunteers who hope to transform the town into a tourist attraction.

Friends, it doesn’t look like much and you won’t likely find this place in any guidebook but Como is the source of some of my favorite memories of this trip.

First of all, it feels deserted but I got the sensation that if I turned quickly enough I might see some Wyatt Earp like person swagger by.

Plus, we met a man named Joey who showed us around and told us stories. Turns out, there were a few people working there to prepare for an event the following day so there was a lot of activity underway.

Joey took us inside, pointing out the holes in the ceiling where engine smokestacks would be positioned to release their smoke. He showed us an old rail car turned home that they fished out of a creek bed for restoration. He showed us another car that is the exact dimension of the boxcars Hitler used to transport Jews to concentration camps.

Meet Kate, a locomotive they are currently restoring.

Joey talked to us about the town which was a stop for the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad. The Depot was built in 1879 to accommodate the railroad. It’s hard to believe but this was a bustling town with hundreds of people employed by the railroad.

For nearly sixty years, the train’s daily stop was a highlight for locals whose businesses benefited from these strangers passing through and who received delivery of goods from the city and from the Sears and Roebuck catalog.

Sadly, the last passenger train left town in April 1937 and the tracks were pulled up the following year.

The old hotel remains but closed recently when the owner fell into poor heath.

Over the decades, the town deteriorated and so did its buildings. In the last twenty years, efforts have been made to salvage and restore what’s left.

While we toured the inside, there was bustling activity outside as a train car was pulled onto the turntable so that it could be moved into the roundhouse. When we asked how it worked, Joey said “hold on a minute and you can see!”

And then he had us help him turn the car so that it could be moved into the fifth bay of the six bay roundhouse!

By then, an older couple from Colorado Springs had arrived and they were enthusiastically listening to Joey’s tales.

The cherry on the proverbial sundae was when my friend and I, along with Joey and that other man hopped on the pump car for a short trip up the tracks and then back down the tracks.

I won’t lie – the trip back was vaguely terrifying as we were going down hill but it was magnificent all the same.

These are memories I wish I could send you to do but that I could never recreate. The truth is, you must go find your own adventures.

Say yes to those random turns and to conversations with people who are passionate about the things they do. Get out of the car and go looking for something different than you already know, something more than you had planned.

That’s why we travel. That’s why we explore our own backyards. That’s where the magic happens.