Since the boys love the movie, The Polar Express, I looked around Colorado to find a train ride that would simulate the movie. It was easy to find in Canon City through the Royal Gorge Railway and for a small fortune you can reserve seats on the hour and a half trip which takes one to the “North Pole” to see Santa and then back. The ride goes slowly up a canyon four miles to Santa’s makeshift village of lights and he hops on and then it returns to the train depot. 
The boys had been so excited for this trip and talked about the choo-choo train all week. We sped down there (two hours roughly) to hop on board to hear holiday music throughout the rail car. It was great. Every booth was singing and the kids were happy. The boys, decked out in their pajamas, sat side by side and we took off into the night. The bad thing about the “expensive car” was that you couldn’t see a thing as it was so dark out. 
The good thing is that it came with a table so as soon as the attendant brought the hot chocolate the boys drank some of it and put it down easily. Other cars did not come equipped with a table or a slot for a drink.
The singing was my favorite part. Santa hopped on board and came through our car first and Eban was afraid of him for a bit and Jack just looked at him with his big ol’ Jack eyes. They loved the bells Santa gave them and proceeded to ring them all the way back to the station - - we took them away so we could drive in peace back to the house. 
Next year, if we go, 
we’ll get a room in Canon City for the night as that would be easier than what we did. I guess we could tour the prison system or visit the real Royal Gorge Bridge?
Every activity we do, 
Jack seems to say, “I want to go home.” For months now, he seems to be such a homebody and gets easily frustrated with the scene. For the first time EVER, we heard him say, “I want to stay,” and that was leaving Disney World. We looked at each other incredulously as he has never asked to stay anywhere. We smiled and knew it was the right thing to do - - taking the boys to Disney World, that is!
Check out Eban's Thumbs-Up at the End
Seeing Santa - Quick Video
Singing Accompanied by an Accordion Player
