Why We Visited Antonito, Colorado: An Indiana Jones Story

Indiana Jones mania is alive and well in this house. We already have tickets to see ” Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny” on IMAX this Friday. You see, “Indiana Jones & the Raiders of the Lost Ark” is Ryan’s favorite movie of all time.

Being a 9-year-old when it came to theaters, “Indiana Jones” had a fairly significant influence on his life. He wanted to become an archaeologist until learning that they did not fight bad guys or carry whips. While he did not become an archaeologist he does own a whip. His lifelong love of history comes in part, from that film. And when I say he likes history, I mean he reads some pretty dry stuff, really long history books (for fun).

For many years Ryan has accumulated Indiana Jones gear to dress up as Indiana for Halloween. He packs a real World War II-era gas mask satchel, just like Indiana. But instead of priceless artifacts with magical powers, it is filled with notebooks and other business owner accouterments. Lastly, his ringtone is the Indiana Jones theme song by John Williams.

This is the explanation as to why we drove an hour out of the way on our anniversary road trip to visit Antonito, Colorado, in the pouring rain.

I had already been to Antonito in 2015, on a media trip to ride the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Ryan, however, did not go with me but has been determined to visit ever since.

RELATED: A Scenic Railroad Like No Other

The train hadn’t sparked his interest in this tiny southern Colorado town of 647 souls. Of course, the train is incredible. Traveling 64 miles and crossing the Colorado/New Mexico border 11 times, I’ve been on a lot of scenic trains and this experience is at the top.

Ryan wanted to visit Antonito because it is home to Indiana Jones’ childhood home. I discovered this on my visit in 2015. The house appears only briefly in “The Last Crusade.” The Cumbres & Toltec is the train in that movie as well, but it is the home that captured Ryan’s imagination.

The day we drove to Antonito was wet. The rain never stopped from our home in Loveland all the way to Antonito, and this wasn’t a gentle rain. It was an unrelenting torrential downpour for the majority of our drive.

By the time we reached Antonito, it was afternoon, and still raining. However, this did not deter Ryan who had brought, without my knowledge, some of his Indiana attire. He had a plan and this was the result.

This video is why we drove an hour out of our way through the rain to Antonito, Colorado. We didn’t even stay in this bed and breakfast because we had our dog (they are dog friendly but the dog must be under 45 pounds) and we were on our way to Dixon, New Mexico. Someday, we’ll go back and stay.

There are other reasons to visit Antonito. Cano’s Castle is there. It is built using aluminum cans and other found metal pieces. Odd, it’s worth a photo or two.

Of course, there’s a train in Antonito, and downtown has a couple of restaurants (check the hours not much was open when we went through). Ultimately, people come here for the train, but not us. We came to Antonito for Indiana Jones!

Did you know that there is a Colorado Indiana Jones connection? It’s good knowledge for fans of Indiana and for trivia night at the brewery.

By the way, Ryan really thinks he nailed the Indiana run. Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts!