Durango area, CO - 7/7-9Our trip from
the Black Canyon of the Gunnison to Durango was our first real mountain driving experience. The drive went through the old mining towns of Ouray and Silverton and over the Red Mountain Pass at greater than 11,000 feet elevation. The truck handled it fine both up and down the mountains. Seeing some of the abandoned mines was interesting.
The highlight of our stay in Durango was going on the coal fired, steam driven Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Rail Road. The trip started at 9:00a and we paralleled the Animas River through the San Juan Mountains to Silverton. Durango is around 7000 ft. elevation while Silverton is around 9500 ft - quite an elevation change for a train. Part of the charm of the ride is hearing the chug-chug of the steam engine, sway of the period rail road cars,
and the soot from the burned coal covering everything and everyone. It is a 3.5 hr trip up to Silverton where you get 2.5 hr stop before heading back to Durango. Silverton exists, it seems, almost exclusively because of the train. Three trains a day make the round trip and deliver a bunch of tourists for shopping and eating. 
The town hasn't changed much from the heyday of the mining industry that gave it it's start. On the trip home we got to see some Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep running through the canyon. I had people all over our train car, not just my family, hollering at me to get a picture. Although the pressure was high, I was able to get one shot where you can see 2 of the sheep.We arrived back in Durango around 6:30p and we jumped in the truck and raced
off to see Mesa Verde before dark - hence, the reference to the Griswald tour. We got to Mesa Verde NP around 7:30 and the park ranger at the entrance says we have only about 75 minutes before they close the main cliff dwelling viewing/driving area. Not bad one would think, but it was another 20 some miles to get to the damn cliffs on 30 mph National Park Service roads (which are notoriously bad we have found) weaving up and over the mesa. The ran
ger was also kind enough to point out that there were 2 speed traps along the route as well. Luckily sunset out here isn't until 9:00 or so. We got to see one of the main attractions, Cliff Palace, but missed the last tour. So we only saw it from a distance and snapped a few pictures. I suppose that was perhaps serendipitous because neither Katie, Matt or Terry would get caught climbing one of the off limits ladders and get sent to the car - right Jules? All-in-all, it made for a long day. We got back to our KOA campground and had just enough energy to wipe the soot off our faces before crashing into our beds. The next day we would be shoving off from Durango and heading to the Great Sand Dunes NP.
2 comments:
very funny, smarta**! So glad you are making the most of every minute and mile......try to keep the sand out of yer shoes......XOXOXOXFAJ
Hey all!
The railroad story brought back some faint memories for me, about the soot and all. Glad to hear that sometimes you have to "rough it", but it is all part of the experience. Keep the story coming!
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