Blogs from Durango, Colorado, United States, North America

Today we are scheduled to go and ride the Narrow Gauge Railway from Silverton to Durango. We have breakfast at the hotel and set off on a coach at 08:30. The coach will take us to Silverton, we will then ride the railway from Silverton to Durango and the coach will pick us up in Durango and take us to our hotel. It is a warm sunny day when we set off. The first stop is at a small boom town from the Gold and Silver prospecting days called Ouray. It is known for its hot springs and is sometimes called "Little Switzerland". We stop for a coffee and we also visit an authentic Western Saloon. We set off again and start to climb up through the mountains, there are some terrifying drops on the side ... read more

OK Steph had her go so now it's my turn. We headed away from Monument Valley and headed north towards Natural Bridges NP. On the way stopped when I saw a very familiar view in the rear view mirror. Those Eagles aficionados will recognize one of the photos and if you aren't interested in The Eagles then hopefully you watched Forrest Gump when he stopped his cross America run. Familiar? Anyway on we go. We climbed out of the area up a windy steep gravel road which would make the Skippers Canyon look like a walk in the park. It went straight up the side of a Mesa switching back on itself constantly. We stopped half way up at the only pull off area and I informed a very scared French tourist who had stopped to ... read more

From Gail's Journal for Sunday September 19th: We got up early and took the restored narrow gage railroad from Durango to Silverton, Colorado. The colors were spectacular from the turquoise water of the Animas River to the deep green of the Ponderosa pines and the bright yellow of the aspens. We went from an altitude of 6500' in Durango to 9300' in Silverton. We later learned that the train took the "low road" to Silverton and the return bus trip took the "high road" which went over two passes above 11,000'. It looked pretty high to us especially in places where we couldn't see any land under the train when we looked out the window. Silverton was a booming silver mining city and now it's mostly restaurants and gift shops. The no frost gardening season lasts ... read more

We left Golden this morning heading over 300 miles southwest to Durango. Great weather, beautiful mountain views, and many miles of isolated roadway and small towns. Sean watched videos and Drew had the pleasure of working on his Algebra math packet before school starts. Fun times on a 6 hour journey! The balcony of our hotel overlooks the Animas River - very peaceful at this time of year. Excited to say that we will be here for 3 days to enjoy the four corners area of Colorado. We are just a walk away from the Durango train station so you know we had to walk over to see what was going on. Made it just in time to see the last steam train arrive from Silverton and watch a diesel switcher move some cars around. Stopped ... read more

If you are looking for vacation for everyone, Durango Colorado is your place. You can go from desert to Mountain top in less than an hours drive. We left Texas and drive to Durango via Albuquerque. The drive from Albuquerque to Durango is amazing. You skirt the Santa Fe National Forest and drive through several Indian Reservations. The mountains and rock formations in this area are beautiful. The colors range from tan to red to a deep purple. This was a great surprise that we did not expect. When we arrived in Durango we hit the Walmart for groceries and headed north out of town to Purgatory where we stayed for the week. Purgatory Village by itself was full of activities. Of corse it is a snow ski resort by Winter, but in the Summer they ... read more