Days 9 & 10 - Durango, CO Train rides, ATV trips, Horseback Riding & White Water Rafting !

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Oh my goodness guys......I don't even know where to start !! The last two days have been so exciting, adventurous and crazy fun for us. We woke up in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Durango, CO this morning at 5:45 and it was freezing cold, in the 40's to be exact. We were loving every minute of it because Tim and I both just love this cool mountain air, it's so crisp and clean which you know is much different than the air back at home. You're probably wondering what in the world would get us up so dang early because at that time I was thinking the same thing. Well, we were off to the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to hop on a train and ride it for 3 1/2 hours from Durango to a quaint little town called Silverton, CO. We arrived at the train station a little early so we grabbed some breakfast at the local McDonald's. Tim was really excited to get a nice hot cup of coffee to help him wake up and face the busy busy day we had ahead of us. We eventually took our assigned seats on the train and began pulling out of the station around 8:45 am. Now keep in mind that this narrow gauge train track was built back in 1882 and was constructed to haul silver and gold ore from the mountains NOT people. It was old and rickety and at times I wondered if we were gonna make it up the hill and around the corner but we did eventually arrive in Silverton with no problems at all. About two cars back from us was the concession car and you were free to roam about hopping from car to car. It was really neat and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. As Tim and I were sitting in our seats, he leaned over to me and whispered "I think we saw those people in front of us back in Santa Fe the other day." Of course I just looked at him and said "There's no way, we saw hundreds of people in Santa Fe that day, etc. etc." but he insisted that he recognized one of the little girls and he wouldn't let it go so I tapped the lady on the shoulder and I asked her had they been to Santa Fe lately. She responded with a big old "Yes" and Tim just gave me that look, you know, the one that says "I told you so, blah blah blah !". It was way too dang early in the morning to respond so I just gave him a little smile (smirk) and conceeded. We proceeded to talk with the lovely couple, Phil and Candy, yep another Candy, even spelled the same way and was short for Candice, just like me. This would be just one of many coincidences we encountered with the Melone's over the next few days. In our talks with them, which made the very long train ride go by a lot faster, we discovered that we had all been at Palo Duro at the same exact time as well. It was really really weird because Tim remembered seeing the Mom and Dad on the streets of Santa Fe and I was actually on the sidewalk looking at leather goods and talked to their daughter's best friend Amy about how cute the little bracelets were and stuff and then we all end up on the same train, in another town, sitting in front of each other two days later. We just chalked it up to coincidence and went on about our day. After three and a half hours of riding, talking and picture taking, we finally arrived in Silverton. By this time we were starving so Tim and I headed out in search of food. We had about an hour or so to eat and then we had to meet up with our ATV guide so we could head on over to their shop and prepare for our ride through the mountains. After strolling in and out of a few stores we finally settled on a little restaurant that had an outdoor veranda so we had a seat and waited for our server. Our lunch was satisfying and we were all rested up and anxious to get on the four-wheelers and see what these mountains had to offer. We met up with Josh, our guide, and he loaded our group up in his van and off we went. A short drive later we pulled into the ATV headquarters and immediately the fun began. We signed the waivers, picked out our helmets and hopped on those machines like we knew what we were doing. There was a young couple in our group who were from Romania and had never seen a four-wheeler in their life and they spoke very little English.........I knew this was gonna be fun. The wife insisted on driving herself and so the guide proceeded to show the couple how to operate their ATV's and off we went. About three minutes into the ride the Romanian lady was almost hanging off the side of the mountain and luckily Tim was right beside her and "saved" her and the ATV. She wasn't scared at all and insisted on still going solo so the guide decided to give her one more chance. Well, that didn't last long because before I had time to turn my head and turn back around, she was in the side of the mountain, she was okay but her ATV driving days were over. If she didn't kill herself, she was gonna kill one of us !! This wasn't your typical everyday riding experience, we were in the dang mountains about 7000 feet high and there was no where to go but DOWN !! The guide placed her on the back of her husband's four-wheeler and off we were to give it another try. Everything was going great, for about five minutes, and then the next thing I know, the Romanian couple are in the ditch and Tim is pulled over to the side trying to help them. It was CRAZY and I knew right then this was going to be a very long ride. Luckily, about halfway through the trip, he got the hang of it and the rest was smooth sailing. The ride was very bumpy and rocky but the scenery was incredible. It was so awesome to ride through the mountains and get to go places you can't go in a car or motorhome. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking. It was really neat to stand at the top of the mountain and look out at the trees and waterfalls and just breathe in that fresh air............ahhhhhh.....there's nothing else like it !! We had made it to the top with a couple of stops on the way up but now it was time to head back down. Everyone made it back to the bottom safe and sound and we all loaded up in the van and headed back to Durango. That was truly and amazing experience and I'm so glad I talked Tim into doing it with me. (LOL) There was this young college student who was driving the van that was taking us back to Durango and soon after we pulled out of the ATV headquarters everyone in the van, including me, was wishing that the Romanian lady was behind the wheel. This girl was crazy, I'm not sure where she got her driver's license or how she has kept them but my goodness I thought we were all gonna die right then and there. I guess when you live in the mountains and drive the roads all the time you get used to them and can go a little faster than us tourists but this was ridiculous. She was taking the curves like there was no tomorrow and I could just see us flying right off the side of the mountain at any moment. There was a point where Tim and another guy with us were about to ask her to pull over and let them drive. She was driving that van like a Nascar driver on Sunday afternoon. I just closed my eyes and said a little prayer and luckily we made it back to Durango alive and in one piece. Needless to say after the long train ride and the grueling ATV ride through the mountains and the nerve racking drive back to Durango, we were completely exhausted, not to mention the fact that we had been up since 5:45 this morning. I barely remember walking into the motorhome but I know that I fell across the bed around 6:00 pm and told Tim I was taking a little nap. Well, I woke up around 11:00 pm freezing, starving, filthy and thinking it was already the next day. Tim said that I was sleeping soooo good and there was no way he was waking me up, he even layed down beside me and took a little nap himself. It took me a minute to realize we were still in the parking lot at the train station and we had to get the heck out of there before we were ticketed or even worse, towed ! It was getting really cool so I cut the heat on and Tim proceeded to drive us down to Wal-Mart where we settled in for the night again. We had so much fun riding the train and taking the ATV trip through the mountains but little did we know that the fun was just beginning. We were up and at it again bright and early at 6:00 am on Tuesday to head out for a little horseback riding. It was another frigid morning, down in the 40's but we didn't overdress because we knew it would warm up quickly. We were dressed and ready to go but before we could leave I had to put on more lotion and chapstick. It's so crazy because at home I can put on lotion once in the morning and that's it but out here you have to put it on over and over and over again, all day long. My skin is so dry and my lips are cracking, I have to keep chapstick in my pocket all the time and i've already been through a half of a bottle of my favorite lotion. Anyway, we grab a quick bowl of Special K and head on over to the Rapp Corral so we can begin our big horseback riding adventure. We arrive a little early so Tim sprawls out on the couch while I go on into the stables and start checking out all the horses. I wanted to make sure my horse was in a good mood !! I hadn't been on a horse since Tim and I were dating over ten years ago and I was having second thoughts but Fig put my mind at ease. Fig was the horse that was chosen for me by the guide and I'm thinking Joe made a really good choice. I patiently watched as Joe, our guide, saddled Fig up and prepared him for our big ride. After watching Fig's attitude and talking to him for a little while, I knew we were gonna make a great team. He was short and chubby and slow, just like me, so we understood each other well and now I was getting kinda excited ! On the other hand, once Tim came over to join us, he was paired up with Clyde, the biggest horse in the corral. Clyde is a clydesdale horse and he was much more beautiful than my poor little Fig but that's okay because he was a lot more fiesty and I wasn't into fiesty. We were put in a group with a pre-school teacher and her nine year old daughter and soon we were all saddled up and ready to go. I must say I was very nervous at first but once I realized old Fig only had one speed and that was "slow as Christmas", I was okay. It also calmed my nerves a little when I found out our preschool teacher was married to a firefighter/EMT and she knew all kinds of first aid and life saving skills. I guess that's the next best thing to a doctor or a nurse and who better to ride with than someone who can save your life if necessary or at the least stabilize you until help can arrive. Our awesome guide Joe took us up hills and down hills and everything in between. We stopped a few times to admire the gorgeous scenery and take some pictures and before I knew it I had been on a horse for almost three hours and I was becoming a little pro. Of course Tim jumped right up on Clyde and took off like he had been riding his whole life. I was very impressed with his horse riding skills. I guess he's got a little cowboy deep down inside somewhere because he handled that horse like an old pro. Our two hour trip turned into almost a three hour trip but we were having so much fun we didn't mind at all. By the time we returned to the stables, we only had about an hour and a half to eat lunch and report to "Mild to Wild". This is the company that we chose to take us on our white water rafting trip and we didn't want to be late. We rushed back into town where Tim dropped me off on the corner to run in the local pizza place to grab us some lunch. Just as I was about to cross the street I looked up and there stood Phil, Candy and their daughter with her best friend. How coincindental to run into them again. I told them we had just finished riding horses over at the Rapp Corral and they answered by saying that they had done the exact same thing the day before we saw them on the train. Okay, so if that wasn't weird enough, I tell them that I hate to run but I was in a hurry to grab us some lunch because we were headed over to "Mild to Wild" to go rafting at 1:45. I could not believe it when they told me they were on their way to their hotel to get changed and were headed over their for the same exact trip at the same exact time !! This was getting too weird, first we were at Palo Duro at the same time, then we are in Santa Fe at the same time, then we end up sitting beside each other on the train and now we've ended up on the same exact rafting trip with each other. Tim and I were beginning to think these people were in the CIA or something. Off they went to their hotel and soon our lunch was ready so I called Tim to pick me up and we ate lunch as we were driving over to "Mild to Wild". Once we arrived at the rafting place we had to be fitted for wet suits so we didn't freeze in the river where they said the temperature of the water was somewhere in the high 30's low 40's. I gathered our suits along with the cute little water booties and took them back to the motor home where Tim and I attempt to help each other get dressed. I guess to keep the story a little shorter I'll just say that those tight little suits are not made for fluffy little people. It took both of us helping each other to get into our suits and I swear we could have won $10,000.00 if we had a video of it !! All I could think of once we finally had them on was how in the world were we gonna get them off.......it was quite comical ! We met up with the Melone's so we could all get in the same boat and off we were for our great white water rafting trip. We took a short bus ride up to the launch site and before I knew it we were headed downstream. The six of us, Me, Tim, Phil, Candy, their daughter and her friend, were all placed in a raft with the head guide and boy were we in for a treat. Kyle was an absolute hoot and we had the best time ever imaginable. He made sure that we hit every single rock we could from start to finish and he went out of his way to make it the most incredible white water rafting trip ever !! We were all soaked from head to toe and it was amazing. Towards the end of the trip there was a place to pull off to the side, get out of the boat and jump off a huge rock, right into the river. Everyone in our boat except Tim climbed that rock and jumped into the freezing cold river and it was the most exhilarating feeling ever !! After goofing around and acting like we were kids again, Kyle loaded us all up and we headed back down river. Soon our amazing trip was over and it was back on the bus again. On the ride back, Kyle told a few bad jokes to pass the time and before we knew it was time to unload. He had told us about a great place in town called Gazpacho's and said we should try it for dinner. After talking to the Melone's we decided we would meet up with them around 7:30 and check it out. Tim and I rested for a few minutes, then showered and walked our way through town and up to Gazpacho's were we found Phil and Candy waiting for us. They were already there and had our names on the list. After about a forty-five minute wait we were all seated and started checking out the menus. It was really weird because by this time it felt like we had known each other for years. We ordered dinner and enjoyed each others company but not before Tim and Phil realized that we all share the same exact wedding anniversary !! They just celebrated their 15th anniversary on June 10th while Tim and I celebrated our 10th on the same day..........just another weird coincidence I guess. Our food arrives and we're all still talking and somehow we get on the subject of birthdays and just when things can't get any more weird, we discover that Tim and Candy share the same birthday, August 23rd !! Okay, at this point it was getting down right freaky.......all the chance encounters with each other, the same anniversary and birthdays....it was just weird, but it was a good weird. They are really super nice people and who knows, we may end up crossing paths again one day. They live in Texas not too far from my friend Leanne so who knows what the future holds ??? As we were finishing up dinner, we look up and who else is standing their but our awesome ninja rafting guide Kyle !! He joined us for a while until we were eventually kicked out because it was almost an hour past closing time. We all exchanged Facebook and email info and were soon on our way. WOW what an exciting two days we've had here in Durango, Colorado. From the train ride to the ATV excursion to the horseback riding to the white water rafting to making new friends, we have had the time of our lives !! We are completely exhausted and I'm sure we will sleep like babies tonight. Hopefully our old bodies will be working when we wake in the morning and we can move on to our next big adventure. Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite ! :-)

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