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| Famous Strater Hotel, Durango |
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| D&SNGRR |
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| Doug gets his train ride |
We moved on to Lightner Creek Campground outside of Durango. In the town of Durango, we boarded the historic steam train of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. This railway was established in 1881 and it maintains the feel of taking you back to that time. The line was constructed between Durango and Silverton originally to haul silver & gold ore from the San Juan Mountains. This historic railroad has been in continuous operation for 134 years. The engine is coal-fired steam powered and climbs 45.6 miles with a rise of almost 3,000 feet though the wilderness and alongside the spectacular Animas River. The train rumbled through the Needle Mountains, Cascade Canyon and San Juan Mountain Range with 14,000 foot peaks. The train stopped twice on our way to Silverton to fill up with water for the steam engine. I wasn't too excited prior to our arrival, because I grew up riding trains, no big deal right? I was wrong-the scenery was beautiful and it was fun!
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| Pot menu |
The train dropped us off at Silverton for a couple of hours. Now, Silverton really feels like an old western town. The town is surrounded on 3 sides by the San Juan Mountains at an elevation of 9,200 feet. Only the main street is paved, all the rest are dirt (mud) roads with wood planks in front of the saloons & businesses. I felt at any moment, Butch Cassidy & Sundance would step out and a gun fight would ensue out in the middle of the street. Alas no gunfight, maybe because this small town has at least 3 marijuana stores so everyone is pretty mellow now. Silverton, being an old mining town and keeping to that reputation, Doug found his favorite "Pasties" for lunch. A traditional Pasty was a mainstay meal of miners all over the world and is comprised of meat & vegetables baked in a pastry crust shaped in a semi-circle. The miners would take a hot freshly baked pasty wrapped in foil or towels with them for lunch. The pasty would stay warm and they could eat it with one hand like a sandwich. Doug's Mom came from a mining family in Lake Superior and he grew up with Bea making these for the family. You can still find them in Upper Michigan.
The next day we drove to the beginning of The Colorado Trail, in Durango. The Colorado Trail stretches 486 miles from Durango to Denver. It covers 6 wilderness areas and 8 mountain ranges topping out at 13,271 feet. The average elevation is over 10,000 feet and it rises and falls dramatically. Hikers who complete the Colorado Trail climb a total of 89,354 feet. So are you impressed? Don't be-we only hiked a couple of miles and even that was a bit strenuous and we can't imagine hiking the whole thing. There was a lovely babbling creek along the trail and lots of pine trees-what a lovely fragrance. Even in the short span we trekked there was a lot of up & down with the elevation around 7,000 feet. The trail is a National Trail System which includes the Continental Divide Trail and the American Discovery Trail. I am surprised that the Appalachian Trail is not included in this list.
Our pretty campsite: right along a creek, very relaxing.
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| Doug using his nifty workbench |
The train dropped us off at Silverton for a couple of hours. Now, Silverton really feels like an old western town. The town is surrounded on 3 sides by the San Juan Mountains at an elevation of 9,200 feet. Only the main street is paved, all the rest are dirt (mud) roads with wood planks in front of the saloons & businesses. I felt at any moment, Butch Cassidy & Sundance would step out and a gun fight would ensue out in the middle of the street. Alas no gunfight, maybe because this small town has at least 3 marijuana stores so everyone is pretty mellow now. Silverton, being an old mining town and keeping to that reputation, Doug found his favorite "Pasties" for lunch. A traditional Pasty was a mainstay meal of miners all over the world and is comprised of meat & vegetables baked in a pastry crust shaped in a semi-circle. The miners would take a hot freshly baked pasty wrapped in foil or towels with them for lunch. The pasty would stay warm and they could eat it with one hand like a sandwich. Doug's Mom came from a mining family in Lake Superior and he grew up with Bea making these for the family. You can still find them in Upper Michigan.
The next day we drove to the beginning of The Colorado Trail, in Durango. The Colorado Trail stretches 486 miles from Durango to Denver. It covers 6 wilderness areas and 8 mountain ranges topping out at 13,271 feet. The average elevation is over 10,000 feet and it rises and falls dramatically. Hikers who complete the Colorado Trail climb a total of 89,354 feet. So are you impressed? Don't be-we only hiked a couple of miles and even that was a bit strenuous and we can't imagine hiking the whole thing. There was a lovely babbling creek along the trail and lots of pine trees-what a lovely fragrance. Even in the short span we trekked there was a lot of up & down with the elevation around 7,000 feet. The trail is a National Trail System which includes the Continental Divide Trail and the American Discovery Trail. I am surprised that the Appalachian Trail is not included in this list. 
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