The Durango to Silverton Narrow Guage Railroad

This day was a definite highlight. We took the steam train for a 45 mile scenic day trip from Durango to Silverton.

The vintage coal fired steam train at Durango. It has been making the trip up into the San Juan Mountains for over 130 years.

Durango's old Victorian railway station.

Two of the train staff looking the part.

This is one of the Victorian open carrages. Over three and a half hours there and the same return, you would be wind blown, cold and full of soot.

Luckily we were luxuriating in the Alamoso Parlor car.

Our carrage was at the very back, so we were able to stand outside on the balcony if we wished.

First we passed typical US farms etc outside Durango.

We passed many lakes with stunning reflections..

The front of the train on one of the many bends.

Going through a cutting and all the time we are climbing.

Over looking the Animas River, which we follow all the way.

Around a river bend.

Bridge crossing the Animas River.

The higher we go, the rougher the river and the colder it got. We began to see white river rafters.

Also waterfalls.

Signs of the mining for gold and silver that happened in these hills.

Arriving high up at cold Silverton, Dan leads the way to the Grand Imperial Hotel for lunch. Silverton is an old 19th century silver mining town (yes, they had silver by the ton) and is regarded as a National Historic Landmark.

What a Wild West place this hotel turned out to be. (Did they do hamburgers in the Wild West?)

We even had the honky tonk pianist playing the old time American favourites.

Yep, this is the Wild West all right!

Time to hop on the parlor car for the ride back to Durango after a truly memorable day.

Durango, Colorado 18, 19, 20 May. Day trip to Mesa Verde

Durango in South Western Colorado is an old railway and mining town along the Animas River. Foundered in 1879, it has an attractive Victorian historic centre and is a good base for various activities.

This was our place, with Debbie and Dan, for three nights.

 

First stop was the Visitor and Reseach centre for the Mesa Verde National Park. These park centres are alway extremely well set up with informative displays and films, so are always worth a visit.

 

 

The Top Loop Road on top of the Mesa. This park protects nearly 5000 known archeological sites.

 

View of the Montezuma Valley from one of the outlooks (as they call them in USA).

 

 

The main reason for coming to Mesa Verde are the 13th Century Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings and there are around 600 of these in various states of repair. This is Spruce Tree House, a three storied structure tucked away into a cliff niche. It is the parks best preserved dwelling.

 

 

It has 138 rooms. This is a kiva courtyard, with a ladder leading underneath.  The bottom room was a gathering place in the cold winters and included a kiva fire place.

 

 

Another view of Spruce Tree House.

 

 

We took a ranger guided tour of the most adventurous cliff dwelling, Balcony House. This is the first of several ladders we had to climb and we also had to crawl through a narrow tunnel. It is 32 feet high (10 metres).

 

Looking into a kiva on the first level.

 

 

Our guide didn't mind balancing on the very edge of the platform and she was a good deal older than we are!

 

The view was amazing.

 

Dan climbs the last ladder.

 

 

Great, we all made it in one piece.

 

Indian paintbrush.

 

 

 A wild flower of some sort.

 

 

The tunnel out after a great day.

 

More Taos and along the way to Durango

The Taos Pueblo "the Place of the Red Willows" is considered the oldest continuously inhabited community in the USA, dating from the early 1700's. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are communal adobe houses on either side of a large central square. More than 150 people live here now with no electricity or water, just as their ancestors did.

 

San Geronimo Church, built in 1850.

  

We were given a tour by a by a Native American guide, a member of the Pueblo.

 

The Red River Creek running through, is the sole source of drinking water.

 

 

Dwellings on the Southside.

 

 

We were invited to take home one of the roaming dogs, or more if we desired.

 

 

Dan and Debbie strolling around the grounds.

 

 

San Francisco de Asis built 1710, in Rancho de Taos, is a adobe mission church often painted by Georgia O'Keeffe.

 

 

Bill wonders where to start this typical Mexican meal.

 

A Processional Altar by Jose Lopez, at the wonderful Millicent Rogers Museum. Millicent Rogers was a wealthy patron of the arts who loved the area.

  

The museum is filled with pottery, jewellery, baskets, textiles and has one of the best collections of Native American and Spanish-colonial art in the USA.

 

 

The dramatic Rio Grande Gorge Bridge one of the highest bridges in USA.

 

 

Looking down into the Rio Grande gorge.

 

 

Next day we headed north to Durango in Colorado, passing these tepees on the way out of town.

 

 

These are not "you are here" markers, they are bullet holes! We were a bit nervous as we took a short walk!

  

Flowering cactus on the trail.

 

A Mesa outside the small town of Abiquiu.  These would would have influenced Georgia O'Keeffe, because this is where she lived.

 

We stopped here at Abiquiu for lunch.

 

 

The humming birds kept us entertained.

 

 

 

Another beautiful rock along the way.

  

Almost out of New Mexico. The drive was wonderful.