Durango, CO
Not far from Mesa Verde is Durango, CO home of the famous Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. This was high on our list for this trip since Ann & I both love train rides of just about any kind, but especially scenic ones.
We reserved a spot at an RV park that the train goes through. The photo below was taken from the RV park.
The park was also on the town's trolley route meaning that the day we would be taking the train there was no problem with leaving the RV in the park all hooked up (for the cats' comfort). We just had to get up early enough to catch the trolley to the train depot before our departure.
We had booked our selves seats in the parlor car which was wonderful. It was limited to those 21 or older because the car had it's own bar. We had Rusty Spikes, a coffee drink with 3 kinds of liquor (don't ask me which :-). We had our own steward, Christina, for the trip who was very informative and helpful. This is her trying to sell us souvenirs. Not the greatest quality shot because the train was moving but you get the idea of how nice the car was.
It was raining most of the way and a bit chilly. We were glad to be in an enclosed car. It was also the last car on the train so we could stand out on the rear platform and see all the sights behind us. Great for picture taking.
The train follows the Animas River up to Silverton. Much of it is through a narrow canyon. As Arlo Guthrie said in the immortal "Motorcyle Song" - 'On one side there was mountain...'
'...And on the other side there was nothin'...There was a cliff'
At one point Christina told us that several scenes in the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" were filmed on the train route. One in particular was were Butch and Sundance are trapped on the cliff above a river. Butch is trying to convince Sundance that their only way out is to jump into the river. Sundance says, "Butch, I can't swim." Butch says "Why, you crazy - the fall'll probably kill ya!" This is where they filmed that.
Each trip the train takes is really a big production with many people working to make it happen. In addition to all the people like Christina on the train, there are many more that you only get glimpses of. Like the small tender that follows the train making sure that the sparks from the coal-burning engine (yes, it's really burning coal) don't start brush fires. Here we were stopped to take on water.
Then there is the helicopter that trails the train with a fire bucket the pilot can dip into the river, also to put out brush fires, if needed.
We pulled into Silverton and everyone spread throughout the town for shopping and lunch. There were tour groups on our train that went en-mass to prearranged meals. We headed in the opposite direction.
We were told that there had never been any major fires in the town so most of the buildings are original.
After lunch and some shopping we headed to get our ride back to Durango. When we booked our tickets we had the option of taking the train back but decided against it. Instead there was a bus waiting for us. Taking the train back takes the full 3 1/2 hours and the bus took 1 1/2 hours. Plus, it was cheaper.
Out bus driver, Burt was also a veritable font of knowledge.
The next day we spent in Durango and rode through the town on our bikes. There is a great bike path along the Animas river and we rode for 16 miles then treated ourselves to lunch. Durango seems like a great small city and the train ride was a highlight of our trip.
We reserved a spot at an RV park that the train goes through. The photo below was taken from the RV park.
The park was also on the town's trolley route meaning that the day we would be taking the train there was no problem with leaving the RV in the park all hooked up (for the cats' comfort). We just had to get up early enough to catch the trolley to the train depot before our departure.
We had booked our selves seats in the parlor car which was wonderful. It was limited to those 21 or older because the car had it's own bar. We had Rusty Spikes, a coffee drink with 3 kinds of liquor (don't ask me which :-). We had our own steward, Christina, for the trip who was very informative and helpful. This is her trying to sell us souvenirs. Not the greatest quality shot because the train was moving but you get the idea of how nice the car was.
It was raining most of the way and a bit chilly. We were glad to be in an enclosed car. It was also the last car on the train so we could stand out on the rear platform and see all the sights behind us. Great for picture taking.
The train follows the Animas River up to Silverton. Much of it is through a narrow canyon. As Arlo Guthrie said in the immortal "Motorcyle Song" - 'On one side there was mountain...'
'...And on the other side there was nothin'...There was a cliff'
At one point Christina told us that several scenes in the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" were filmed on the train route. One in particular was were Butch and Sundance are trapped on the cliff above a river. Butch is trying to convince Sundance that their only way out is to jump into the river. Sundance says, "Butch, I can't swim." Butch says "Why, you crazy - the fall'll probably kill ya!" This is where they filmed that.
Each trip the train takes is really a big production with many people working to make it happen. In addition to all the people like Christina on the train, there are many more that you only get glimpses of. Like the small tender that follows the train making sure that the sparks from the coal-burning engine (yes, it's really burning coal) don't start brush fires. Here we were stopped to take on water.
Then there is the helicopter that trails the train with a fire bucket the pilot can dip into the river, also to put out brush fires, if needed.
We pulled into Silverton and everyone spread throughout the town for shopping and lunch. There were tour groups on our train that went en-mass to prearranged meals. We headed in the opposite direction.
We were told that there had never been any major fires in the town so most of the buildings are original.
After lunch and some shopping we headed to get our ride back to Durango. When we booked our tickets we had the option of taking the train back but decided against it. Instead there was a bus waiting for us. Taking the train back takes the full 3 1/2 hours and the bus took 1 1/2 hours. Plus, it was cheaper.
Out bus driver, Burt was also a veritable font of knowledge.
The next day we spent in Durango and rode through the town on our bikes. There is a great bike path along the Animas river and we rode for 16 miles then treated ourselves to lunch. Durango seems like a great small city and the train ride was a highlight of our trip.
All wonderful! Thanks for taking the time to share!
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