Day 13 Durango-Silverton Railroad

A train ride through the Rockies, what cold be moreappropriate.  Trains helped explore and open this country, the practical means of long distance transportation.  The Durange-Silverton Railroad has been running for a long time.  Looks like around 1881 the Denver and Rio Grande built the route to carry supplies and people to the gold and silver mines.  It wasn’t until around 1981 that it became dedicated to the tourism business, but it’s a line that’s been in use for 131 years.

The ride was fun.  The steamers are glorious.  What else can you say!  You have ample opportunity to smell the coal smoke and find a light dusting of soot on things that sit untouched for a while, like your jeans if you sit still.  And it's not a power fine and dirty soot, but tiny burned embers of coal, gritty, and they brush off.  It's a wonderful part of the experience.  It's life in the 1880's.   The first train left at 8:30 and arrived Silverton at noon.  Along the way you’re treated, or should I say threatened, with spectacular views of deep canyons.  I wondered often how a multi-ton train could rumble across some of those cliffside notches, shored up with rocks and left over rails.  Seems to work.  The river lies first on one side, then the other.  Ample changes of terrain and curves gives everyone the opportunity to photograph the train in action.  How many millions of photos of these trains from behind the firebox must exist.

A two-hour layover was more than enough time to have lunch and explore the town of Silverton.  Once probably a very bustling silver mining town, one would assume by it’s name but history bears it out, it’s a charming place today.  Not overly gaudy with tourist stuff.  Clearly there’s some secret to the “best” places to eat in town.  We picked one, totally enjoyed the food and atmosphere, but realized it was not vey full of people.  Down the street on a little tour, it was standing room only.  Are their hamburgers really that much better?.  Arrival back in Durange at 6:00 found us tired and ready to sit down, despite the fact that we’d been doing that for about eight hours.

The Aspen are turning.  The higher in elevation we climbed, the more apparent that became.  It’s cool.  It doesn’t smell like fall, but the calendar says it is.  I have this feeling that tomorrow will be a cool ride through the Rockies.  We’re headed over the mountains into the Denver valley, if that’s what they call it.  Should be in Boulder in two days.  Can’t believe the time has moved along as it has.  Two more days travel means reaching the Northeastcorner of my travel box.  From there, it’s West to Portland.  But, that’s later.
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