Tales of Rails

Durango is perhaps best known for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Each year thousands of people ride the train to Silverton. The line was built in the 1880s by the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad to serve the silver, gold and lead mines. By the 1950s freight had declined to a trickle and the line faced abandonment but it was already a favorite of railfans. Charles Bradshaw, a citrus grower from Florida, stepped up and bought the railroad. The coal fired narrow gauge locomotives are classics of the steam age. The towering San Juan Mountain scenery of the Animas River canyon is accessed by no other means. Hikers, rafters, skiers and zipline adventurers regularly hitch a ride on the Silverton train. If you ever visit Durango, plan on a day for the train.

D & S locomotive 481 blowing out the cylinders on the high bridge

D & S May 20th

D & S on the high line. Workers were lowered by rope to blast a shelf in the canyon.

Our train in Silverton

400 feet down to the river

the Galloping Goose was an economical solution to providing minimal rail service during the Great Depression.

Getting there is fun too

We are thoroughly enjoying our time in and around Durango.

We also had great fun on the road getting to Durango. Here a few tidbits from our road trip.

The exotics really started when we got too Texas. Amarillo was 100+ degrees on May 7th! And the wind was fierce and of course in our face. So we stopped at the Visitor Center/ Rest Area and inquired. The nice folks there said you're more than welcome to spend the night in our lot. "Security comes on as soon as we close." We said OK. In Texas anyone can sleep in their vehicle at any rest area for up to 24 hours. Then we learned of Palo Duro State Park - the grand canyon of Texas - an hour away. And the Cadillac Ranch just off the Interstate on private ranch land open to the public. Our little Saturn dinghy ducked under the wind and we explored North Texas. It was great.

Check out the roadrunner. Running!

Another highlight was our first trip to Sante Fe and Taos New Mexico.
We love the lesser known National Parks and Monuments and Pecos National Monument was perfect. We experienced a blend of clear dark blue skies and dark adobe structures as we explored Pecos Pueblo an historic trading center abandoned hundreds of years ago.

Then we arrived in Sante Fe. What a great blend of art and architecture.
The Native American art is displayed and for sale at the Palace of Governors daily. We sampled the city and vowed to return. We may return via Amtrak's Southwest Chief which roared by near our campground.

Taos was our next stop. It is much like Sante Fe but on a much more intimate scale. The plaza was beautiful. The San Francisco de Asis Mission is probably the most photographed buiding in town. For good reason. We were told the church is refinished and painted annually.
We plan to go back to visit Taos Pueblo the native American village which has been continously inhabited for over 1000 years. They have ceremonial dances several times during the year which are open to visitors - but no photography.

Onward and upward to Durango we visited Albuquerque - too much desert city -although Petroglyph National Monument was interesting. Ancient puebloan pictographs carved into piles of basalt boulders.

Then we traveled NW from Albuquerque to Durango. On the way we found a Federal site called Angel Peak. Great place for a picnic. A Badlands landscape after a short bone rattling drive off the paved road. Great views and a friendly Bullsnake.

We love the road. The RV lifestyle affords unexpected adventure almost every day. By the way, our former RV was known as Wilma, a gas unit that was not too heavy duty. Our new diesel RV is now named FRED - F***''' Rear Engine Diesel, now thats heavy duty.

More super adventures from Durango soon. Keep in touch.

Arriving in Durango

First blog post. comments welcome.

We arrived in Durango Friday, May 13. Spectacular mountain view from our RV site which will be home for the next 5 months. See photo below. We will be workamping at the Durango KOA, Durango CO. We think we have the best site in the park. We have trees and shrubs and some privacy. Sunshine loved it immediately. Our first evening we had a get together with our fellow workers. We met a couple from South Texas who have been working here every Summer since 2004, a couple from Michigan who are working their first KOA job, and a couple from Las Cruces NM who worked here since 2000. We were made very welcome. Spent our first day in Durango getting our library card and learning the grocery stores and, of course, touring the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge RR Museum. We think we'll get season passes for the train. We can then take the ride to Silverton as many times as we like. The railroad seems to be doing well as does the town. Lots of tourists of all ages and the season won't begin for a couple weeks. Many hiking options near town as well as a great hike/bike path thru town. Weather is real nice. Very sunny and warm days and cool nights. Rain is rare here and much cherished. Mule deer are visiting the campground in the mornings. There is so much to see and do in this Four Corners area, we doubt we'll come close to doing it all in 5 months.

On our way here from New Mexico we saw many beautiful places and wildflowers.