We moved down to Durango today. The weather was very nice all the way. No snow today, except what was already on the ground as we went over the passes. We stopped in a couple of towns along the way to stretch our legs but most of the day was on the road. Hwy 160 from South Fork to Pagosa Springs includes a little hill going up to about 10,850 feet. The way up wasn't any problem but the very long 7% grade down hill to Pagosa Springs was fun. First gear managed to control the speed without the need to use the breaks so we didn't leave smoke signals behind us.
We took a walk around old town Durango this afternoon before we went out of town about 12 miles to the Durango RV Park for the night.
Our campsite at Durango RV Park. The car got a nice blanket of snow over night.
The dish got it's own blanket. On the right is our view of the valley. From inside, we only saw the lovely valley. from outside, you could see the junk lot below the park.
Tomorrow, if we're lucky, we'll take the Winter Train from Durango.
Thursday:
Lou had checked outside at 6:00 am and the weather was clear. At 7:00 am when we got up, there was about two inches of snow on the ground. Oh boy, our white cloud hasn't left us yet. We cleaned up and had breakfast of leftover blintzes and chicken.
About 8:00 am we called the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (DSNG) to see if they were running and if they had room for us. The answer was yes to both. We reserved our non-refundable tickets with a little worry as to whether the weather would allow us to get to the station. It was still snowing and there was about two inches of slush on the road. We made it to the station without any problems.
The railway station as we arrived looked a lot like winter.
It was snowy as we boarded the train. The streets of old town were snowy as well.
The train puffs its way out of town. The outside observation car was a bit cool but that's where you had to go to get coal soot in your eyes and smell the smoke.
The highway to Silverton was snowy as well.
The train clings to the side of the mountain.
When not hanging on the side of the mountain, the train hugged the river. It was followed all the way by the cinder patrol "putt-putt" above right.
When we stopped at Cascade for a while, the train posed for a lot of pictures. Lou posed or one ar well on the bridge we hiked to.
As the train posed and waited, the engineer added a little oil here and there.
The Animas River far below. A map of the route of the railroad.
The train left at 10:00 am and only went to Cascade, about halfway to Silverton. During the winter, the train can't get to Silverton due to avalanche danger along the track. The train stopped at Cascade for about 45 minutes. We hike a little ways in the snow to a suspension bridge across the river. It was also a chance to look over the train, talk to the engineer, have lunch, etc.
At about 1:00 pm, the train headed back. It tooted it's whistle about 5 minutes before departing and everyone had to be back on board or plan on walking home. We were back and made it back to Durango.
We looked through the railroads museum which was quit interesting. We then went down Main Street to the Olde Tymers Cafe for dinner. Their special for the night was chicken fried steak. We both enjoyed the special.
As we drove home, the roads were clear but there was still lots of snow on the ground. Our plans tomorrow depend on the weather. If it's good enough, we'll head toward Four Corners.
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