Day#3—Durango-Silverton Narrow GaugeTrain & Mesa Verde, CO--May 25, 2011

This day turned into a long but good one. I decided to take the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge (DSNG) train from Durango to Silverton and back. Boarded Coach 20 at 8:45 AM, and departed Durango at 9:15. We chugged through some spectacularly beautiful scenery along the Animas River, which was high and fast with snow melt. When the train passed along the Animas River Gorge (the highline), the train was at the very edge of the mountain and one could look down to the river running through high stone walls below . . . if one was so inclined. I took a few peeks but generally concentrated on holding down the opposite side of the train as everyone crowded to the gorge side.  

In front of me were John & Carol, a couple of Harley motorcycle riders from Virginia City, NV. They were in an RV and not on their motorcycles, however. John was a firefighter so we talked FPP & IFSTA for a bit. He wore a cowboy hat and responded to everything with “Yes ma’am.” Made me feel old, but he insisted that he was a south’n boy and that was his way of showing respect . . . no matter the age of the woman. Uh-huh.  

It was a long chug to Silverton—3½ hours—so we looked at the wildlife (mule deer, elk, prairie dogs [near Durango] and some people at Wild Camp hissing from treetop to treetop beside the train on zip lines) took a lot of pix out the open train windows, drank bloody Mary’s (J & C) and coffee & Baileys (me), and got acquainted.  

There is a bike race in mid-May called The Ironhorse Classic. Cyclists race from Durango to Silverton over Hwy 550, which was built in 1920—long after the railroad was built in 1881. The race took place on May 24th this year, so I just missed it. 

When we got to Silverton—a mining town at 9,320 feet surrounded by snow capped 13,000-foot Sultan Mt., Kendall Mt., and Storm Peak, and with wide cowboy-movie dirt streets and a lot of gaily painted store fronts and tourist shops—we were waved into Natalia’s 1912 Restaurant where I had a pesto chicken sandwich and slaw for lunch. Then I walked about the town taking pix and poking about in the shops. 

Note the  woman in the top right photo beckoning those who just debarked the train to come to Natalia's Restaurant for lunch. That I and several others did.

The trip back took another 3½ hours. This was 3½ hours too long for me. I didn’t realize that there was the option of taking the bus back and cutting the return in half. We did not get back to Durango until 7:30 PM! I then raced to Mesa Verde (only 40 miles away) to set up and fix myself something to eat before dark. 

Day #3--Mesa Verde, CO
May 25 -- 929 miles

Mesa Verde was a surprise, the road to it a long uphill twist to an elevation of 6,000 to 8,000 feet. I had always envisioned it in the cliff faces before a wide grassy valley. I camped at Morefield Campground within the park. The funny thing is that I registered at the store, and then drove a big 1-mile loop to end up camped behind the store (see schematic above). Unknowingly, I chose the perfect campsite, the path opposite leading over a hill to the store, showers, laundry, and bathrooms (really roughing it here); and the place for my tent was thickly grassy.

I love my Hubba Hubba tent and erected it in a flash. As I was doing so, five mule deer came to call. They were not 10 feet from me and seemingly unfazed by my presence. No sooner had I gotten the tent up and my gear inside than Chris and Debbie from Tucson invited me to come over and have a glass of wine with them. I took my camp chair over and we sat before a fire and drank Sangria and some other cheap red wine from a box until about 11 p.m. Debbie worked in the Tucson University of Arizona bookstore and Chris was returning to school to get a degree in archeology.

I slept cold in the tent, despite wearing sweats and knee socks. Must get a new sleeping bag as well as a new Thermarest.