On New Year's day we left for a short vacation getaway to one of our favorite places, Durango, Colorado. With all of the snow, it was a beautiful winter wonderland. The overnight temperature dropped to 9 degrees one night, but like people say, it didn't seem that cold. Right!! With no set agenda, we decided to ride the narrow gauge Durango-Silverton Railroad train the first day. During the winter the train doesn't go all the way to Silverton due to the heavy snow and reduced passenger demand. However, it does go up to Cascade Canyon where we got off, warmed up by the fire pit, and enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery (we honestly believe the sky is bluer in Colorado). The train passes through the narrow canyon walls close enough that you can reach out and touch both sides of the steep bluffs. On our way back, we spotted a couple of bighorn sheep high on the rocks above the train.
Along the way we saw a number of isolated cabins and houses, one of which was used in a scene from the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." During the 5 hour trip, we got acquainted with some of our fellow passengers which for the most part were from Texas! We met people from Burleson, Austin and the Houston area. Part of the bunch departed the train on the way back to meet up with a group that would take them snowmobiling. We planned to go snowmobiling the next day, but a winter storm warning and falling snow changed our minds. We wished that we had known about the train/snowmobiling package earlier and we would have taken advantage of it.
We stayed at the DoubleTree Hotel on the banks of the Animas River. It was so nice and we would recommend it to anyone! We came back through Pagosa Springs and across northern New Mexico. The highway that goes across to Red River was closed due to snow drifts so we had to go further south and then back to Angel Fire and Eagles's Nest. The roads there were icy and the wind was blowing snow across them which made for a "fun" driving experience! It was a great getaway for our anniversary!
All aboard!! Leaving Durango
Watch out for that curve!!
At the stop in Cascade Canyon
Waiting to head back to Durango
I told her not to get too far away!!
A nice warm up by a great fire!
Starbucks coffee!! Yum...
Beverly at the train depot
Starting to snow...
A view from our hotel room
The drive home...filled with excitement!
Late evening after a long day...
