Mongo say: Choo Choo go to Rock Ridge

Since 1882 the narrow gauge steam locomotive has run between Durango and Silverton in the amazing San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. It is a full 8 hour day travelling 45 miles at a blistering 12 mph with soot sneaking into open windows. And it's totally worth it. 

We stop three times in each direction to take on water from the waterfalls flowing into the river to cool the coal fueled engine.

The train follows the Animas River

Keep your head and arms inside the coach at all times. Unless you want cinders in your ears and hairline.

In the old days the bathrooms were closed and locked when the train stopped  at any station. That's because they flush right on to the tracks. Ewww.

About half way along the trip a large group of people, mostly 20 somethings, departed the train to camp, back pack, and river raft along the Animas River.

The old mining town of Silverton is as expected - pretty much a tourist spot with shops, bars, and hotels. I enjoyed it; I enjoy just about everywhere we go.

The train arrives and departs in the center of town. This is a picture of the First Class car - furthest away from the plume of smoke. First Class costs double of the standard fare.

The cheap seats on the train cost about $90 and are located at the front of the train. We wanted to sit in the outdoor gondola section but it was fine we didn't. They rocked and rolled more than the other cars and were exposed to even more soot and cinders. 

The cars are original from the late 1800's

This newer car would have been ideal with the sky windows

And now it's time for the return trip

Along the river with the famous gorge view.

Update: Sadly the Animas River was polluted the following month by a mine spill north of Silverton

I found this before and after picture online.

Next door to the Pot Farm is a trading post with large arrows aimed at teepee's for decor.

I'd like to share how some people roll: Note the Smart Car on the back of the Semi pulling the Toy-Hauler Fifth Wheel. Wow.

While in Durango, my Camper Girl friends Barb P, Janet, and Linda texted a picture of Barb K & I riding along with them on their roadtrip to Sun River, Oregon. I love those gals for thinking of me!

Cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park, SW Colorado

For our drive to SW Colorado we chose to go over Lizard Head Pass - a much better choice for our Class A motorhome than taking the Million Dollar Highway. Although the summit is over 10,000 feet elevation it is pleasant road with few switchbacks.

It's always a challenge to choose an RV park for our next destination. I use a variety of websites including RVParkReviews, PassportAmerica, TripAdvisor, and GoodSam. We've been pretty lucky so far and this time was no exception. Elevated and off the main highway we have a beautiful view of the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park. This is a good thing because we're booked for a week. I much prefer a campground setting over a parking lot setting. Although sometimes it's pretty nice staying at a fancy RV Resort!

Afternoon thunderstorms and beautiful sunsets were the norm.

This was Boulder House at Hovenweep National Monument

The walls are three layers deep

At Mesa Verde you can walk around some exhibits and the museum at no extra charge. Our neighbors at the the RV Park told us about a couple of tours to take for a small fee. The first one we took was Balcony House. After descending partially into the canyon we went up a 32' ladder.

That's the ladder looking down.

With 40 rooms Balcony house was considered a medium size cliff dwelling

This group of dwellings are unique in that they have "balcony" areas.

You can see from room to room

Yes, we really were perched along the side of a cliff.

This is their "kiva". The fire pit was built in the center of the room. The door was to allow fresh air in so the smoke would go up through the roof opening. A diverter was built between the door and the fire to keep the incoming air from blowing out the fire. The round hole on the floor were for the spirits to emerge. What is missing is the roof so you can only imagine how smoky it was.

Then we walked between huge rocks and shimmied through a 12 ft long tunnel,

two more ladders,

and a 60 foot open rock face. The Ancestral Pueblo peoples - old and young - climbed up and down the cliffside with small hand and foot holds the size of a potato.

The Ancestral Pueblo people or Anasazi had several communities along the canyon. Our next tour is Cliff Palace which is believed to be the gathering spot for the different resident locations.

With roofs no longer intact you can see the many rooms of Cliff Palace. There is extensive preservation work in effect. Here you can see 5 circular Kiva's of the 23 located here.

Mesa Verde was inhabited for more than 700 years until the year 1300. They lived on the mesa tops until the final 100 years when they built and lived in the cliff dwellings. Researchers know these dates from dendrochronology, a type of carbon dating from the wood used in construction.

We felt like part of a National Geographic publication

Million Dollar Highway, Telluride & Gateway, Colorado

The Million Dollar Highway is another Scenic Bi-Way must. The most scenic part is between Ouray and Silverton but we didn't drive all the way to Silverton and Durango because we'll be there next week. We turned around at the memorial they have for road workers and snow plow drivers that have lost their lives maintaining this highway. I am so glad we didn't drive the motorhome over this pass. I would have been freaking out with my birds eye view over the edge. There were many areas where the white line disappeared and it was a long way down.

On to Telluride! What a beautiful, expensive town with Victorian houses. In many of these towns we've been visiting, even new construction looks period authentic

Next to Bridal Veil Falls is this amazing structure with it's own waterfall

These brightly colored homes reminded me of the ones in San Francisco

Telluride has a free gondola you can take to the top of the mountain and transfer to another gondola to go into Mountain Village.

What great views. It was a bit cool so we wore jackets for the first time in months.

Huge homes and lodges. I wanted to just lay around in one of those hammocks

The red umbrellas are where we stopped by a couple of beers

Mine was the Left Hand Milk Stout. The alcohol content caused a bit of a headache for me at this ski resort elevation. It was so delicous - like dessert!

From our beer goggles vantage point at Mountain Village we watched people playing. The lifts took mountain bikers up the slopes to ride down. This huge playpen looking thing had spheres for rolling around on top of the water and a challenge course.

Our final day we went on a loop drive to Gateway, Colorado. Bonnie picked out her car at the Auto Museum

This one had an old time movie star quality about it

We had an amazing lunch

The final part of the loop took us along another canyon  to the site of an abandoned mining flume

You can see it hanging along the side of the canyon wall and the closeup shows the detail.

Thanks Dan and Bonnie for an amazing time! See you in December at The Den.