The Journey is the Thing: Day 36

Dateline: July 22, 2014; Durango, CO

Liza bought this spoon in Durango on her shopping day. Inspiration is good in the morning.

We had a fun day planned but couldn't resist a lazy morning in camp. The plan was that we'd drive up to to Silverton, shop and have lunch, and then take the Suzuki out on a few 4WD roads that surround the town. We ended up having lunch at Grumpy's -- the food was good and the piano player was fantastic. Shopping in Silverton doesn't take too long but there are some really fun shops in the town. It mostly caters to the train riders who have a couple of hours between arriving and heading back to Durango either on train or bus, depending on their choices and budget.

Off-roading is a huge activity in the Silverton area. Everyone does it!

We picked up a map and a guide to some of the nearby roads in an adventuring shop in Silverton after lunch and headed out. The day was beautiful and clear. There is a huge loop you can make all on 4WD roads, if you have time, which we did not. You need 4WD to go beyond a certain point -- luckily, we have it. You start on paved roads, switch to incrediably nice graded dirt roads, and then get to well-maintained but clearly 4WD roads which means you may have to crawl over some rocks, deal with narrow roads, and you might have to ford a stream or two. Bring it on!

Remnants of old mining days were everywhere and our guide book told us some of the rich mining history of the area.

The remains of a mill for processing ore.

The Animas River. Yes, that's snow.

No obvious road to this cabin. What a setting.

An old dam blocking the Animas

We did not ford the river but it was tempting. We had to stop and watch these guys go through.

Marmot!

We went as far as the ghost town Animas Forks. The town is being preserved -- and in many cases -- rebuilt to protect the mining history in Colorado. Compared with the arrested development theory of Bodie, CA, we found it fascinating that they were tearing a part and rebuilding the buildings to protect the history. Different ideas and methods towards a similar goal.

Click on the picture to see the panorama in more detail. This town was a little spooky!

We explored several of the already re-created buildings. You can go inside, at your own risk, and see the rooms. This one was particularly nice with a huge bay window in the front.