Day 23 -- Durango, CO to Monument Valley, CO

Back into the desert!  We packed up and headed off to drive back into the desert.  We took our own sweet time leaving Durango.  We washed the motorhome and my car and ran a bunch of errands (none of which panned out for us!).



Our first stop was Four Corners -- it was hot and dry out there.  We parked the motorhome and went to take the obligatory photos of the kids standing in four states at once.  Then we shopped!  Gage bought a really cool Navajo arrow.  The artist spent some time talking to him about it and let him pick out the stone point to put in it.  Ruth got a bracelet and a necklace and I got a couple of pairs of earrings. We also got some delicious Navajo Fry Bread -- yum!



The rest of the drive was beautiful as Greg found a scenic byway to get us there.  It was hot and there were some pretty good hills but we arrived at Monument Valley just as the clouds gathered and started spewing thunder and lightening.  We decided to stay at the private campground which is tucked into a valley between two huge sandstone monuments.   The kids and Greg went swimming while I made dinner.

Day 22 -- Durango, CO

We got up early and drove the road to Silverton.  It travels alongside the railroad for part of the trip but goes much higher for much longer as you go along.  Silverton was getting ready for it’s Fourth of July parade -- reminded us of Boulder Creek and made us a little bit homesick.  We couldn’t really park and shop so we got gas and headed off to our next destination, Ouray, CO.



Ouray is seperated from Silverton by a really intense mountain pass.  We got up over 11,100 feet which was exciting.  This drive is why we call our blog The Journey is the Thing -- the drive was the destination in many ways!  Especially since, we got buzzed by 4 airforce jets as we were entering the canyon above Ouray.  They were low and zipping through the canyon sideways.  That would be exciting if you were at an air show and expecting it but we were driving on a high, mountain road with no guard rails and big drop-offs next to us.  Greg handled it fine but the car in front of us had to pull over and calm down for a few minutes after they passed us by.  I think they had buzzed the Silverton parade and were going to do the same in Ouray.  It was very cool.



Ouray is my new favorite town.  It’s in this steep canyon with amazing red cliffs all around it.  It’s a little mining town with all kinds of charm.  We had lunch at the Billy Goat Gruff biergarten which was perfect -- sausage bites, pretzels, and good beer (for Greg and I!).  Greg was excited about the Elks Lodge BBQ as well so when he was finished, he walked across the street and got some beef ribs.  We joined him when we were done.



He was sharing a table with a really nice couple who had grown up in Ouray and were back for the class of 1961 High School Reunion.  They talked to us about life in Ouray and Silverton and what it was like to work in the mines.  We really enjoyed chatting with them.

We had to make a decision then about whether or not to go back to Durango now or to press on and continue our drive.  We had thought about going out to see Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park -- our new friends assured us it was worth the trip so we headed off.



Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a deep canyon carved by the Gunnison River.  Like the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde, you approach it from above.  There are amazing views down into the canyon.  We stopped at the first overlook and were amazed by a Golden Eagle flying over us, playing in the wind, soaring and floating above us.  Amazing.



Greg and Gage walked the 1/2 mile to the visitor’s center.  Ruth and I drove.  We learned a bit about the canyon and drove out to the most spectacular overlook -- Dragon’s Cliff.  You can see the image of two Asian style dragons in this huge cliff.  It’s the highest cliff in the state of Colorado at 2200+ feet.  Gage suddenly got over his fear of heights and spent the whole time staring over the edge trying to point things out to me -- who was turning green from the height.  :)



The rain found us at Gunnison -- and we drove back to Ouray in a thunderstorm.  The clouds were starting to clear as we drove over the pass to Silverton (thank goodness!).  We ate at the Silverton Brewery and headed back to Durango.  We stopped briefly at camp and then headed back into Durango to watch the fireworks.  It was a great show and a great end to our trip!



Our evening ended quietly enough.  We put the kids to bed in their tent and settled in for a little computer time before bed.  After a little while, someone knocked at the door.  It was a rather frightened man who was telling us that there was a bear in the campground.  They had returned to their site after watching the fireworks to see their neighbors chasing a bear out of their site.  We got the kids inside the motorhome and got flashlights to see what we could see.  The bear had fled immediately when the people got back and hadn’t gotten into their cooler.  Still the folks in Durango are not used to dealing with bears.  Between our camping time in Sequoia National Park and listening to my parents talk about the bears in June Lake, I knew a lot more about the bears than the locals.  All the tent campers abandoned ship for the night and went either to cabins or to nearby motels.  The bear was skulking around in the bushes hoping we’d all go to bed so it could continue to forage in the coolers.  I got a good look at it as it entered an empty campsite -- it was a decent sized bear -- a little taller than the picnic table as it shuffled by on all fours.  While no one was doing the pot-banging, car horn honking racket that are sure to drive a bear away, the bear finally gave up and headed up the hill, back into the wilderness where it belonged.  Our kids opted to sleep in the tent still.  We gave them pots and spoons so if they heard anything they could make a huge racket.  The bear didn’t seem to come back or didn’t bother our kids at any rate!  What a day!

Day 21 -- Durango, CO

After a day of rest, we needed another day of fun.  We loaded into the car and drove to Mesa Verde National Park.  Greg planned out the whole day when we got there.  Mesa Verde has more Ancient Puebloan Ruins.  Like Bandelier, the ruins are in cliffs however, you approach them from above at Mesa Verde.  To visit the ruins, you need to go on ranger led tours.  Some of them involve climbing ladders up and down cliffs which isn’t my cup of tea, thank you very much.  My son agrees with me on that deal.  Ruth and Greg, however, are eager for that kind of adventure.  So, Greg booked two tours for them and just one for Gage and I.



We took Ruth and Greg to where the tour for Balcony House met.  They set off on their adventure with ladders, tunnels, and ruins.



Gage and I did a driving tour along a nearby mesa top.  We got to look at Square House Ruin which is spectacular.



After we picked them up, we went to the tour we were all doing together -- Cliff Palace.  It has a few ladders -- not too bad.  Gage did not like the ladders but he sucked it up and did them.  We were so proud of him.  Ruthie -- who loves this kind of thing -- lead the group and was at the front of the tour the entire way.





We headed off to one of the Visitor’s Centers to find lunch.  There was a great little cafeteria and we all had fantastic food.  We filled up our water bottles and drove way out to the last tour of Long House.  The tour met at the outpost Visitor’s Center there -- they take a tram out to the hiking point with the ranger and then hike a mile to the ruins and come back on the tram.  Gage and I intended to take the tram ride at some point too but there was a big thunderstorm so we just sat back and enjoyed the view.



On the drive back, we encountered this little guy by the side of the road.  At first, we thought he’d been hit but upon turning around, we realized he was fine -- probably just soaking up heat from the road.  We watched him a few minutes and headed off for camp.



We were tired when we got back to Durango so we went to a local BBQ place for dinner -- Serious Texas BBQ.  It was quite good -- especially the cheesy potato side dish.  The meat was amazing!  We tried to be serious while we were there but found it impossible.  :)  We ate outside on their deck overlooking the Animas River.  Heaven on earth.

Day 20 - Durango, CO

We moved campsites today.  Due to the impending holiday, we couldn’t stay in our original site as long as we wanted to.  The managers moved heaven and earth and found us another site at the park.  We moved down there and then Greg needed another working day and I needed to get laundry done so we stayed in camp on Saturday.  The kids swam in the pool.  I took 47 billion photos of hummingbirds at the feeders outside the laundry room.  Greg worked (and swam).   Quiet days are nice too.

Day 19 -- Durango, CO

The big excitement in Durango is taking a trip on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Guage Railroad.  You leave Durango in the morning and take a 3-1/2 hour train trip to Silverton. The elevation change between Durango and Silverton is nearly 3,000 feet -- Silverton is around 9,000 ft.  Silverton is, as you might guess from the name, a silver mining town.  Like Bodie, California, it was a boomtown but it didn’t die when the mining dried up -- Silverton is still a “going concern.”  The main industry now is tourism as the trains arrive and depart several times a day.

The ride up the mountain is spectacular.  The train travels up the Animas River sometimes right down at the water and sometimes at dizzying heights above it.  You travel through forests of pine, oak, and aspen.  You see wildflowers and birds.  If we were lucky, we could have seen wild animals too -- other than the few prairie dogs we saw.









We did see some Austin-Healey enthusiasts who pulled over and waved at us.



There is a concession car on the train and they let you get free refills if you buy a fancy cup with a lid -- we did.  When you are at high altitude, you need to stay hydrated!





I was really proud of the Ruthie on the train.  She gets a little creeped out by heights -- but only when she is in a vehicle. On her own two feet, she’ll stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon without any hesitation -- but in a vehicle, she’s not at all happy about heights.  She did great though on the train and even took a window seat so she could see everything! Gage, on the other hand, had no problem with the heights -- he's way more concerned when he's on his own two feet.





When we arrived in Silverton, we got off the train and hightailed it to the restaurant we’d decided on for lunch -- it was GREAT.  We ate at Thee Pitts Again -- an amazing BBQ place.  It’s been featured on the Food Network and it did not disappoint.  It was crowded but we got a table right away -- our patented technique is for me to figure out what I want QUICKLY and then tell Greg while I go snag a table and he does the ordering.  We  were starved after the train trip and I was feeling the altitude so a good meal was a MUST!  The food was fantastic.  We all had different things, shared bites, and loved it.





Then we shopped.  Silverton is a tourist town and it’s full of little shops.  Some are wonderful with great arts and crafts, some are tacky knick-knack shops, and some are somewhere in between.  We didn’t buy much but we had a great time walking up and down the streets.





When you book your trip on the railroad, you have a choice about how to return. You can ride the railroad back (another 3-1/2 hours) or you can take a bus (about 1-1/2 hours).  We took the train back.  It was quieter and more mellow.  We had booked our seats through their Kids Ride Free promotion which meant we were in a car with all families.  Thankfully, a lot of them took the bus back so there were empty seats and a much quieter ride home.  We relaxed our way down the mountain.  There may have been some napping.

As we got closer to Durango, we, of course, started traveling through more inhabited areas.  The train is important to Durango so everyone waves at the train as it chugs through town.  Usually, that involves waving of HANDS.  However, there is another important activity in Durango . . . Rafting on the Animas river.  The rafters like to MOON the train as it chugs by the river -- waving their butts at us.  We passed two groups of rafters who mooned us as we passed.  A group on the shore of the river even got into the act and mooned us.  I was NOT ready and didn’t get any of the full moon shots on camera -- but I found one here on Flickr so you can appreciate the moment.  It was hilarious!



Before we headed back to camp, we had dinner at a mexican restaurant in Durango.  Showers were essential when we got back to camp to wash off the grime from the train -- coal powered steam engines are dirty!

Day 18 - Durango, CO

[I apologize for the break in our updates . . . I guess I was just having too much fun to keep the blog up-to-date.  That's the trouble with vacations, I fear.  I'll be updating the rest of the trip now that we are home safe and sound and I have nothing fun to do! - The Editor (Liza)]

As you know, this trip is a working trip for Greg.  So, periodically, he has to work while I find ways to entertain the kids!  Today was one of those days.  We left him at camp, working hard, listening to the sound of the creek trickling past our campsite, feeling the cool mountain breeze blowing through the campsite and headed off to a local museum.  It is the Animas Museum.



The museum is located in an old schoolhouse -- very cool.  They have a large room set up as it would have been back when the school was in use.  Their other exhibits involved the history of Durango and the Native Americans from the area.  Gage’s favorite exhibit was about a gunfight between a Marshall and a Sheriff in Durango’s past.  When we were done, we went outside to look at the Joy Cabin.  It’s the oldest cabin in the Durango area and has been moved to the museums’ grounds.  It’s lovely -- and you can walk in and look at it.  It looks as if the inhabitants are going to come in and offer you coffee any second.

Day 17 - Chaco Canyon, NM to Durango, CO

We got up early to finish packing up the FMC and head out of Chaco before the serious heat hit.  The thirteen miles of washboard road didn't seem so bad on the way out -- we didn't see many other vehicles much less have the opportunity to run any of them off the road. Still, hitting REAL pavement felt good!

We were proud of #708 though -- it held up to the killer dirt road with great grace!

We stopped at Aztec National Monument -- can't get enough of the Ancient Pueblo People Ruins.  Aztec is one of the places, along with Mesa Verde, that the ancients went when they left Chaco.  The cool thing about this site is that there is a restored Great Kiva that you can go into and experience.  It gives a much better feel for what these spaces were like than my imagination can provide. (Photos from Aztec are on Greg's camera and will be uploaded shortly!)

After Aztec, we stopped at an old-fashioned A&W for lunch.  We couldn't pull the FMC up to the drive-in spots so we went inside.  The kids were very impressed by the order over the phone technology!  It was a good lunch!



The switch from New Mexico to Colorado is an amazing one.  The topography and temperature change are dramatic as you start climbing into the San Juan Mountains.  The Animas River Valley is absolutely beautiful and if you get a chance to visit, you definitely should.  We stayed at a little campground up Hwy 160 called Lightner Creek Campground.  Very nice park . . . very nice people.

Ruthie and I went into to town to get groceries and to replace her flip-flops. There was a fantastic (albeit short) thunderstorm with great claps of thunder and huge, cooling drops of rain. It didn't last long but we loved it! So refreshing!

And, oh my goodness, after 3 days in Chaco, nothing felt better than the hot shower at the campground!