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| Smokin' to
Durango By Joyce Wade |
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If you like trains, you have got to take this wonderful trip. My husband and I took it a few years ago, and it has always been one of our favorites. We travel in a 26-foot motor home now, however when we took this trip we had a trailer that we pulled with our pickup. We had about a week for a fall get-away, October to be exact, and we had heard of this train trip. So, we packed up the trailer with lots of good food, snacks, and extra blankets. We live in Southern California so we headed toward Williams, Arizona, for an initial stopping point. Williams is a small, quaint little town known for its train depot and rail trip to the Grand Canyon. That's another story for another time. The trip we had our sights set on was in Durango, situated in the southwest corner of Colorado. In Williams, we pulled the trailer alongside a postage stamp-sized park right in town. It was fine to stay there all night. The park had restrooms as well as the security of being well lit. After a good night's sleep we ventured out the next morning, heading to Durango. The trip from Williams to Durango was beautiful. |
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 Here's a shot of the Animas River and the golden aspens from the train. In the background you can just make out the San Juan Mountains. |
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Once in Durango, we found a place to park the trailer and then took the pick- up and found our way to the train depot. Durango is a wonderful old turn-of-the-century town, all done up in that period. Several good hotels can be found there and lots of nice restaurants. We enjoyed a light dinner outside under an umbrella table. Even though it was October, it was quite pleasant. We strolled through a couple of the hotels along the main street and felt like we'd slipped back in time, with the décor of red velvet and dark wood, all very elegant. I had purchased tickets for our train trip before leaving home by calling on the telephone. The next morning, we were up early in anticipation of our trip. The trip is a two-hour ride, winding up and through the beautiful San Juan Mountains and along the sparkling Animas River. It was especially beautiful in October as the aspens along the way greeted us with colors of brilliant gold. The train runs on a narrow gauge and is in wonderful, restored condition. Because I wanted to take lots of pictures along the way, we opted for an "open" train car. We were dressed warmly and were quite comfortable as we chugged our way toward Silverton. The train engine belched huge plumes of black smoke, which drifted back our way and made for spectacular snapshots. I found myself leaning out of the car, all quite safe, to get the perfect picture. I wanted the engine with a huge puff of black smoke in full regalia, and as many of the cars as I could squeeze into my picture. There are so many twists and turns, and all the while overlooking a canyon with the gorgeous river in the bottom. |
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| The riders hang out the windows snapping off photos as the train makes it way to Durango. |  |
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Two hours later, we arrived at Silverton. It looks exactly like pictures I'd seen of those little mining towns in Alaska. We roamed around looking at the quaint shops and finally decided where to have lunch. I excused myself to go into the restroom before lunch. Did I ever get a shock when I got a look at myself in the mirror! That smoke from the train was very sooty and I think I had all of it in my blonde hair and on my face. Since I was wearing sunglasses I looked like Rocky Raccoon. All that time we snooped in those darling shops, my husband never said one word to me about my "sooty" look. After a great lunch in a saloon-type eatery, we headed back to the train for our return trip. While we were exploring Silverton, the engineer had turned the train around. We boarded and two hours later, we arrived back in Durango. I highly recommend this trip even if you don't like trains. It's such a unique experience. The whole feeling of Durango and Silverton is like stepping back in time when life was a lot simpler. The Durango & Silverton Railroad has an exciting website, with lots of information. You can even send a free postcard to a friend from their site. Check it out: www:durangotrain.com Or write to them at: Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Museum |
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