September 23, 2019

We started the morning by taking a brisk seven-minute walk for breakfast at Bagel Bakery, near the Durango And Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Station with good coffee and bagels. The morning temperature was about 5°C, a little breeze and partly cloudy sky. After breakfast we walked along 3^rdAvenue and admired the Victorian houses for several streets before return to the DurangoDowntown Inn for the 8 a.m. departure of the bus for the railroad station.

It was a short drive back to the Durango And Silverton Narrow Gauge RailroadStation where, as we alighted from the bus, Matt distributed the train tickets for the three and a half hour-ride to the former mining town of Silverton, Colorado. Matt held tickets, half for the enclosed coach in one hand and the other half for the open-air covered gondola car, with benches facing the side, in the other hand. You chose which hand not knowing if you would get coach or gondola car. We snagged coach tickets. The windows opened half way for glare free photos. In the gondola car the passengers were exposed to soot from the coal powered steam engine depending on the wind direction. The steam engine propelled the train on its way on time at 8:45.

Most of the 45 mile ride was through the San Juan National Forest. The gradual climb to Silverton was another 2,938 feet above sea level to an altitude of 2,826 meters (9,273 feet). As we departed Durango, the Animas River and Highway 550 paralleled the railroad track but the highway soon took another route. In the 19^thcentury miners, cowboys, settlers and eventually tourists travelled the train route. We travelled up the Rio de las AnimasCanyon on the narrow gauge tracks, sometimes having the rock face just a meter away as we squeezed through a tight gap, other times you were looking into a deep drop or an occasional meadow. The canyon sides towered above us and we could see the peaks of the San Juan Mountains. The aspen trees of the forest were turning yellow and the muted light from the sun made the yellow stand out. The train twisted around curves and there were two water refueling stops for the train’s boiler. There were opportunities to take pictures of the small rapids on the Animas River, the mountain peaks and the colourful trees. By the time the train arrived at Silverton, the sky was cloudy and the temperature was only 19°C and a soft breeze was sometimes noticed.

After passengers disembarked and took pictures of the train, they dispersed to the restaurant and cafés or wandered off to stroll the streets of the small town. The permanent population is about 700. We sauntered along the length of the town several times admiring the Old West buildings. We stopped for coffee and a pastry at the Coffee Bear with its red trimmed store front. The building was built in 1907. We took photos of the 1907 County Courthouse, the 1908 City Hall and other buildings. We had turned on our GPS to track our wanderings which was about 3.6 kilometers. Steps 11,187

Jose, having driven up to Silverton while we were on the train, was ready in the Cosmos bus to depart at 2:30, but the usual tardy woman was late – again! The bus ride back to Durango was on Highway 550 which had a elevation of 10,640 feet at the Coal Bank Pass. Matt played a CD of train travelling music for the drive back to Durango. The train that took us to Silverton departed on time at 2:30 and returned to Durango at 5:20 as we were going for dinner. We have tried to upload yesterday’s photos but the complimentary Wi-Fi here only supports email and social media.

On the bus, Ken and Moira were very positive about their meal at Ken & Sue‘s restaurant last evening, so we went there tonight. Not having a reservation, we sat at the bar, declined drinks and had a great meal. The couple that sat beside us were from Ottawa doing a two-month road trip that started August 28^th. Yesterday they came from Gunnison and rode the train today. Tomorrow they go to Mesa Verde, then onto the five Utah parks and if enough time on to Grand Canyon. Once back at the hotel, we opened the can of beer and can of Sangria that we had original purchased to drink two nights ago in Kayenta on the dry Navajo reservation. Total steps 13,792