Jim at the VLA mentioned a casino outside of Cortez and so we headed to Sky Ute Casino. Turned out it was WAY outside of Cortez and that we probably misunderstood the directions. We passed through Durango (for the first time) and wandered south until we found the casino. Slept, showered and did our laundry before heading back to Durango to see what there was to see. This was a town that lived up to its press as there were plenty of good places to eat, lots of shopping and picturesque restorations, including two 19th century hotels and the narrow gauge railroad that was originally built to take the miners up to the ore and the ore down to the smelters. We bought tickets to Silverton – bus there and train back – for the next day and found the Lightner Creek campgrounds (wifi, water, dump) for the night. Chatted with the village for a while and turned in for a peaceful night.
The ride up to Silverton was spectacular, with snowy peaks and ever-changing forests all the way. Every now and then the original stagecoach road was visible from the highway, and the bus driver recounted the economic history of the area from trapping and mining to the present day reliance on tourism. The only road remains open year round despite the heavy annual snowfall, only closing for 24 – 48 hours at a time to clear the way.
Apparently last winter they received about 27′ (that’s feet) of snow at the top. The town itself was interesting; one paved road, a few shops and cafes and not much else. But walking around brought into focus how isolated the mining towns must have been and how difficult reaching them was.
The train ride back to Durango was scenic; through the canyon, along the Animas River almost all the way.
It took a bit longer than expected but we got back to Durango in time for a nice dinner at the Quiet Lady Tavern. But first I dragged Ron on a futile quest in the dark to find a choral concert I had seen listed in the October events flier. We got to the church where I thought it was being held only to find it locked up tight as a drum, so we walked back into town to eat. The tavern was cozy and warm, Ron got the pasta he was craving and then it hit us; we hadn’t made plans for the night. I was all for staying put in the train parking lot but Ron felt more comfortable going to Walmart, so Walmart it was. I called to find out if overnight parking was allowed and got an employee who cautioned us that, although it was not technically allowed, if we stayed on the edges nobody would bother us. So in we went, finding at least three other overnighters already tucked into the better spots near the trees. We found our niche and bedded down for the night. Despite some late night weed-whacking and a really loud truck that couldn’t get started the first three tries, we spent another uneventful night in a Walmart parking lot. The next morning we headed back to Durango, ate breakfast in the most popular cafe in town and did a little antique shopping before heading west to Mesa Verde NP.
In the morning, another Roadtrek pulled into the spot next to us and we met Barbara and Paul from Seneca Falls NY. We chatted for a while, then drove to the top of the mesa to see some cliff dwellings. We thought we were done with ancient ruins but these were in a class of their own. This area of the country was inhabited for over 700 years with an estimated 30,000 inhabitants, ancestors of the current Zuni, Ute, Hopi and Navajo tribes. Many of the tribal customs still practiced today can be traced through artifacts and oral history to the abandoned pueblos here in Colorado, in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Now I’m sorry we didn’t visit the pueblos in Taos and Santa Fe, or one of the many we passed on the road south through the state, to learn more about the fascinating southwestern native American history. Opportunity lost as we probably won’t be going back that way.
We brought some cheese and crackers and Durango brewed ginger ale to the neighboring site and spent some time with Paul and Barbara before the rains came. Exchanged contact info and invitations to visit before they left the next morning and we drove down to the visitors center to update the blog and mail some postcards.
The Ultimate Road Trip 