There was a cool front coming through this area. The high for Durango on Tuesday was about 60 degrees. We boarded the bus for Silverton, an old mining town which now relies on tourist only for their livelihood. As we ascended the mountains it began to rain which changed to snow. We had limited visibility, but were still able to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The bus driver said the day before there was no snow along the road. I don't know how deep it was but it was building quickly. Fortunately, they were not requiring chains so we were able to complete our bus trip to Silverton which took 1 1/2 hours.
Since it was noon when we arrived, lunch was our first stop. We ate at the "Handlebar Restaurant". Allan had baby back ribs and I had soup and salad. We sat by a fire which really felt good since the temperature was in the low 40's.
We found the post office and purchased some stamps. There were many stores and shops that we went in. I think most people were going in the stores to keep warm. Allan and I got several pictures of the buildings and the mountains surrounding the town. The wind picked up and we were told that the temperature had dropped to 28 degrees. We found a small cafe just before leaving and had a cup of coffee and hot chocolate.
The train left at 3:00 and the trip back to Durango took 3 1/2 hours. This is a narrow gauge steam locomotive pulling several enclosed and open cars.
The sky cleared as we descended the mountains which gave us full view of the surrounding area. It looks as if the train tracks were glued to the side of the mountain and in many areas it dropped off steeply to a gorge below.
The train tracks followed the river most of the way down to Durango. The track was cut through the rock. In places you could have stuck your hand out and touch the mountain side.
They stopped about half way down to take on more water.
The engineer came though all covered in coal dust. We stopped along the way and picked up some rafters and kayakers. There are only certain sections of the river that are navigable. It made for quite an adventuresome day and we were happy that we made the trip today as the weather was suppose to deteriorate the rest of the week.
Wednesday we decided to make a short move to Mancos, Co. before the weather got bad. We weren't quite quick enough. We drove in rain and snow on the drive.
Shortly after we got set up it began to sleet heavily which changed to snow. We are camped at a guest ranch close to Mesa Verde National Park. We stayed inside the rest of the day. Katie sat at the front window watching the snow come down. She tried to catch the snow flakes. She was quite entertained.
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