Welcome to the Durango Rug Company, an open air store where you can admire the wares from the sidewalk. I delighted in all the beautiful colors and textures but ultimately kept walking. They sold nothing that would fit in my carryon bag!
It was, however, a feast for the eyes. Not to mention, their sign offers great advice!
“Life’s short. Buy the rug. Eat the cake. Take the trip.”
Why, yes! Those are all stupendous ideas!
When we left Durango and started our journey north toward the Denver airport, we needed to find a quick dinner. Fast food options were slim and we really wanted out of the car since we had spent most of the day in a train, bus or car.
So I nosed around online while Johnna drove and located a Chinese restaurant that was along our path.
The place was nice but empty so we were seated quickly and drinks came fast too. We ordered some Cheese Rangoon to split as well as entrees. The Rangoon came within perhaps three minutes and our entrees came a few minutes after that.
Here’s my piping hot Veggie Delight which was, well, delightful.
I tell you that to tell you this. Just ten hours before that, we opted for a fast food breakfast from the McDonalds in downtown Durango. It is located between the train depot and their large parking lot so it made sense to grab something here. I ordered an Egg McMuffin without the meat, a hash brown and Diet Coke (Yes, yes. Breakfast of champions, I know but it’s a guilty pleasure for me so don’t judge) and Johnna got some kind of sandwich, apple pie and coffee.
For these culinary masterpieces, we waited well more than ten minutes. It took longer to get “fast food” that seemed overpriced to me than it did to get drinks, appetizer and entrees from a sit down place.
Obviously, it doesn’t always work out this way but I’m seriously losing my appetite for fast food and so very happy to support the small mom and pop businesses that make up the backbone off American towns.
So, thanks and best wishes to the Shanghai Chinese Restaurant of Pagosa Springs, Colorado! You guys rock!
What do you think? Are you ready to break the fast food habit?
When we hopped off the train in Silverton, this was the first restaurant I saw and I badly wanted to eat there. I had no idea what they served but the exterior and the car were perfection.
Sadly, a sign on the door said they were closed for a private event. So, we ended up somewhere else and that worked out fine but I’m still said we didn’t get to eat in the fabulous building with the spectacular car outside.
I later learned that it is the oldest standing bordello in Silverton and that it has enjoyed a long and colorful history in a colorful town.
Perhaps next time!
The things I live for when traveling are rarely found in guidebooks. They’re typically not expensive either. The memories I hold dear are things like a special meal enjoyed in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park or a chat with the woman who runs an Indiana soda fountain. The unplanned, unexpected things that can’t be recreated are the very best experiences if you ask me.
We had a couple of those moments on this last trip that reminded us exactly why it’s so important to say yes when there’s opportunity.
We were headed down Route 285, a scenic route through the mountains we chose in lieu of the interstate when heading toward Durango. There was a sign for a Historic Railroad Roundhouse that pointed right. I asked “can we?” and Johnna said sure!
This choice took us to a spot-in-the-road called Como which I found positively enchanting. Less than a mile off the highway and in the Rocky Mountains, Como has the air of a ghost town. Yet, a handful of people do reside in Victorian era cottages and homes in this collection of dilapidated buildings.
There’s a restored train depot and an old hotel that operated until the owner became too ill to keep it open. The roundhouse is simply beautiful and is a hub for numerous restoration projects being undertaken by a band of volunteers who hope to transform the town into a tourist attraction.
Friends, it doesn’t look like much and you won’t likely find this place in any guidebook but Como is the source of some of my favorite memories of this trip.
First of all, it feels deserted but I got the sensation that if I turned quickly enough I might see some Wyatt Earp like person swagger by.
Plus, we met a man named Joey who showed us around and told us stories. Turns out, there were a few people working there to prepare for an event the following day so there was a lot of activity underway.
Joey took us inside, pointing out the holes in the ceiling where engine smokestacks would be positioned to release their smoke. He showed us an old rail car turned home that they fished out of a creek bed for restoration. He showed us another car that is the exact dimension of the boxcars Hitler used to transport Jews to concentration camps.
Meet Kate, a locomotive they are currently restoring.
Joey talked to us about the town which was a stop for the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad. The Depot was built in 1879 to accommodate the railroad. It’s hard to believe but this was a bustling town with hundreds of people employed by the railroad.
For nearly sixty years, the train’s daily stop was a highlight for locals whose businesses benefited from these strangers passing through and who received delivery of goods from the city and from the Sears and Roebuck catalog.
Sadly, the last passenger train left town in April 1937 and the tracks were pulled up the following year.
The old hotel remains but closed recently when the owner fell into poor heath.
Over the decades, the town deteriorated and so did its buildings. In the last twenty years, efforts have been made to salvage and restore what’s left.
While we toured the inside, there was bustling activity outside as a train car was pulled onto the turntable so that it could be moved into the roundhouse. When we asked how it worked, Joey said “hold on a minute and you can see!”
And then he had us help him turn the car so that it could be moved into the fifth bay of the six bay roundhouse!
By then, an older couple from Colorado Springs had arrived and they were enthusiastically listening to Joey’s tales.
The cherry on the proverbial sundae was when my friend and I, along with Joey and that other man hopped on the pump car for a short trip up the tracks and then back down the tracks.
I won’t lie – the trip back was vaguely terrifying as we were going down hill but it was magnificent all the same.
These are memories I wish I could send you to do but that I could never recreate. The truth is, you must go find your own adventures.
Say yes to those random turns and to conversations with people who are passionate about the things they do. Get out of the car and go looking for something different than you already know, something more than you had planned.
That’s why we travel. That’s why we explore our own backyards. That’s where the magic happens.
Whether you chug along on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad or follow the spectacular Million Dollar Highway, when you arrive at Silverton, Colorado you are at more than 9,300 feet.
This former mining boomtown has a population of about 600 during good weather that falls to 400 in the winter. We had less than two hours there before hopping on a bus back to Durango but that allowed enough time for a quick lunch and some sightseeing.
While most people went straight for the shopping, I went looking for architecture.
This Catholic Church is lovely.
The view down the street is another church.
I liked this nice old train car.
The post office isn’t exactly what you would call a tourist attraction but I sought it out anyway.
Neither is the library but I liked it too. My only regret is that it was closed.
Meet Dale. He plays ragtime music at the hotel.
Here’s one more of the hotel.
Don’t worry. I did eventually fall prey to the touristy shops and spent a few bucks along the way.
Check out the Make the Journey Fun Facebook page for a video of one very special experience I had while there.
I took a bunch of pictures in Silverton so I suspect you’ll hear more about it in the future. Stay tuned!
Since 1882, trains have made the climb through the San Juan Mountains from Durango, Colorado to Silverton. While this was once a vital route for practical purposes, it is now a scenic railway for tourists.
The 45 mile route takes about 3.5 hours at a top speed of 18 mph. It begins in downtown Durango, traveling through nice rural areas, into the San Juan Forest and along the Animas River.
I cannot even fathom what it took to lay this track. The crew, made up mostly of Irish and Chinese immigrants, worked in precarious places to carve out space for this narrow gauge line.
There are places so narrow that you can almost reach out the window on either side and touch granite. There are also places so close to the edge that you can see no flat ground but only a sheer drop off to the canyon below.
It was both awe inspiring and occasionally terrifying from my window seat.
At the end of the line, passengers have a couple of hours to explore Silverton while they turn the train and prepare for the return trip.
I will be completely honest with you. I thoroughly enjoyed this trip but it is a very long ride. So when we learned that it might be possible to upgrade our return train ticket to a bus ticket, Johnna and I jumped right on the opportunity. The bus took significantly less time, allowing us to get on with our evening.
Clearly, we wouldn’t have made good pioneers. To be fair, the bus ride was a terrific experience, partly because our driver was knowledgeable and friendly and the bus views were great too.
Check back tomorrow and I’ll tell you about Silverton.