Day 16 – Durango, CO
After leaving New Mexico we arrived in Durango for another Harvest Host stay. This one was truly what we needed. We parked on the street in front of Massage Intervention, went inside and each enjoyed an hour-long massage. What a treat. One thing that we both noticed was living in a camper, setting up and tearing down camp almost daily, bending and twisting in ways that are different than our normal routines, we were ready to give our bodies a break.
Didn’t see much of Durango, as we were pretty “buttered” after our massage. I can say it’s a very sweet little town. Does anyone else do this; look at real estate in places you visit and try and imagine yourself living there? Gary found a 4 bedroom, 5 bath, 3,480 sq. ft. condo up the street from where we parked the camper. He thought it would be a cool place to live and it had a great view. Only $1.9 million.
Day 17 – Durango to Silverton
OMG the drive from Durango to Silverton on the Million Dollar Highway, through the San Juan Mountains was so spectacular. I tried to capture it on camera, but it is just too big and amazing. The highway was originally built in the 1880s and is reported to have cost a million dollars a mile to build…. or some say it’s the millions in gold that remain in the roadway’s fill. Maybe it’s the million-dollar views.
It is also reported to be one of the most dangerous highways in the country. There are no guardrails in some places, to make plowing snow easier, and the hairpin turns, and steep inclines made our travel slow. I wondered if was dangerous because those million-dollar views made it hard to keep your eyes on the road.
Day 18-19 – Silverton
Silverton, CO is a small mining town on Million Dollar Highway north of Durango. It is known for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. This former mine train is now a National Historic Landmark. Several people said we should take the 3-hour ride from Durango to Silverton, however, we did the drive and feel like we had an equally good experience.
We visited the San Juan County Historical Society Jail and Mining Museum. The jail is where miners were placed if they “jumped” other miner’s claims, “seeded” claims they were trying to sell or were just generally bad apples. There was still one “bad apple” left in the jail.
Our campsite was surrounded by snowcapped mountains. The weather was pleasant and sunny most of the time, if a bit windy. Nightly temperatures dropped to 29 degrees, so the heater was a blessing. One thing that sort of surprised me was how tired I got just doing normal things. At almost 10,000 feet elevation, I realized I was oxygen deprived. I did wonder why they sold bottled oxygen in the campsite store. Now I know why.
P.S. As I am finishing up this post it has started to snow!!!
Comments
3 responses to “Colorado Cool”
The views are gorgeous and glad to see them without having to traverse switchbacks without guardrails in a long camper!
A beautiful part of the country. Thank you for sharing your views and experiences. Enjoy! Miss you. ❤️
Gorgeous! I’m glad you guys are safe and enjoying every step of your trip! 💗