DURANGO, CO - MY FINAL DESTINATION

I ended my last blog in Estes, Park, CO - nearly a week ago. I left on Wednesday, May 26 and I spent that night in Denver with Beverly Winters, a friend I had met while taking ballroom dance lessons in New Bern, NC. She moved to Colorado nearly three years ago, so we had a lot of catching up to do and she treated me to a delicious dinner at the Washington Park Grill, a great restaurant in Denver. I left there the next morning for Buena Vista, CO. It was a relatively short drive but through a very mountainous area which greatly made me appreciate being a North Carolina "Flatlander!" The views were beautiful but mostly 20 to 30 mph curves with steep inclines and 6 to 7% declines so I didn't have much of an opportunity to appreciate the beauty of those mountains! I had intended to spend a couple of nights in Buena Vista but there wasn't much to do there so I spent the one night and headed to Durango a day early. The campground in Buena Vista was very nice and I've attached a picture of my campsite. Some of you reading this may not have seen my Roadtrek, so this will give you a good glimpse of what I've been driving these past three weeks! The picture of the snow on the mountains that I've attached was taking while I was driving (I know!) over Wolf Creek Pass and at the crest there was snow everywhere. There was nowhere to pull over to take a picture but I wanted to show how close I was to the snow!

I arrived in Durango on Friday, 4 June and this is my final destination. I will be heading home on Sunday but will take a week to get back to North Carolina. My husband and I worked in Durango for 4 1/2 months 10 years ago at the Alpen Rose Campground. Durango is my favorite city - and I've been to many - so it holds a special place in my heart. I spent two nights at that same campground and it's one of the nicest campgrounds I've ever been to. I walked through the downtown area and drove around - refamiliarizing myself with the area. The Animas River runs through Durango and right now it is raging with melted snow from the mountains. You can always see a raft or kayak on the water as rafting is a big business here and many places in this part of Colorado.

I'm in a timeshare now for the rest of the week and it's in a great location right downtown. I can walk to shops, restaurants, etc., instead of driving and trying to find a parking place. I drove to the Durango Ski Resort yesterday where they have many summer activities, including an alpine slide and chairlift, but not much is open except on the weekends until the end of June. It was a pretty drive, at least, with spectacular mountain views! I also stopped at Honeyville, a shop that produces their own honey in flavors like Amaretto, Maple Hazelnut, Strawberry, Cinnamon (their best seller) and it's great on toast or bagels. In fact, I think I'll have a bagel after I finish this blog!

Last night I stopped in at the Diamond Belle Saloon and listened to the Ragtime piano player. It was a fun crowd and just a short walk from here.

Tomorrow I'll be taking the train from Durango to Silverton, a 2 1/2 hour train ride on an historic steam train. I'll spend a couple of hours in Silverton, have lunch, and return by bus. We took this same train ride several times during the summer we lived here and the scenery is spectacular.

Durango is at an elevation of about 6500 feet and I'm slowly getting acclimated to the altitude. Days are warm but nights are refreshingly cool. Shops keep their doors open and most restaurants have outdoor seating since there really aren't many bugs here. It's really a delightful place! More later in the week! I hope you are all well.