This is STOP 11, the 30th, 31st, 32nd, and 33rd days of our ten week cross country fall adventure in 2021! Here is a link to our previous stop in Taos, NM
The Drive from Taos, NM to Durango, CO
Taos NM to Durango CO
After another filling breakfast at Casa Benavides B&B, we get on the road heading out north on US 64 west. We are going to take the scenic drive, so right after the bridge over the gorge, we get onto West Rim Road to Carson, then go west on NM 567 West to US 285 south. The scenery is really picking up and gets even more beautiful after we get on NM 96 west in Gallina. Just south of La Jara, we get on US 550 north for another 228 miles. We aren’t going to drive straight to Durango, we plan to stop off at a few Indian ruins to break up the drive. We had considered going to Chaco Canyon but recent reviews said the unpaved roads were in really bad condition and suggested going to the two places we do go visit.
Salmon Ruins
Just outside of Bloomfield, NM, the Salmon Ruins (pronounced “Sal-mon”, not “Sam-mun” like the fish) are owned and maintained by a private non-profit organization. Ancestral Pueblo Indians built this village around 1088 and lived there until 1288. The buildings are of the same architecture as those in Chaco Canyon. After being abandoned for some time, in the 1400’s Athabaskan-speaking hunters and gatherers expanded into the village, reconstructing and adding on. The left some time in the 1500’s at which point, in the 1600’s, the Navajo repurposed it as a defensive fort. Again, they were abandoned a second time in the 1700’s.
In early 1960, the Salmon family purchased the land and built their own homestead with the express purpose of helping to preserve and protect the ruins. Sold to the non-profit organization in 1969, the excavation was done primarily between 1972 and 1978. Many of the rooms were excavated, then filled back in to help preserve the walls.
The original structure was one giant building with 275-300 rooms across 3 stories that interconnect with an elevated tower kiva in its central portion, and a great kiva in its plaza. Kiva’s are characterized by their circular shape with the floor “underground” that is used for both religious and political gatherings. They are typically 12 to 15 feet in diameter and often have rectangular stone pits and raised alters on the inside and no roof. As other groups took over the area, the original building underwent many renovations, dividing many of the original large rooms into smaller rooms and emplacement of more than 20 small kivas into pueblo rooms and plaza areas.
We also take time to tour the remaining historic buildings of the Salmon Ranch Homestead.
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Another 10 miles north we get to the Aztec Ruins National Monument, sort of right in the center of the town. They are mis-named in that they were not built by the Aztecs, but by the Pueblo Indians. The building site is the same architecture and era as the others in this Chaco Canyon region. This building consists of over 400 interconnected rooms over 3 stories. While the Salmon Ruins site was mostly left as is, many of the rooms, walls and kivas here have been reconstructed to better see what they would have looked like. The half mile walking tour allows us to walk through and between several rooms. Oh what a difference national park funds can vs a private non-profit!
The General Palmer Hotel
There are three historic hotels still in business in Durango. Last time we stayed at The Strater Hotel, so this time we choose to experience the Victorian era General Palmer Hotel . Built in 1898 by General Palmer, the hotel today consists of only 39 rooms and each room is unique. When you make a reservation, you choose the exact room you want. We step in the lobby and it is like stepping back in time. We check-in and learn there is an elevator to help move your luggage to the upper floors. It has one of those heavy folding gates as well as a solid door, but luggage is about all that can fit into this tiny space (maybe 4′ x 3′). This is the one and only time we choose to use it – we take the stairs every time after that to and from our room. Our king room does not disappoint and is kept to furnishing of the period. (FYI, the third historic hotel in downtown Durango is The Rochester Hotel)
Dinner at Cuckoo’s Chicken House & Watering Hole
We ask the front desk about restaurants with a bar and a TV that is open on a Monday – World Series playoffs again plus Monday Night Football. We opt for a place directly across the street, Cuckoo’s Chicken House and Watering Hole and easily get a seat at the bar where bartender Lori greets us. Most of the menu is some type of chicken dish and it is really good. We meet bar buddy Rebecca, an artist – and between the two of them, we get “the skinny” on other restaurants, places to see and things to do that weren’t necessarily on our radar. We learn that Cuckoo’s is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesday – so while the food and atmosphere was great, it will be a once and done for us.
Day 2 – Durango-Silverton Railroad & Silverton
With this unusually early cold front descending over the western US, we’ve been watching the forecast like every 2-3 hours. Of course, THE day we’ve scheduled our scenic railroad trip is THE day the coldest weather is projected and snow is already falling in Silverton. It is just raining here in Durango, but with the cold and rain, there is a “bite” into the air. The winter coat and gloves are going to come in handy today! We wait in line to pick up our tickets at the will-call window and several people are trying to reschedule to another day, which is not an option. They are booked solid for the remainder of the season (about another 4 weeks). We’ve taken the scenic Durango-Silverton Railroad before and while we wish it was warmer and the sun was out, we look at it as a chance to experience the beauty of snow falling. We explore the train museum until it is time to board the train.
We are on Alamosa, one of the 2 “parlor” cars – which means 21 and older only, and we can buy drinks on the 3.5 hour ride up and back. Normally there is only one parlor car and it is the last car on the train so you can stand on the back platform and really see great views. With two parlor cars, we are unfortunately on the 2nd to last car. Our host and guide today is an engaging guy who keeps us entertained with great train and scenery stories. We meet some other passenger sitting near us at the back of the car. Kelly & Gina are from Georgia and Cameron & Brooke are from California. Gina and Harrison connect over their love of photography and go out on the back platform quite often to get photos. The more we ascend, the harder the snow is falling – and it really is a magical time.
The train service through the San Juan Mountains to the historic mining town of Silverton has been in continuous operation since 1882. We have to stop twice on the way up to get more water (to produce steam) and once on the way back down. We go around switchbacks such as horseshoe curve, cross high bridges and see the Animas River Gorge. We hear that “Animas” means “lost soul” and legend has it that all but one of a group of Spanish missionaries disappeared in the waters of this river and their bodies were never found. So much more top see, learn and experience, but we aren’t going to spoil it for you.
About 10 minutes outside of Silverton, one of the conductors announces that the power is out in Silverton and only 2 restaurants have generators. We have a 2 hour layover in Silverton and they are prepared to get us all fed in that time. When we arrive, there is about 6″ of slushy snow on the ground and it is a whopping 24 degrees. Most passengers rush to get in line at one of the two restaurants, but we decide to just walk the town (about 12 blocks) and see if any souvenir shops are open and hope the lines at the restaurants are way down with like 30 minutes to go. It has stopped snowing, but with it already melting, the streets are wet and we are constantly jumping over 12 inch rivers of melted snow. We are both very grateful we are wearing our waterproof boots! A few gift shops are open with cash registers running off car batteries or only taking cash. One of the shop owners gives us a tip that the small grocery store at the end of town has pre-made sandwiches. We hoof it over there and pay cash for our sandwiches and bag of chips (smart move since as we eventually head back to the train, some folks are still waiting in line at the restaurants).
The trip back to Durango is the same route, but just from a different vantage point. There are some rock formations and such more easily seen on the way back.
Dinner at The Roost
Tonight we eat at the sister restaurant of Cuckoo’s, The Roost, where our bartender Chad takes care of us while our bar buddy (his room-mate), Robbie gives us more information about the area. We briefly meet another couple from the Denver area, but they have already eaten and are just getting an after dinner spiked coffee at the bar. On both Robbie’s and Chad’s recommendation, we order their rich macaroni & cheese, so we split a dish and can’t even finish it. It has bacon bits and sauteed chicken In it – and YUM! Nancy orders a bottle of red wine knowing that whatever she doesn’t finish, she can take back to the room for another time. When we get back to the room, she puts the wine on the window sill to keep it more chilled than it would be if it were just in the room…and a few days later, when we leave, we realized we left it behind. NOTE TO SELF: Bring Post-It notes to leave yourself a reminder on the door about something like this.
Day 3 – A Day Exploring Historic Durango
We start our day with breakfast at the Lone Spur Café (the free hotel breakfast is just oatmeal and a muffin – they can’t get staff to support their normal hot breakfast). A late breakfast paired with a robust, delicious stuff-yourself breakfast probably means we will only do one more meal later in the day.
Next we take a stroll on part of the River Walk along the Animas River (thank you bar buddies!) The air is still crisp with a slight bite, but walking helps to counter the chill. The River Walk is right on the edge of town so we get to see the town from a different vantage point and locate restaurants that have been recommended so now we know where they are.
We spend most of the day meandering through shops and reading menus posted outside of the numerous restaurants.
As anticipated, we have a late lunch at the Old Tymer’s Café where we thoroughly enjoy some Jalapeno Hush Puppies and a Cheesesteak.
To end our day out, we head to the historic Gaslight Theatre to enjoy the newest James Bond Movie, No Time to Die.
Durango CO Gaslight Theater
Day 4 – A Day Exploring Telluride & Mountain Valley via the San Juan Skyway
It is time for another scenic drive so we hop in the car and head up the western side of the San Juan Skyway to Telluride. The San Juan Skyway is actually a 235 mile loop that takes you through historic mining towns, intoxicating scenery and breathtaking twists and turns. The entire loop would take approximately 7 hours – but as mentioned, we are only going to Telluride today. We’ll take the eastern side tomorrow when we leave.. We head from Durango to the town of Cortez. We could divert to see Mesa Verde National Park, but we’ve seen it before and the cold, wet weather gives us an excuse to skip it this time. We pass through the ranching community of Delores, then over Lizard Head Pass and land in Telluride.
We learn they are at the tail end of the summer season and most things will completely shut down after this coming weekend for about a month when the winter ski season kicks into full gear. Some restaurants and stores have already closed and we walk all around town and don’t see anything that grabs us.
We decide to take the free Gondola over to Mountain Valley. The Gondola was originally built to keep down car emissions between Telluride & Mountain Valley but has now become a popular tourist attraction unto itself, shuttling about 2.8 million visitors per year between the two communities. The 13 minute trip is FREE and takes you up and over 10,500 foot Coonskin Ridge. You get a bird’s eye view of both towns as well as the San Juan Mountains and mesas in the distance.
Mountain Valley has a completely different personality than Telluride (not necessarily better, just different). Telluride has a lot of historic building and Mountain Valley is more modern. More restaurants and shops are open. We wander into Crazy Elk Pizza where our bartender Nikki gives us her full attention since we are the ONLY patrons. We order a delicious pizza (the crust was really awesome) and watch part of a bizarre horror movie (just watch, no sound – we have to make up the dialogue together from time to time). Nikki just moved to area about 3 weeks ago so we end up telling her more about the area than she can tell us.
Our Evening Back in Durango
The evening starts out rather typically for us with a stop at the Steamworks Brewing Company. The place is packed and we end up at the outside bar with heaters blaring to keep us comfortable. Harrison settles on their “One Wit Wonder” and Nancy opts for the “Colorado Kolsch”. They normally only serve appetizers outside but bartender just says, without us asking, “what the heck, go ahead and order food”. We see an enormous burger go by and decide to split one.
The group outside is talkative and friendly. One guy ends up picking up the tab of the two parties next to us. We start talking with one of them, a woman named Sonia who is genuinely appreciative that this stranger picked up her entire tab. She make a comment like “I feel bad that I drank all the beer and don’t have to pay for any”. Nancy laughs and says “well, you can always buy me a beer” – to which she calls the bartender and orders both of us another beer that she says to put on her tab. We both tell her it isn’t necessary but she says she is in a ‘pay it forward” mood. We talk for quite a while. She is a nurse and we ask her for the grossest story she has from work – and her story doesn’t disappoint. She calls it the “Dick Cheney” story and let’s just say it would be inappropriate to re-tell it (and it turns out it’s really the Dick Chain-y story). As she’s leaving, she tells us about a cute little speak-easy we should stop at before going back to our hotel room and even gives us the day’s secret password to enter.
We find the speak-easy, however, the sound of karaoke from the bar next door is like a magnet to Nancy and she heads straight into the Wild Horse Saloon. This is a full-on country/western bar and dance hall (not a typical place we would normally go to). The first few singers are amazingly talented and we get to watch a lot of talented dancers shuffling across the floor. Our bartender keep us in beer – sorry we don’t remember her name (very rare for us). The entire rotation of singers takes 90 minutes. Nancy doesn’t normally sing country, but she finds a song or two in her repertoire to fit in. While there are some very talented singers – there are unfortunately more bad ones singing off key and/or off beat. Regardless, we have a blast, we end the night with the entire bar singing “Country Roads” and we close it down.
Our Verdict
Durango is our kind of place. Even though we have now been here twice, we would gladly stay again, perhaps even longer. There is so much to do in the area and there are plenty of restaurants to keep us engaged.
Next Up
Here is a link to our previous stop in Taos, NM
We are off to Glenwood Springs, CO – a place we made a note to see the next time we passed this way (and now we are)
You are leaving when we arrive tomorrow in Durango! We will follow your footsteps especially the bars and restaurants! We left Manitou Springs/Pike’s Peak today…stopped at Great Sand Dunes. Disaster hotel arrival at the “lodge” which was really a dive motel, and headed for Del Norte, CO and found just your type of old 1874 hotel “Windsor Hotel”. Good travels!