Durango Vacation 2014

Peter borrowed Steven's hat at the rest stop.

Wednesday morning I awoke bright and early. We had breakfast and loaded the car and set off when our car's clock read 8:00 exactly. It was a long drive. We watched "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Megamind" on our car's DVD player along the way, and stopped at a park in Del Norte for lunch and a chance to stretch our legs. We made it to the Lightner Creek campground just outside Durango around 3:00 in the afternoon, arriving at the same time as Grandma Kathy and Grandpa John who came up from Phoenix, AZ. We pitched our tent and set up camp and went swimming before returning to a delicious dinner of ribs prepared by Grandma Kathy. We played games and eventually settled down for the night.

The Rio Grande ran right behind the park at Del Norte.

Outside the sweet shop in Durango

Thursday morning we went into Durango and looked around. We toured the railroad museum behind the depot, and enjoyed looking at the model trains and the real trains and other cool things there We even watched a short movie about the history of the steam engines in the Durango area. We returned to camp for lunch before setting out again to go river rafting.

The model trains at the railroad museum.

River rafting was an adventure. I'd never gone before, but Steven's last venture rafting with the youth in the ward had resulted in an overturned raft, and a long time in icy water, so I was a bit wary at the beginning. We arrived at the tent in an Albertsons shopping center, emptied our pockets, and filled out consent forms. Then we boarded a bus that took us a little ways up the Animas River. When we arrived at the river, we put on life jackets, making sure they were secure, listened to the guide's instructions, then boarded the blue rafts. Hannah and John sat in the very front of the raft; Hannah was anxious to get a lot of action. Steven and I started out on the second row with Josh between us, and on the third row Peter sat between Grandma Kathy and Grandpa John. Another lady and her young son sat on the fourth row. Paddles were passed out, we wedged our feet under the seat in front of us, and we set off with our guide in the very back of the raft wielding the long paddles that controlled the motion of the raft for the most part. We were in a group of three rafts that set off down the river together. Every once in a while our guide would call out, "Forward two!" or "Take a break!" and we would follow his instructions to the best of our ability. We started out drifting down the river which was running high and looked muddy from the Spring run-off. After a gentle beginning, we began to hit some more dips and we got splashed, a very wet roller coaster ride. At one point we pulled over to the side, Josh and Peter got out and were walked down to another point where we picked them up again after a wild ride over some more dangerous rapids. A little later we pulled over again for a little break, where we climbed out, ate chips and salsa and some sliced fruit and drank lots of water before climbing back in for the rest of the trip. After a few hours, we pulled over a final time, boarded the bus, and returned to the tent at Albertsons. Our boat never capsized, no one fell out, but we were wet and exhausted, and we had had a lot of fun!

(Since our camera isn't water proof we have no pictures from our experience, but there are pictures of what it was like here. The movie above is Peter describing it from his point of view.)

The family at the rest stop on the way to Silverton.

On Friday after breakfast we returned to Durango and hopped on a charter bus for a trip to Silverton. Along the way our driver and tour guide talked about different sights and things along the way. We had a short rest stop at one point where we got out and enjoyed some gorgeous scenery. At Silverton, we ate a picnic lunch, then wandered around town looking at the shops and things. We had a lot of fun taking pictures in the train yard, then we had ice cream and funnel cakes at a nice little shop there. Eventually we boarded the train for the three hour ride back to town. The thing that stood out most to me about Silverton and the train ride was how absolutely gorgeous the scenery was. The train followed the river much of the way, but the mountains, the trees, everything was beautiful. As we looked at the river from our open air car, we had a new appreciation for the rapids we saw, and imagined what it would have been like to have rafted this part of the river.

The Durango Silverton steam engine

Silverton

The train yard in Silverton

On the train ride from Silverton to Durango

The view from the train

Grandma Kathy took the kids swimming again that evening while the rest of the adults relaxed from the long day. After an easy dinner of stew, we played some card games, then retired to bed.

Saturday morning we went back to Durango with the purpose of finding some souvenirs to take home. We wandered in and out of several shops looking at toys, clothes, and nic nacs. The kids enjoyed a tasty treat at a fudge shop. Finally Josh picked out a hydro-power kit and Peter got a perpetual motion drinking bird. Hannah and John chose to each get a bag of Jelly Beans from a candy shop. We returned to camp to take down the tent, eat lunch, and then set off on our journey home. After filling the tank with gas, we drove straight through without stopping. We watched "Oliver" and "Charlotte's Web" and finally arrived home at 7:45pm. We skipped dinner (we had snacked plenty in the car) unloaded everything, and went to bed.

It was a great vacation. I appreciate Grandma Kathy who planned everything and provided most of the meals for us. The towns of Durango and Silverton were interesting and fun to visit. Next time we head out in that direction, I would love to be able to see Mesa Verde as well.
 

Outside the fudge shop in Durango

To see all 107 pictures taken on our vacation, click here!