Road Trip: Long Weekend in Durango, CO

Evan and I wanted to tack on a mini-trip after our family visit so that we could explore a new part of Colorado and have some one-on-one time.  We picked Durango because we wanted to visit Mesa Verde National Park and I wanted to take a scenic drive through the mountain towns of Colorado.

Our Itinerary: Thursday, August 24 - Sunday, August 27

Thursday, August 24

We left my BIL's house around 8:00am for a long day of driving.  Without stopping, the drive would've been 7.5 hours but we pulled off many times for picture-taking, food, gas, bad weather, and to let people pass.  I don't know why people feel the need for speed when they're winding around tight curves and hanging off the edge of a mountain!  We weren't in a rush so it took us about twelve hours total.  

We went west on I-70 to Grand Junction and then south on U.S. 550 taking the Million Dollar Highway from Ouray to Silverton and the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway from Silverton to Durango.

Stopping for a quick break on the Million Dollar Highway:

The weather really started to deteriorate when we were about two hours outside of Durango.  While I was standing outside taking this picture there was a roll of thunder so startling that I scurried back to the shelter of the car like my scaredy cat Gretchen runs under the bed.  

After the storm:

We rented a very nice two-level condo in Downtown Durango but I wasn't overly impressed with our experience in town.  First of all, our condo building had one of those automatic fragrance sprayers in the lobby and it REEKED.  I had to hold my breath every time we went in/out of the building.  Very unpleasant.  

Also, we noticed that there's a very rowdy element to Durango.  There are a lot of bars and therefore, a lot of late-night partying, drinking, and noise.  Additionally, it's very touristy.  Everywhere has a touristy element but I didn't really get a sense of an authentic community outside of that. And, every meal we had in town was terrible!  

That being said, it's really pleasant and beautiful during the daytime.  The Animas River also flows through town and there's a seven-mile trail that adjoins it.  I'm sure you'd find plenty to do if you go to Durango to hike and/or fish.  We opted out of taking the famous train ride from Durango to Silverton because it's exorbitantly expensive and makes for a very long day. One way is 3.5 hours.  We benefitted from similar views in the car on the way down and also on the way out of the city.  

Friday, August 25

Today we went to Mesa Verde National Park, only forty minutes from Durango.  The drive there was gorgeous and the park, itself, was gorgeous.  I had the complete wrong impression of Mesa Verde.  I only ever pictured the famous cliff dwellings so I had no idea how much amazing flora and fauna surround the area.  The park is vast and frankly, we got far more out of the scenery than we did out of the cliff dwellings.

On the way we pulled off on this side road to La Plata Canyon:

Inside the park:

Some artwork outside the Visitor's Center:

At Park Point the highest point in the park:

There were charred trees from wildfires all over the place.  It added an eerie but interesting element to the landscape.

The famous Cliff Palace:

It's extraordinary, of course, but made a little less so when you discover that it's been restored since its discovery in the late 1800's.

As you can see, people are welcome to explore the Cliff Palace up close but only through ranger-guided tours.  We did not do a tour because it was a) very hot and b) the hike to/from the cliff dwellings is treacherous and not for the faint of heart.    

We even saw some wild turkeys, not to be confused with the bourbon:

And yet another chipmunk!  Those cute critters are all over the place.

Another view of the Cliff Palace:

There are cliff dwellings throughout the park - big and small, well-hidden and visible, well-preserved and falling apart.  I will say that the more you see, the more they start to blend together.  

Summit Tree House, the "best-preserved" of the cliff dwellings:

And some nearby turkey vultures:

The indigenous people who made their homes in Mesa Verde were an exceptional bunch.  They had everything they needed there - water, food, and a good climate.  The shade of those cliffs was a good antidote to the heat.  They sure did pick a beautiful place to call home.  

A magnificent view on the way out:

  

Saturday, August 26

We were lazy bums so we got a very late start to the day.  

We drove a little ways from Durango to James Ranch for lunch.  While there we had our third and final set of delicious burgers while in Colorado.  This was a literal farm-to-table meal at a picnic bench under the shade of a tree.  It was an extremely pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Not far from James Ranch is Pinkerton Hot Springs.  We got out and touched the water to benefit from its healing properties but were surprised at how not hot the water was.  It was more lukewarm, almost cool to the touch.

   

Sunday, August 27

Today was based entirely around getting back to Denver so we could fly home in the evening.  We were pleasantly surprised, however, by how beautiful the drive back was.  We took Route 160 and then Route 285 and passed through some of the most awe-inspiring scenery of the trip.  Truly breathtaking.  We had amazing mountain views up until the last thirty minutes of the drive when we arrived in greater Denver.

I wish I could've taken more pictures but there weren't a lot of opportunities for pull-offs.  You also realize at some point that no picture is ever going to capture what must be seen in person.

We drove through Pagosa country, San Juan National Forest, Rio Grande National Forest, and finally, Pike National Forest.  If you're limited on time but want to drive through some amazing scenery, I highly recommend the routes we took to/from Durango.    

I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to return to Durango but the surrounding mountains, flora, and fauna are just amazing.  I'm glad we made that trek for them.

A Solar Eclipse of the Heart in Colorado

We had such a great time visiting with my brother-in-law two years ago that we thought it was time to make a return trip.  So far, this summer has seen some repeats - Montreal and now, Colorado - but we're also changing things up.  First of all, we attended a comedy festival in Montreal - different from the last time - and secondly, because we're now more familiar with Colorado, we took a more nuanced approach to some of the things we did two years ago.  We're also tacking on a previously unknown (to us) part of Colorado at the end of our week-long trip following our family bonding.

This trip was more about delving deeper into the great outdoors that Colorado has to offer.  We're avid hikers now, which is a shift from two years ago.  We definitely spent a lot of time in the car this trip but we also did some touring on our feet.

Our activities were spread out in a relaxed manner so instead of listing what we did day by day, I'm going to present the best of our trip.

Travel dates: Saturday, August 19 - Wednesday, August 23

First of all, how lucky is my brother-in-law?  This is the (zoomed-in) view of the mountains from his backyard:

Highlights: 

Downtown Denver: 

The first time we were in Colorado we got almost no sense of what Downtown Denver was like.  We grabbed a quick bite and then left for a comedy show in a neighboring suburb.  This time the three of us took a quick stroll through Larimer Square and then a longer stroll down the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall.  I think we're still missing out on everything that Downtown Denver is known for - we have yet to visit any of its world-class museums - but I think all of us agree that Colorado is more about its amazing environs than it is about its cities.

Adorable Larimer Square:

Busy and full of chain-store shopping, 16th Street Pedestrian Mall:

We had great burgers and even better waffle fries at Illegal Burger:

Solar Eclipse:

Evan and I got up and decided to return to the Milavec Reservoir for some exercise before we witnessed the solar eclipse that had the entire continental U.S. in a frenzy.  It's a manageable 1.2 mile loop that you can do as many times as you want. There's a beautiful view of the mountains and we also spied a magnificent bird of prey.

The solar eclipse had already started by the time Evan and I got back from our walk.  We didn't even realize it until we put on the special glasses that my BIL had ordered for us.  Since I've never participated in an event like this before I really didn't know what to expect.  I was surprised by how bright it remained, even with 92% totality.  I did notice a difference though.  It was like I was wearing sunglasses but I wasn't.  

Evan was able to get some pictures by putting his glasses over the camera lens.  I think the experts discouraged doing that but...oh well!  It worked.

Rocky Mountain National Park:

The last time we visited my BIL the three of us drove through a portion of the park but didn't get far because the road was closed due to snow.  This time around Evan and I were on our own but the weather was also a lot more cooperative.  There wasn't any snow to thwart our progress.  There was some cloudiness and the occasional raindrop but we really lucked out with some peeks of sunshine.

We also went inside The Stanley this time.  It's famous because its exterior served as the haunted hotel in The Shining. The movie was not filmed at this location, however; we were reminded of that fact when we went inside and spoke to the concierge.  She did tell us that Dumb and Dumber was filmed there (I assume the Aspen scenes)!  That was so much more exciting to two Jim Carrey fans, let me tell ya.  She also mentioned that Jim Carrey stayed in the hotel during filming and something, we assume paranormal, happened that he wouldn't talk about it but he did say that he'd never stay there again. Now I really want to know what happened!

Evan and I discussed starting out our next Colorado visit with a stay at the Stanley so that we could have a couple of days to do the entire park, which is too vast to do in a few hours.  We've visited in the spring and now summer so maybe next time we'll check out Colorado's foliage game.

We drove as far in as Bear Lake, only a third of the way into the park, but boy did we have a ball!

Boo!  A herd of elk:

Bear Lake:

Winner winner, chicken dinner!  Does this look like a postcard or what?  We couldn't believe it.  The sun came out at just the right moment for us to get this shot.  It was incredible.  We met a family at this exact spot (there are bear paw markers all around the lake, this is at #12) and they told us that this scene is on the back of the Colorado quarter.

Alvin, Simon, or Theodore?

I don't know what kind of bird this is but it's certainly beautiful!

I thought this couple looked so sweet sitting on this bench:

More elk!

King of the forest:

Pikes Peak:

On the way there we stopped in Colorado Springs for delicious burgers at Skirted Heifer.  They do something special and unique with the cheese so that it's a literal skirt around the burger.  It makes for very messy eating but these were top-notch burgers and I love the business model of the place.  The beef is hormone and antibiotic-free, grass-fed, organic, etc.  All of their serving materials are recyclable as well.  Fab!

This random street art caught my eye:

I was more impressed with Colorado Springs this time around.  There might be more than meets the eye there.  I'd go back.  

     

The three of us took the famous cog train up Pike's Peak last visit but we weren't able to reach the summit due to snow.  This time around we drove up and we made it all the way to the top!  The weather wasn't ideal but it made for an interesting ride. We actually got pummeled with hail at the summit.  Needless to say, we were anxious to get back down the mountain.

Ha!

There are signs in every national park that say to not feed wildlife because it threatens their survival if they become dependent on humans.  Well...we saw park rangers, you know, the people who are supposed to set an example, feeding this cute little chipmunk.  *shakes head*

We did it!!!

View from the top:

I really wanted to see some bighorn sheep when we got up there but no such luck.  And then as we started our descent and pulled off at a scenic viewpoint, lo and behold:

This is about the time the sheep was like ok, paparazzi, that's enough!

And then, so cat-like, waiting for us to go away:

  

Some better weather views just a few hundred feet down from the summit:

And then because seeing a bighorn sheep wasn't exciting enough (it definitely was), we saw a yellow-bellied marmot!  SO CUTE!

On the way down:

Ice cream:

Yes, I'm making ice cream a highlight of the trip.  We had a lot of ice cream last time and this time was no exception.  Evan thinks it's something about the altitude.  Haha.  Likely story!  But I've determined that the best ice cream around is not far from my BIL.  It's Sweet Cow.  They have really creative and delicious flavors like cookie jar (vanilla with eight different kinds of cookies mixed in) and nutter butter (self-explanatory).  SO GOOD.      

Red Rocks:

We drove past/through Boulder on our way to Red Rocks and saw some breathtaking views of the mountains.

Last time we were in town we saw a concert at Red Rocks.  This time, we went for a 1.5 mile hike on the Trading Post Trail. That doesn't sound like much and it isn't but because of the rough terrain and elevation, it felt a lot harder.  The scenery was as amazing as we remembered.

  

We had a wonderful time with my BIL and a magical time in Colorado.  I know we'll be back again and soon.  

I will say that I find the overdevelopment of greater Denver to be distressing.  It's environmentally and aesthetically destructive.  There are prairie dog communities all over the place and these developers aren't obligated to relocate them; consequently, they build on top of them.  It's horrendous.  I asked my BIL about it and basically, the only time that the developers do the right thing is when the community or town comes together and forces their hand.  It's costly and time-consuming because wildlife experts have to come and catch them.  We actually drove by a golf course in Boulder and I could see a bunch of humane traps set up.  I really wish there was a federal or state law that protected the prairie dogs.  They're extremely intelligent animals but intelligent or not, they have a right to thrive.    

Stay tuned for the follow-up blog about our road trip to/from Durango and our adventures in southwest Colorado.