Old fashioned Colorado

My favorite thing to do is spend the day hiking and then soak in Trimble Springs at night. Snowmobiling outside of Silverton is next. Shopping is a lot of fun. There are lots of boutiques in old downtown and every type of outdoor sporting goods shop you can imagine.

Quick Tips:

You need a car to visit all the historic sites around Durango. You might need a four-wheel-drive in the winter. The pass to Silverton is often closed in the winter, but in the summer it's a fantastic drive.

Best Way To Get Around:

The most fun way to get around is snowmobiling! We go at least once a winter. There are lots of places and trails near Silverton for snowmobiling and lots of snowcats to pull back country skiers to some fresh powder. The southern Rockies often receive more snow and for a longer season than the upper Rockies. Summer or winter, Durango is a great place.

Iron Horse Inn is a great place to stay in Durango, especially if you want to avoid those stuffy overpriced ski resorts where you get pretty things too look at, but not a lot in the way of character or service. Iron Horse is right off the highway when you’re heading to Durango Ski Resort (formerly known as Purgatory). Watch out for moose crossing the highway as you’re driving!

Most (not all) of Iron Horse’s rooms are two-level lofts, a livingroom/bedroom and bath on the lower level and another bedroom in the upper level with a small flight of stairs connecting them. These quaint loft rooms also have a fireplace (you can purchase burning logs from the hotel or just buy some at the store like we did) and an armoire with cable TV and a refrigerator inside.

Our room was on the backside of the hotel and faced the railroad. Twice each day we got to see the fabled Durango & Silverton Train pass by our door full of waving passengers. There is a nice restaurant and lounge on the property with a gift shop and, most importantly, a penny machine at the front entrance! The indoor pool was undergoing some construction while we were there, but should be done by now. However, I say skip the pool and head just a few miles north on the highway to the hot springs!

The Cascade Village is a ski lodge just a few miles north of Durango Ski Resort (formerly known as Purgatory). It looks much like a Swiss chalet and has a quiet charm. The rooms are small, but comfortable, and contain all the amenities of any ski condo including full kitchens and fireplaces. There are parking garages underneath the lodges so your car stays warm.

Cascade also has an indoor pool and whirlpool and three outdoor whirlpools. I recommend the outdoor spas at night for fantastic stargazing! They have an excellent restaurant on the property, but it is on the expensive side so I would avoid it for casual dining. Save the restaurant for a romantic evening with your significant other.

The one-room condos sleep up to four people with a sofabed and trundle bed (one of those beds that folds down from the wall). However, they do have two and three-bedroom condos if you need more room and privacy. There are hiking trails on the property and all rooms have balconies for viewing the surrounding mountains. Even though the Cascade Village is right off Highway 550, the place is very quiet and you feel miles away from civilization.

For you ski buffs, the lodge is between the ski resorts of Durango and Telluride. It’s also not far from the historic town of Silverton. Highway 550 is one of the more spectacular drives in Colorado and by staying at Cascade Village, you’ll be in one of the most scenic areas of the Southern Rockies.

For excellent brewpub dining you have to go to the Steamworks Brewing Company in old downtown Durango. The place isn’t much to look at unless you like looking at large metal brewing vats, however the food is excellent and their specialty brews are superb.

The menu is American with a variety of burgers and steaks for the carnivore in you. The price isn’t bad either. Don’t forget to take one of their specially designed crowlers full of one of their fine ales home with you. They even have a dilapidated old foosball table, which we enjoyed playing immensely.

I could pull out a thesaurus and use every descriptive word in the English language and still not do justice to the beauty of Mesa Verde. It rivals the Grand Canyon in scale and Macchu Picchu in mystery. All I can say is this is one of the most fascinating places I have ever been.

Since it is a national park, you will need at least one full day to truly get a sense of what Mesa Verde has to offer. You can also camp or RV in the park if you want to spend several days there.

The cliff dwellings are spread out throughout the park so you will need a vehicle to drive from site to site. The largest cliff dwelling is also the most accessible and you can actually wander through it. There are designated places that are roped off to keep people away from delicate areas, but most of it is fairly hands on. There is a twisting trail that leads to this dwelling and it is quite a walk, especially the return trip up hill. I myself am in fairly good shape and I still got a little winded.

Most of the cliff dwellings are not accessible unless you take a guided tour and you may have to sign a release waver saying you are in good enough physical condition to take these tours. This was something I didn’t get to do and I deeply regret it. I think it would be fascinating to see some of the more remote dwellings to learn how the ancient Anasazi lived.

Along with the cliff dwellings, there are many other excavated areas along the roadway that you can stop and visit, small stone homes and storage areas complete with ladders that you can climb on. Several of the cliff dwellings are remote and can only be seen from the scenic stops along the drive through the park. They are all well-marked so you won’t miss anything. There is also a large visitor’s center and gift shop. Mesa Verde is one place I want to go back to and explore in more depth.

Dalton Ranch is a wonderful semi-private golf course just north of Durango on Highway 550. Now I don't know much about golf, I have only played it a few times, but I had a great time at Dalton Ranch and didn't play too badly either.

It's not an easy course, but it's not so difficult that a hack like me couldn't play. I'm more of a driving range person and the range at DR is excellent. I could have hit balls all afternoon. The course itself winds around the Animas River at the base of the San Juan Mountains. I was too busy looking around at the scenery to really concentrate on the game.

The course was brand new when I played there eight years ago and it was in good shape. I would think it's even better now that the vegetation has had a chance to fill in. I haven't been there since only because I don't have the clubs anymore. If you have the time and clubs, definitely go play.

Trimble Hot Springs and Spa is a great place to soak and relax and truly get into vacation mode. The hot springs are divided into three separate areas: warm, hot and volcanic. Trimble is a great place to spend an evening after a day of hiking or skiing in the San Juan Mountains.

The first time we went there, we exited out the men and women’s locker rooms straight to the regular swimming pool. We were there at night and didn’t see the path that led to actual hot springs and we thought the pool was the mineral springs. It’s not. Silly us, we wondered why we didn’t see any people! Just follow the path toward the back of regular pool past the machine room and that’s where you’ll find the hot mineral springs (and people!).

The warm pool is the largest of the three, square in shape and has plenty of seating along the sides with lots of room to move around. The hot pool is a little smaller and rounded and the really hot pool is raised up slightly (like a bathtub) and holds maybe 8-10 (?) people. According to their website, the temperature ranges between 100 and 108 degrees F. Their website also states that Marilyn Monroe soaked there. An interesting bit of trivia.

The cost when we were there was $7 per adult, but I see from their website it’s up to $8.50 now. Still a good price if you ask me (Glenwood Springs’ fee is over $10 unless you go after 9 p.m. at night.) Trimble also has a full service spa, but I have never used it, so check their website for information. I’ve been to Durango several times and this is the one place I went every trip!

Trimble info: 6475 C.R. 207, Durango (east off Highway 550, follow the signs); phone 970-247-0111, summer hours 8am to 11pm, winter 9am to 10pm (11pm weekends).

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is a train as long as its name. If you’ve ridden it, you know what I mean. If you want to step back into the past or if you’re a steam train afficionado, then you must ride the D&S NGR.

The train leaves between 8 and 9am (check their website for schedule and prices) so you don’t have to get up too early. The ride is approximately 3 hours each way with an hour stop in the old mining town of Silverton for lunch. On this trip you will see some of the most amazing scenery in the Southern Rockies. In the summer the train has many cars to carry as many people as possible so it could be crowded on your trip. Fall and spring may be less crowded if you prefer.

You also have a choice of an indoor car (parlor) or an outdoor car. The difference is that the outdoor cars have no glass in the windows. I was told the indoor cars have no air-conditioning either. I personally prefer the outdoor car. You feel more a part of nature because you can feel the wind and smell the smoke and hear the sounds of the mountains.

The train literally chugs along and sometimes you get a little jostled as you slowly wind up the tracks and into the mountains. There are two long stops each way when the train has to refill with water. These stops can be 15 to 45 minutes depending on whether the water towers cooperate. This trip is absolutely wonderful and I think anyone planning a stay in Durango should ride the rails, but I do have some things you might want to consider.

This is a steam engine powered by coal, so the smoke coming out of it is thick, black and stinky. I wore a white T-shirt and by the time we returned to the station, it was speckled with black soot, so don’t wear your best clothes (this might not be the case if you ride in the inside car). The journey is long, something families with small children might want to think about. However, you can ride the train up to Silverton and take a bus back to Durango. This will make it a half-day trip instead of an all day trip (remember though, on the ride back you will be sitting on the opposite side you did from the morning so you will see different scenery, which is good enough reason to take the full day, especially for a photo buff like myself).

Also, the water stops are really long. Even though the stops are in scenic places (one stop is by a ranch with a large pond) you are still stopped and there’s nothing to do while you’re waiting. They won’t let you off the train for safety reasons, so you can’t get off and walk around or anything.

For tickets and info, the D&SNGR phone number is 888-302-0061.

To get to Lake Molas, take Highway 550 toward Silverton and look for the highway signs. This picturesque lake has many fun activities such as fishing, hiking and horseback riding.

Don’t forget to stop in the tiny convenience store and get a soda and rent some fishing equipment from the nice woman that runs the place. We didn’t get her name, but she had all kinds of advice on the area and most importantly, she knew the weather conditions. We were there in July and she told us the week before it actually snowed. She also told us a group of hikers camping in the valley had to come back up, it was so cold. But it was warm sunny weather for us.

My husband fished in the lake while I hiked around it, taking photos from all sides of the lake. He didn’t catch anything, but I managed to catch several fantastic photos. If you get a chance to stop, take the time to walk around and see all the flowers and birds in this beautiful place and visit the lady in the convenience store. If you want to camp, you’ll need to check the web, I don’t know much about it, but there are guided tours and hikes throughout the area if you want something a little more structured.