Rocky Mountain High....

After the fun of the Sand Dunes,
we loaded up and drove to Durango, which was about a hour and half away....

For this part of the trip, we would not be visiting a National Park, but seeing a bit of American ingenuity....the Million Dollar Highway and riding the Durango to Silverton Railroad.

an overlook on the drive to Durango

The Durango to Silverton train is a major attraction in the area.  It's a narrow gauge track, which to me meant it was a very wobbly ride, but apparently is a rare thing in the train world.  You have a couple of options when booking your reservations on the train and I opted for the one where we would take a van up the Million Dollar Highway, then transfer to off road vehicles in Silverton and continue up into the mountains and see abandoned mining camps and the beauty of the mountain passes, and then ride the train back down to Durango....

Wise choice, Melissa....  I tell you why in a while, but what a fun and beautiful adventure!

The Train leaving Durango as we were catching our van

A shop in Silverton...
In winter, the snow piles up to the upper windows!

Fall in the Rockies....

Off Road Advenutres

I love Quakies in the Fall!

Lone Wildlife sighting..
The bow hunt has started 2 days before!

up Minnie Pass

an abandoned mining structure

about halfway up, an old mining shaft entrance

It was cool verging on cold up on the mountain, an anomaly for the trip, as we had been experiencing unseasonably warm weather up to this point, but we were prepared and it actually felt quite nice.  We finished out off road adventures in time to have lunch in Silverton.  I tried elk for the first and last time.  icky.  It is too gamey for me.  

Now it was time for the train...

ALL ABOARD!!!  Our coach was the 2nd one back.

Starting out...
Very, Very Slowly

It was a steam engine, which meant this was not going to be fast trip down the canyon.  We boarded at 2pm...

Water Break for the Train

It started out so fun!

Looking at the scenery,

the rocking of the train,

trying to figure out how to get good photos from a moving train,

and hanging out with other passengers...

Go, Engine Go!
I think I can, I think I can...

looking back from our car..

The Caboose...

4 hours later,

my excitement had left the train.

I was sticking my camera out the window and hoping for good shots,

at the multiple stops, I was sticking my head out the window for specific shots,

and I was tired of the rocking....

the inside of our cell, oops I mean car.

I would of been insane if after riding up the canyon for 4 plus hours....

a brief lunch break...

then 4 plus hours back down the canyon.

I am SOOOOOOOOO glad we did the jeep/train adventure!!!!!

It was a long, but mostly enjoyable day.....

Still rocking...

and not in a good way.

Melissa