Ok, time to wrap up this long and drawn out vacation report! We finished up our big road trip with a drive down to Durango to ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. I'd been wanting to go down to Durango and ride the railroad since we moved to Colorado 7 years ago, so when my mom told me that they were planning to do just that, I latched myself and Tyler right on to their plans. :-) This was a super quick trip, drive down, ride the train, and drive back, but I'm so glad we did it!
The drive down was surprisingly easy, again much thanks to my new best friend Elmo. I don't know what they do to those videos, but seriously, they're toddler crack. The drive was beautiful, especially once we got to Wolf Creek Pass.
Tyler and I on top of Wolf Creek Pass
The next morning, we were up bright and early to get some breakfast before heading over to the train station for our departure. The train ride from Durango to Silverton is only about 45 miles but takes 3 1/2 hours. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking. You can do any combination of train and bus for the roundtrip, so we chose to take the bus from Silverton back to Durango, saving two hours on the way back! It's hard to describe the train ride and do it any justice. It's one of those things you really have to experience. We were in the standard enclosed coach car, which was our only choice with Tyler. They also have an open-sided coach car, and premium class cars. The open-sided car would have been great for pictures, but you get hit with cinders from the engine. You get those in the enclosed car, too, if you have your windows open, just not as bad. Tyler was really good for the long train ride. He got a little antsy over the last hour, which was understandable, some of the adults were getting antsy, too! Some of the highlights of the train ride were: watching all the people stop on the side of the road to take pictures as we left Durango; the High Line portion of the route where the train literally clings to the side of the cliff with a rock wall just inches away on one side and a breathtaking drop-off on the other; the bridge crossing where the engineer blows off steam, resulting in a rainbow over the river; and just watching Tyler look out the window and enjoy "ride choo-choo train, ride choo-choo train!" I'm happy to report that we even managed not to lose anything out the window, although one of Tyler's trucks had a very narrow escape. Here are some pictures from the train ride:
Ready to go!
Watching the scenery
Rainbow over the High Bridge
Fun with Papa
Looking back at the train and the scenery
Once we made it to Silverton, we had about two hours to eat lunch and walk around before our bus back to Durango left. Silverton itself wasn't very exciting, but there were a couple of nice little shops. Before we knew it, the train was heading out of town and it was time to "Ride bus! Ride bus!" back to Durango.
Yes, my child is easily entertained.
Tyler was exhausted and passed out cold within ten minutes of leaving Silverton. He slept the whole hour and a half bus ride. It was kind of nice to hold him...he doesn't snuggle with Mommy very often!
The bus ride was almost as beautiful as the train ride had been. The highway follows a similar, but not the same, route as the train. I enjoyed watching it, although I knew I would be driving it myself the next day on the way home. The train ride makes for a long day...around 7 hours round trip...but it was well worth it! The following morning, we got up, packed up the car for the trip home, and sent Grandma and Papa on their way to Mesa Verde, while we headed for home at last. I decided to take the "scenic" route home, coming up what's called the Million Dollar Highway through Ouray and up to Grand Junction to hit I-70 and back to Denver. The drive was well worth it. The views were stunning. The only bummer was that the part that was the most breathtaking was also the part where it was impossible to pull over and take any pictures! Ouray was beautiful as well, and I'd love to get back there to visit sometime, especially since we weren't able to stop at all.
We drove up past Telluride, stopped in Olathe to pick up some fresh sweet corn on the side of the road, and then bypassed Grand Junction. I made a quick detour through Palisade to buy a flat of peaches and a basket of plums, we grabbed some lunch, and then it was the last leg home. Once again, my friend Elmo kept Tyler happy. At least until we neared Georgetown (about 45 minutes or so from home), where he randomly demanded Thomas the tank engine and promptly fell asleep once I put Thomas in!
Heading out to load up the car (he insisted, really! I was barely allowed to touch it to steer!)
Tyler and I on top of Molas Pass
We had a great vacation, with lots of fun memories. We're definitely glad to be back home and settled into a routine, though. Especially me! The lack of naptime was getting a little old... :-)