Colorado Adventure

After the memorial service for my mom, when most family had left town, our daughter Kristin joined us for a much needed trip to Colorado. With temps in Albuquerque soaring near 100, we looked forward to cooler weather in the mountains.

Kristin had never been to Colorado, and her birthday was less than a week away. We wanted to take her to see the Rockies and create a special birthday adventure for her.

First stop along the way was to Aztec Ruins National Monument, an archaeological site in northwest New Mexico about 10 miles from the Colorado border. This sacred site of the Pueblo people (formerly known as Anasazi) is regarded as part of their migration journey.

We walked their ancient pathways and discovered structures the date back more than 900 years, including the ancestral Pueblo Great House and multilevel communal dwellings constructed of sandstone, mud, and stones. The half-mile trail of Aztec Ruins holds ancient doorways and intact ancestral Pueblo rooms. We didn’t stay too long as it was the middle of a very hot day, and we were anxious to get to Durango.

Once in Durango, we set out to explore the historic downtown area, see the railroad yards, visit some shops, and find a place for a cold drink. The Strater Hotel, built in the late 1880s, has a wild west saloon called The Diamond Belle, which was just calling our names.

We ate dinner casually at Grassburger, a family-run company with only four restaurants (two in Durango, two in Albuquerque) then hit up more shops. Kristin was loving the vibe of historic Durango. Oh, so many souvenirs! And while the two old geezers went to bed early, Kristin ended up enjoying live ukulele music, of all things, at a nearby watering hole.

After a hearty breakfast we headed off for the hour-long drive to Silverton, where we would stay the next two nights. On the way, just off Highway 550, we came across Pinkerton Hot Springs. It was settled by James Pinkerton in the 1880s and prospered as a hot springs resort. Many believed that hot springs were a miracle cure and the waters possessed healing powers. The resort ultimately burned down, but its remains served as a speakeasy in the 1920s.

Continuing north up U.S. 550 on the San Juan Scenic Byway, the section from Durango to Silverton loosely parallels the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and climbs two mountain passes: Coal Bank Pass (10,640 ft) and Molas Pass (10,970 ft).

Molas Lake is one of our favorite places in the area to camp. This visit was just a quick stop, but we were lucky to witness a bald eagle circling the lake looking for his lunch (see eagle in top of tree in photo below).

In Silverton we checked out the train that had arrived in the center of town — its occupants were out exploring the shops and restaurants before the train left again for Durango.

We then headed a few miles out of town to the Old Hundred Gold Mine, one of the highlights of the trip. The guided tour takes you deep into the once thriving gold mine to experience what life was like for miners and to learn about the history of prospecting and developing veins on Galena Mountain. The cool and constant 48 degrees inside the mine meant jackets! (we couldn’t help but think of the 100 degree temps in ABQ at the time).

The tour guide was fantastic, and invited people to help with demonstrations of equipment. Kristin was one he “invited” a few times as he had inadvertently learned this was her birthday trip and she’d never been to Colorado. She may have been embarrassed, but he made sure she found a few silver bits as souvenirs as we were panning for gems as part of the tour. It was a really cool tour that we’d highly recommend.

Our dinner at Handlebars Food & Saloon was just OK, but its unique western decor and fun atmosphere made up for the food.

The next morning started at 7:30 am for breakfast burritos before heading to Rock Pirates Adventures to pick up our Polaris General side by side rental. We were heading off for a half day adventure on The Alpine Loop — the gem of the San Juan Mountains. Requiring 4×4 high clearance vehicles, the gravel and rocky roads lead you into the high alpine meadows and forest, up above the timberline into the tundra, and over two high elevation passes.

We explored the ghost town of Animas Forks and saw lots of abandoned mining camps, but the true star of the show was nature in all her glory: numerous waterfalls, cute marmots and other wildlife, fields of wildflowers and geologic features such as jagged volcanic peaks, glacier-carved streams and canyons.

Kristin, who is… not fond of heights shall we say, got a bit quiet in some places on the route as the narrow trails often only allowed one 4×4 vehicle to get by. And getting too close to the steep drop-offs was something we all wanted to avoid. Below are a couple of short video clips that will give you an idea of the trail ride to and from Engineer Pass.

A favorite spot for us was at California pass (12,960 ft) overlooking the glacier waters of Lake Como, about a 1,000 feet below.

The tougher, scarier drive was to Engineer Pass (12,800 ft), but the views at the top were spectacular. The air was crisp and cold. We were freezing up in the whipping winds, so didn’t stay long. Plus, we had only rented the Polaris for four hours and already knew we’d be late getting it back. We wished we could have stayed longer. We can’t wait to do this again and try our luck on some of Colorado’s other high mountain passes.

Back in town, a lot dustier and a bit wind-burned, we had a great lunch at Thee Pitts “Again” — a restaurant made famous for its BBQ, and featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri.

The rest of the afternoon (after some naps) was spent on shopping and hunting for just the right souvenirs. Dinner was at the excellent Eureka Station located on notorious Blair Street — once crowded with saloons, gambling halls, and bordellos, that rang with the raucous clamor of this active mining town.

We drove home the next morning, taking a different route that brought us to Pagosa Springs for lunch. We watched the rafters and tubers on the San Juan River that runs right through town. We all wished we had time (and proper attire) to go tubing as it looked so fun. Perhaps another trip!