Vacation part one

Back at the beginning of the year David and I sat down and talked about what and where we wanted to go for our summer vacation. I remembered as a kid going to the Rocky Mountains with my parents & sister and thinking WOW this is so beautiful here! So the Rocky's it was, but David being ever my smart husband said that since we practically had to drive through Mesa Verde why not stop there first. Good idea!! I'd been there also as a kid and wanted to see that again. When doing some Internet searching on these areas we came across the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad day trip. Hum....trains! small children! Cooool!!!!! Durango was only about a 30 minute drive from our campsite in Mesa Verde so we thought that this would be just the thing to start our 2009 vacation off with a bang! My parents and my nephew Michael came along for the first part of our vacation and had a great time with us.

The scenery was breathtaking...

Durango is at 6,512 feet above sea level and by the time you arrive in Silverton your sitting comfortably at 9,305 feet elevation. All I can say is don't plan on running because you will pass out. :) jk!!

If anyone was wondering what a narrow gauge is...here yeah go;
Narrow gauge rails are three feet (36 inches) apart, while standard gauge rails are four feet, 8 1/2 inches (56 1/2 inches), which is a standard based on Roman chariot wheels. The D&RG chose to build narrow gauge because the construction was cheaper, the equipment cost less and the narrow gauge was better suited to the sharper curves of the mountain terrain.

Gosh I feel like I need to write a school report now! ;)

Also the steam locomotive is fueled by coal, for a round trip to Silverton a fireman shovels six tons of coal per day. On a round trip, ten thousand gallons of water are used to produce the steam to power the locomotive!
Oh I would so get an A on my report!

I also found out the this train had been in a few movies, just to name a few that I recognized...Around the World in 80 days (1956), Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (1969)

The trip up to Silverton took about 3 1/2 hours, we got to spend 2 hours there. It then took 4 hours to come back down to Durango, this was because of the grade and we also had some rain.

Perfect time for a catnap!

Kate sleeping

Meg asleep on Oma's lap