THE GRAND GRAND CANYON!

Bea: We’ve also noticed lots of families and with we’d see more wildlife!
Gigi: You’re right! It was Butch Cassidy and the movie was “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Congrats! Gas prices have gone from a low of $3.13 to a high of $3.39 where it’s been for the past week. Peter’s the driver, Connie’s the navigator and Marilyn is our guardian angel.


MARCH 28, 2008

We awoke to another gorgeous day, blue sky, sun, and temperature in the upper 60s. We’ve said it before but it bears repeating………..we’ve certainly lucked out on the weather! It’s also time to introduce our newest piece of technology. Prior to a couple of days ago, Connie had been taking sketchy notes so we could relive our day on the blog. Peter decided there must be an easier way to do this so he purchased a digital recorder. We’ve mastered this piece of equipment so now we note everything we pass on the recorder and use it to write our blog entries either on the road from one place to another or in the evening as we’re putting the finishing touches to the day’s posting.

We had coffee on a terrace in Sedona but the hordes were still there……..it’s definitely not the time of year to be a tourist here! Before exiting Sedona we averted a near tragedy:………couldn’t find the camera! So we pulled over, searched the car, our pockets, and our bags before finally finding it when we put the top up. It was folded in the convertible top! Phew!! Peter had left it on the roof when getting into the car and then putting the top down.

As we drove along another scenic route we’d read about, Red Rock Scenic Road AZ 179, we encountered construction and traffic and although the views were spectacular it wasn’t up to the level we expected…………..just too crowded! From AZ 179 we wended our way via interstate 17, through Flagstaff and up the other side of Humphrey’s Peak. Marilyn again saved us as we had to find our way through Flagstaff to AZ 180, the back way up to the Grand Canyon through the San Francisco Mountains. We did make one quick stop in Flagstaff to take a picture of the San Francisco de Assis Church with its pink gargoyles. We climbed to 8000 feet, went through two National Forests where we observed some forest fire damage and even passed a pickup truck, the first vehicle Peter has passed!!!! Lunch was another picnic at the side of the road amidst all of this fabulous scenery.

As we approached the Grand Canyon, we stopped at the National Geographic Visitor Center to see an IMAX film on the history of the Grand Canyon. Great movie, well worth seeing, a great introduction to the park!! Our park pass didn’t work at National Geographic but it did when we entered the Grand Canyon where the regular admission is $25 per car.

The Grand Canyon, as we expected, was very congested; we had a hard time finding a parking place along the rim and finally parked with others along the road. It was Connie’s first glimpse ever of the Grand Canyon and she was absolutely speechless! The height, the depth, the breadth, the colors, the majesty, the contours were totally breathtaking. When you stop to contemplate the awe that the first explorers must have experienced upon their initial view, it’s almost incomprehensible; the beauty, the grandeur, the ruggedness; how to get across, how to get down one side and up the other, how to navigate the rapids…….too much!!

We walked a little bit along the rim trying to see everything and feeling overwhelmed. There must have been a French tour going on because every other person was speaking French, the first French we’ve heard on this trip! There were lots of folks around also trying to take in everything; lots of Asians, lots of families, many tourists our age. After our short walk, we decided to head for Williams AZ, 54 miles away, where we had booked a room. It’s hard to find a place to stay any nearer that’s affordable. In Williams we had dinner at the renowned Rod’s Steak House, opened in 1946 along the then prosperous Route 66. Interstate 80 has replaced most of Route 66 in this area although Williams still touts its Route 66 heritage.


MARCH 29, 2008

For some reason this morning was a time of several incoming and outgoing phone calls, mostly family stuff. We finally got to Old Smokey’s just across the street from our motel for a big breakfast to start the day. Like Rod’s last night, the restaurant has been in Williams since the mid 40s and like Rod’s is a Route 66 institution. Both of these great eating places were mentioned prominently in ROADFOOD, a book Kathleen and Mike gave Peter for his birthday.

On our way back to the Grand Canyon, we stopped at the Planes of Fame. Peter toured the museum while I did some blogging. It was fairly small but very interesting at least for an aviation buff. Back on the main road, we were surprised at the lack of traffic; we figured a Saturday would be extremely busy. The cars and RVs we saw entering the park as we were leaving yesterday must have been full of weekend campers! Yesterday we went to Mather Point so today we decided to try Yavapai Point.

We walked about half a mile to the rim……………and there IT was again!!! Wow!!!! Did I say “WOW!” yesterday, too? Then we walked about a mile to the point, stopping along the way to ogle the Canyon. Like yesterday, we were overwhelmed with the magnificence and grandeur. We walked out on the rocks at the edge of Yavapai Point and the canyon walls and sat quietly for quite a while just taking it all in. A couple from Toronto was sitting near us and told us they’d been here many times just to enjoy the canyon and occasionally to hike the canyon. They were full of National Park information since they’ve been doing the parks of the Southwest for many years. When asked if there was one viewing point they thought was the best, they replied by asking if there was one view on Cape Cod we thought was the best!

Back in the car, we drove to Grandview Point for another perspective of the canyon (On the way we spotted a coyote along the side of the road. We never tire of seeing wildlife!). This was the site of the first hotel, built for the first tourists from Flagstaff who rode a stagecoach for 12 hours (Flagstaff is 70 miles away1) With the coming of the train further along the canyon, the hotel proprietor began mining copper down in the canyon. With the binoculars we could make out the remnants of the mine. Here, again, as yesterday, there were many French tourists……….Grand Canyon must be a big draw for the French or is it the dollar? But, we do wonder what’s happening to tourism in France and elsewhere in Europe.

Well, we couldn’t absorb any more! We headed back to Williams, did a little window shopping, had some dinner and called it a day……………. but what a day it was. What better way to end a trip around the National Parks of the Southwest than with the King of the Parks! This is Peter’s third visit to the Grand Canyon and he still can’t believe it!

ON TO SEDONA ARIZONA!!

The above is a picture taken of the train we took in Durango, CO. It was used in a scene in a movie when a famous outlaw jumped from the rocks onto the roof of the train. We mentioned his name in a previous blog. Does anyone know who he is?

Mame: It HAS been a trip of a lifetime!
Anonymous: The Senior Pass “rocks!”


MARCH 27, 2008

This was to be mainly a driving day to get us close to the Grand Canyon. Little did we know what was in store for us. We left Hurricane UT at a decent hour and, still taking scenic back roads, we headed for Page AZ and Lake Powell on UT 59……..another beautiful day, no rain since Fort Stockton TX. We zigzagged into Arizona and then back into Utah and turned south on Route 89 toward Page AZ. The scenery was still magnificent and some of the towns seemed to be prospering with new housing developments. We continued to see cell phone towers but the service does get spotty when going into the mountains. Along the road we did continue to see a few random small areas filled with old cars, trucks and machinery……….doesn’t seem as though there are as many zoning restrictions around here as we’re used to having.

Bits of Lake Powell soon emerged in the distance, the blue water an amazing contrast to the red rock canyons. We approached the Glen Canyon Dam and pulled off the road for a better view. At the visitor center we had to go through a metal detector, Peter had to be patted down and I had to take my back pack back to the car; it was more extensive security than we’ve seen at many airports. The view of the dam from the visitor center was spectacular. The river water is a brilliant green before the dam and a deep blue on the other side. The town of Page was built in the 50s to support work for the dam and is now a thriving community; it even has a brand new Walmart and a lush, green golf course, all in the middle of red, ragged, rugged rocks (how’s that for alliteration!). Just outside of Page we encountered a police officer rounding up a couple of cattle that were loose on the road!

We soon entered the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation, the whole upper northeast corner of Arizona, about the size of West Virginia. After passing through more canyons and prairies and mountains, we descended into an isolated arid desert area with canyons still visible but very far away. After passing several outdoor Native American souvenir shops, we stopped at one that was open and spoke with a lovely Native American lady selling jewelry made by her niece. We ended up getting several items among them a beaded bracelet for me and I love it! Rainah (spelling?) said that it takes her niece “a lot, a lot” of hours to make each bracelet.

Our next stop was Tuba City, the oldest trading post in the reservation; it’s now the largest city in the reservation. There was a lot of construction going on in the city, all fenced off with many houses boarded up………….what’s happening? We did stop at a very nice trading post chock full of Native American goods. In the trip back to AZ 89 we glimpsed a part of the Painted Desert.

The scenery still kept changing but always with the snow-capped San Francisco Mountains in view, especially Humphrey’s Peak, the highest in Arizona. On a lark we decided to backtrack a bit and drove to into Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Just when we thought we’d seen it all we entered an area where a volcano had erupted in the early 11th century. We were surrounded by a black volcanic landscape; the mountains are bare but black with sparse patches of low growth………..amazing! We traveled along the road toward the Wupatki National Monument and went from lava covered mountains back to an arid desert landscape called the Saltbush Desert covered with soft, warm grasses. We even got a bonus view of the Painted Desert; but because the sun was shining directly on it, the colors were a little washed out but beautiful nevertheless. Peter commented, “There’s nothing like having the top down, late in the day, a good road with beautiful scenery and a beautiful woman beside me.” The whole area looked like what you would see in an old cowboy movie! We even came to an area named Antelope Valley and wondered if this was where “the deer and the antelope roam.” What a serendipity to wander into an area so different from everything else we’ve seen so far………….another “must see!”

Back on track on AZ89 we ended the day with a 30 mile drive to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon. Once again the road had hairpin turns along canyon walls as we descended to Oak Creek where there were many campsites. And just like that, the canyon walls turned red once again with many prominent sandstone formations. It was a spectacular drive into cute, artsy and crowded Sedona. Apparently this week, the week after Easter, is one of the busiest for this resort. Lucky us!

SO LONG, UTAH!

Here are some more pictures that show the diversity of the scenery we are driving through every day.


MARCH 26, 2008

So……….I misdated yesterday’s blog………yesterday was March 26 but I was describing March 25!!! Anyone catch me?

In any case, we left Tropic later than we had intended. The service in Clark’s restaurant was slow………..the waitress said they were waiting for the water to boil for Connie’s soft-boiled egg!!! It IS harder to boil water at a high altitude but that was a pretty lame excuse! Our first excursion of the day was a trip back into Bryce Canyon; although the entrance fee is $25, we could afford to enter two days in a row since we get in FREE!!!! The hoodoos were as spectacular during the daylight as they were at sunset. The amphitheater glowed with all of the castles and gardens in salmon, red and gold. We took a short hike from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point where we could see deeper into the amphitheater. Again we were amazed at the sight of these unique sandstone formations. Peter stopped for a bit to take it all in with the binoculars and commented that this, although hard for him to say, was probably the single most awesome sight so far. Connie decided that yesterday’s drive through the national parks, along Scenic Byway 12, through several national parks and into the Bryce Canyon amphitheater was the most awesome day so far.

Leaving Bryce we continued on Scenic Byway 12 toward Zion National Park. We put the top down, drove through Red Canyon, through red stone arches along the canyon wall: red, red, red!!!! Every time we came around a corner we wanted to stop and take a picture but it’s impossible to capture what we see, especially with our inadequate camera. We turned on UT 89 and saw another convertible with its top down, probably only the third one we’ve seen with the top down…….they don’t know what they’re missing! Believe it or not, on this 65 mph two lane road we were passed by a HUGE Japanese tour bus. We’ve noticed lots of foreign tourists, mostly German and Asian. Given the state of the dollar, traveling in the US is a heck of a bargain these days.

Along this drive we passed through several small towns where the speed limit dropped from 65mph to 35mph. Sure enough, we saw the sheriff waiting at the middle of each town, looking for speeders. In a red convertible, with out of state plates, you have to be very careful to observe the speed limits.

Near the entrance to Zion we passed a herd of buffalo grazing in a field. In the park we drove through some HUGE canyons, a thousand plus feet above us, with striated and weathered walls on each side of the road. Before paying the entrance fee ($25 dollars per car, free for us!) the road changed to the same dark red color of the canyon. Peter commented that it was just as beautiful as he remembered. We pulled off the road, took our blanket, found a spot on the rocks and had our lunch while taking in all of the surroundings.

Approaching the mile-long tunnel built in the 1930s when cars were much smaller, we stopped dead! The large RVs and tour buses have to be escorted through the tunnel because of its size. We didn’t mind waiting; it gave us more time to observe the area. The tunnel is completely dark inside but every .2 mile there was a large opening on one side with a view of the canyon; the only tunnel we’ve ever been in that had windows! As we exited the tunnel we were again surrounded by canyon walls that went straight up a thousand or more feet. We parked at the visitor center to catch the shuttle because cars are not allowed in the main part of the park.

Zion was by far the most crowded national park we’ve encountered this whole trip. It was school vacation week and there were lots of families vacationing there. The double shuttle had people on and off constantly at each stop. The bus itself was fine but we missed the open convertible; it was impossible to see some of the canyon tops from the bus window. We did manage, however, to see two climbers in the second day of a three day climb (they climb about 400 feet a day). The surroundings were very spectacular but it felt crowded and busy and didn’t seem as serene. In the other parks we felt like we needed to whisper because of the natural beauty and aura. In Zion it was all hustle bustle!

We decided to knock off early and stayed in nearby Hurricane UT to do a little laundry get caught up on some chores and get to bed early. Tomorrow we're off to Sedona, Arizona.

A NATIONAL PARK BONANZA!

We have two Mimis in our family. Which Mimi is running which business in her other life?

Suz: We like your title, literally or whatever. And we DO need to watch “Cars!”
Pete M: We look forward to following your recommendations. We’ll be in WY after we leave Portland.

MARCH 26, 2008

Today, we decided early, would be a day of reflection. Little did we know that the sights we’d see would lend themselves so readily to thoughtful consideration. Connie started the day with the best latte of the trip, not at a Starbuck’s but at a local, drive-through expresso stand. Anyway, we’d run out of adjectives and superlatives about everything we’ve seen; we even thought of accessing an online thesaurus! Then we entered Canyonlands National Park, once again saving the cost of the entrance fee and once again driving through a national park with the top down on another perfect day.

This park is the compilation of everything we’ve seen already in the Southwest. We drove through the high desert where cows were grazing on the grasslands right next to the road and where we could see snow-capped mountains a hundred miles on the horizon in all directions. There was the Colorado Plateau, river-carved red rock canyons, immense mesas, and sandstone buttes. Help! We need the thesaurus NOW!!! Canyonlands also includes the Colorado River to the east and the Green River to the west; the two rivers meet in the middle of the park at one of the greatest river confluences in the Southwest. One guidebook describes the park as “mesmerizing and nearly incomprehensible in its extent and complexity.” How can we compete with that description! Most of the park has to be explored in four wheel drive vehicles; there are over a hundred miles of back country dirt roads so we’ll have to return with our Jeep. We had thought it might be more of the same but little did we imagine that it would be more of EVERYTHING!

Throughout our trip we’ve seen contrails of jets flying at 30,000 feet some even crisscrossing each other. How many times we’ve seen America from one of those jets!!! It’s such a totally different perspective and so much more interesting to drive through all of the areas we’ve only seen from 30,000 feet. And we’re not even seeing anywhere near all it. We’ve also noticed lots of cyclists on the roads in the national parks. It looks like these would be great bike rides but, given the hills, pretty tough. Yesterday we followed one cyclist coming down a long hill as we left Arches. We were doing 45 mph and he was staying well ahead of us even in the hair-pin turns. It was his reward for having climbed that hill earlier in the day.

Another good way to see these parks would be on motorcycles. At the hotel this morning we met a group of motorcyclists from Canada—all men and all our age who were doing a 4000 mile tour of the Southwest. They had done many of these trips before and looked like they were good old buddies! We thought packing and unpacking our car every day was a chore until we witnessed how carefully each cyclist had to pack his gear. Peter especially liked them because they complimented him on his car and said that next to a motorcycle, a convertible would be the next best way to see the world.

Would you believe that the scenery completely changed again several times as we headed toward Bryce Canyon National Park on UT 24 to Utah 12? UT 24 was long, straight and pretty much lonely……..there were few vehicles and no towns!!! At one point Connie’s hat blew onto the road; Peter did a U turn, picked it up, did another U turn and continued on……….no one saw us and we saw no one for miles! The speed limit was 65 mph and as we came around a corner just after Hanksville (pretty grim), there were 5 or 6 big bulls walking down the road! We almost came to a full stop before they sauntered over to the side of the road! Between the rocks, the wildlife, the tumbleweeds and the cattle you really have to watch yourself on these high speed back roads. Every time we came around a curve we saw sheer rock canyons, mesas, buttes and sandstone rock formations. It turns out that Butch Cassidy and his gang hid in these canyons; it’s not hard to see why he hid here because without this road, it would be very hard to find anyone or anything. The road has sheer canyon walls on each side which we could see very well with the top down.

We approached Canyon Reef National Park and saw fruit groves that had been planted by the early Mormon settlers. We stopped to see the crude but interesting drawings that had been carved into the canyon walls by early Native Americans. Next to a carving of a big horn sheep, “Marie” had carved her name………more graffiti!!! We passed the remnants of the early Mormon settlement, everything fairly well preserved, and stopped at a historic farm where an ancestor of the original Mormon settler sold us some home made ice cream.

In Torrey we turned onto UT 12, aka Highway 12 Scenic Byway, one of 27 nationally designated All-American Roads. It starts at the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park, winds through the Dixie National Forest, over Boulder Mountain, through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and finally ending at Bryce Canyon National Park. We had both read about this road and had decided to do it regardless of its rigor. At the funky Flute Shop in Torrey, Peter told the proprietress we were “taking our time” on our trip. She said that was obvious, “You wouldn’t be on this road if you were in a hurry!” Again, we met a very nice young couple who had been canoeing and fishing at Lake Powell and we enjoyed exchanging travel stories. The vista where we had our chat was unbelievable……..8000 feet, snow around us and a view over the cliffs and canyons “to die for!” Traveling further, we reached 10,000 feet and saw snow covered meadows.


The most amazing sight in the Grand Escalante-Staircase National Monument was the road across the ridge at the very top of the canyons on both sides. It was very narrow and, once again, no guard rails. The wind was howling as we stood on the ridge on either side of the road looking down at least 1000 feet. Apparently as I took Peter’s picture, a raven was hovering about 2 feet above my shoulder………..good thing I didn’t know! Is that a sign of something? Further on, Peter spied a golden eagle feeding on some road kill at the side of the road. We stopped to get a picture, the eagle flew to a fence post as if he was posing and, as Peter was readying the camera, another car drove by and scared the eagle away. A school bus drove by and we wondered how far kids who live out here have to travel to get to school.

After meandering in and out of the Dixie National Forest and passing through the town of Tropic, we arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park. We had read that this park is particularly spectacular at sunset so, instead of finding a motel for the night, we entered the park and drove to Sunset Point. What we saw was an amphitheater carved into the face of a plateau and filled with hoodoos, “fancifully eroded pillars of rock.” They were every shade of red, pink, orange; it looked like a fairyland full of castles. Many people were sitting on top of rocks, meditating; we felt like we had to whisper! WOW!! So much to see and so much to say!

Back in Tropic we stayed America’s Best Value Inn and Suites, next to Clark’s Market, Clark’s Restaurant and Clark’s Gas………….we think Clark owned the motel, too. In any case it was great from dinner to the room to breakfast. Thanks, Clark!

March 24th

These photos give an overview of the varied landscapes we’ve seen so far on our trip. Amazing, isn’t it?

MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2008

We got a fairly early start out of Durango in 29 degree weather and another gorgeous day. Drove on Rt. 550 north up into the San Juan Mountains toward Silverton and the Million Dollar Highway. Throughout the trip we’ve been having great difficulty describing the unbelievable vistas and scenery we drive through; today proved to be even more difficult. After climbing to 10,000 feet on a winding road surrounded by snow-covered mountains (the snow at the side of the road was as high as a car!) we descended into the valley where the town of Silverton is located. Silverton is an old mining town with one paved street, the main street, and snow everywhere; people were hardly even shoveled out! Today the town is mostly for skiers who go to the nearby Silverton Ski Resort.

We continued on Rt. 550 out of Silverton and climbed to 11,000 feet at Red Mountain Pass. As we drove we could see many back-country ski tracks and snowmobile tracks. It was a smooth road with many switchbacks but hardly any guard rails. We descended down through the Uncompahgre Gorge. The road hugged the mountainside and the views were incredible. We again had to be careful of rock slides because, apparently in the spring, when the ice on the canyon walls melts, it dislodges the rocks which then fall onto the road. We went through a couple of tunnels and descended into the town of Ouray, a bigger, better laid out town than Silverton. Actually there was less snow here and all of the streets were plowed! We stopped at Box Canyon Waterfalls but the falls were completely frozen with icicles, drove through town, and stopped at the hot springs and were disappointed because of the commercialism. This was the end of the Million Dollar Highway but we thought it was worth a billion!

Still on Rt. 550, we left Ouray, climbed up to a plateau where there was much less snow, with lots of ranches with cattle and horses. The scenery changes often and dramatically. Next it was rugged, red, rocky mountains. We turned onto Rt. 62 and then Rt. 145 as we drove along the San Miguel River up into the San Miguel Gorge and stopped for a picnic lunch; it had warmed to about 55 degrees so we put on our jackets and put the top down! We had to stop twice while road crews cleared rocks from the road. The road climbed up to the Uncompahgre Plateau, meandering through the sleepy towns of Norwood, Redvale, Naturita and Bedrock (we didn’t stop to see Wilma and Fred!). We crossed into Utah on Rt. 46 and immediately the landscape was much more arid. Still spectacular views! Once again we were headed toward snow-capped mountains in the distance on a road that was straight as far as the eye could see. Arrived in Moab, got a motel room for the night and headed for Arches National Park

Arches was different from everything we’d already visited. Magnificent red rock structures of all shapes and heights, pointed pinnacles, 2000 natural arches, one of the greatest concentrations of these structures anywhere on earth. The arches stand amid a high desert that ranges from 4000-6000 feet in elevation. Peter named one group of pinnacles “The Three Wise Men!” We took a couple of short hikes and stood beneath one of the larger arches to try to get some sense of the scale of all of these structures. The weather was now 80 degrees in the sun but with the cool dessert breeze. As we drove through the park we commented to each other that it was next to impossible to take it all in!!! We read in a guide book that Arches was given a 5+ rating and we completely agree.

The combination of our drive through the mountains and our tour of Arches National Park made for another spectacular day! We keep saying this; it’s a can’t miss trip!!

EASTER WEEKEND IN DURANGO

This is a photo we took at White Sands and we think it needs to be titled. Do you have any suggestions?


Pam: Thanks for the Easter greetings!
Ann: Welcome to our blog! What do you prefer……your top up or your top down?


MARCH 22, 2008

Before leaving Bernalillo NM, we restocked our food supply and left for Aztec MN on Rt. 550 N. We drove along the edge of the Santa Fe National Forest through multi-colored mesas, sparse vegetation on more arid lands, at an altitude of 7000 feet. We passed through Cuba (did Marilyn lead us astray?) NM, a small town with a busy McDonald’s but otherwise run-down. Rt. 550 is like most of the roads we’ve taken this trip…..good road, 65-70 speed limits, where you have to slow down to go through all the small towns but where you can really see rural America. The shame is that these towns, with few exceptions, seem to be dying out. The interstate roads have bypassed these towns and all of the fast-food chains and economy motel chains that are clustered along the interstates are slowly squeezing out the local businesses. That’s why we see many abandoned and dilapidated houses and buildings.

We crossed the Continental Divide and encountered moon-like lava fields and then more desert dotted with oil and gas wells. When we arrived in Aztec NM, we went to the Aztec Ruins National Park (which is a misnomer because it was not the Aztecs who built the pueblo!) which was settled as far back as 500 AD by Native Americans. It is small and not nearly as grand as the other National Parks we’ve seen but it was interesting to see how these people lived.

We crossed into Colorado, still on Rt. 550, and the scenery changed immediately. In the distance we could see snow-topped mountains and as we climbed these mountains in the Ute Reservation everything was much greener. We passed many farms and cattle ranches. We had another wild life encounter as two very husky deer crossed in front of us!

We arrived in Durango mid-afternoon, walked around the historic part of the town, liked the feel of it and decided to stay two nights so we take the single gauge railroad tour of the mountains in the morning. We booked a hotel by phone and checked the map to see what sites were nearby. It was about 60 degrees so we put the top down and headed to Mesa Verde National Park about 30 miles away. Again we were amazed as we climbed to almost 9000 feet to the top of a beautiful mesa. Along the way we saw that ubiquitous road sign, “Beware of falling rock,” came around a hair-pin turn and barely missed a three foot boulder that had just fallen. We’ll pay more attention to those signs in the future!

At the top of the mesa, all of a sudden the beautiful forest turned into miles and miles of charred dead trees as far as you could see. There was a massive forest fire in 2004 that burned half of the park. A lot of the park is closed this time of year but we wanted to see the ancient cliff side pueblos so we stopped at the lookout only to find the road closed. A few others had parked there to hike down the closed road so we decided to follow. When we encountered a couple who had hiked for half an hour and seen nothing, we decided to forego the venture. Good thing! Peter had left his wallet on the roof of the car so, obviously, we weren’t meant to go on this hike! We did drive the 6 mile loop at the top of the mesa and were ecstatic to learn that it had lookouts from which we could see the pueblos built into the crevices of the canyon walls across the gorge. It was again remarkable to see how these people lived and to imagine them climbing to the top of the mesa each day to hunt, farm and then climb back down to home. And we complain about our commutes!

Back in Durango, we checked into our room and we found a funky local pizza place, Home Slice Pizza. Peter was in his glory and I had a great toasted eggplant parmesan sandwich.


MARCH 23, 2008

Happy Easter! We treated ourselves to a day when someone else did the “driving!” Stopped at Starbuck’s for an Easter coffee and proceeded to board the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Train consisting of antique cars and an antique steam engine in remarkable condition. As we left town, all of the crossings had people there watching the train and waving. We felt like we were on a float in a parade! One of the cars was open and, because it was another beautiful but cool day, we spent quite bit of the five hour roundtrip in the open air. The train went through the outskirts of Durango along the Animus River and then climbed into the San Juan Mountains into an area where there is no other access except on the train. The railroad was originally built in the 1800s to support the gold being mined in the area. At many points along the ride, the canyon walls were only inches from the train and in other places the track ran along the edge of the canyon wall with a 400-500 foot drop down to the river. It is not a ride for the faint of heart!

As we have throughout our trip, we met an interesting couple and their 4 year old son from Albuquerque. They were fun to talk to and gave us lots of travel tips for the northwest part of our trip. We may even look them up if we’re ever in Albuquerque again. Another couple gave us a recommendation for a restaurant in Durango, Ken and Sue’s, where we enjoyed our Easter dinner. Tomorrow the Million Dollar Highway and on into Utah! Durango CO is another addition to our “Don’t Miss List!”