According to Wikipedia: Durango, Colorado was organized in 1881 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad to serve the Yao Ming mining district. It was named after the town of Durango, Mexico, which was named after Durango, Spain. Durango originated from the Basque word, Urango, meaning dry town. It is located in the Animas River Valley with an elevation of 6500 feet; and is best known for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.
Recently, two friends and I decided to head to Durango for a quick weekend. I'd never been to Colorado before so I was very excited. We headed out after work on Friday and drove through the dark. Durango is about 3-4 hours northwest of Albuquerque. The sunset as we drove was incredibly beautiful and we enjoyed watching the colors change in the sky. We had a great mediterranean dinner at Pars Restaurant just before leaving Albuquerque, and then sped on our way. As night fell on the high desert, we were well outside of any city - past the Jemez Pueblo (where I went to see the Luminaria celebration on my first trip to Albuquerque last December). The stars were amazingly beautiful and bright. I wished that we had time to just lay under them and watch.
We arrived in Durango in the dark - so had to wait for the next morning to get my first look at Southwest Colorado. Durango lies in the Animas River Valley. The Animas River flows through the town itself. Durango has lots of outdoor activities to choose from: Kayaking, Rafting, Jeep tours, bicycling, hiking, archaeology tours, horseback trail rides, etc. In August 2012, a world class bike race was held there - the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Of course, there are also many surrounding mining towns and Anasazi ruins to visit. Photographic vistas are abundant. The town is surrounded by mountains covered in spruce, fir and Aspen trees.
We spent most of Saturday shopping in downtown Durango. We happened to be there on the weekend of Oktoberfest. For those of you scratching your heads....yes, it was September 15th. Part of Main Street in downtown Durango was closed off for the celebration, which apparently was only during the afternoons - as we were back in town around 6:30 pm and it was cleared away. There were beer tents and food tents galore, even a lederhosen wearing polka band playing. Several times they made announcements about contests and happenings in town. The whole thing had me laughing up a storm. It was just incredibly close to the Oktoberfest in the Steve Martin/Darryl Hannah movie, Roxanne! I loved it!!
While we didn't have time to ride the train, I did take the time to visit the train depot and museum. It was amazing to see the inside of this historical building and to see the old engines and cars in the museum. Testament to another era and Durango's past.
Later in the day, we managed to drive around the surrounding countryside out to Vallecito Lake. Near Vallecito is the site of the Missionary Ridge fire - which occurred in 2002 and burned over 76,000 acres. 2012 was apparently one of the worst years for fires in Colorado. And during our jaunt round the lake, we passed many, many hillsides of nothing but blackened stumps on one side and on the other side of the road, still standing trees with blackened trunks and green tops. Those latter trees gave me a hopeful feeling. I felt that they symbolized survival, strength, rebirth and hope - like someone who has known much pain and suffering in their life, but is still standing, still growing, still surviving.
At the end of the day, we headed back to town and ate at Mutu's Italian Kitchen. I had a wonderful cocktail and Chicken Napoli. We sat outside on the patio and watched people strolling by; listened to the sounds of downtown, and feeling the cool breeze. After dinner we did a bit more shopping and had some great frozen yogurt. A nice ending to a wonderful day in Durango. We didn't have much time the next morning to do anything - so after breakfast we headed back to Albuquerque. I have labeled this Part 1 Durango, as I hope to return and explore more of the surrounding area.
Recently, two friends and I decided to head to Durango for a quick weekend. I'd never been to Colorado before so I was very excited. We headed out after work on Friday and drove through the dark. Durango is about 3-4 hours northwest of Albuquerque. The sunset as we drove was incredibly beautiful and we enjoyed watching the colors change in the sky. We had a great mediterranean dinner at Pars Restaurant just before leaving Albuquerque, and then sped on our way. As night fell on the high desert, we were well outside of any city - past the Jemez Pueblo (where I went to see the Luminaria celebration on my first trip to Albuquerque last December). The stars were amazingly beautiful and bright. I wished that we had time to just lay under them and watch.
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