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We set off on Thursday 18 September at 12 noon, later in the week, and later in the day, than originally intended, due to a couple of unexpected appointments which couldn't be changed. The delay ensured that we ran into gaggles of weekend tourists in what might otherwise have been our "base" for a day or two.
Leaving home with only a vague itinerary - west and north just about wrapped it up - we headed towards Texas, passed by Amarillo, to overnight in the next, quieter little town, Vega. I wondered if its inhabitants might be known as Vegans.
(Click on map for larger view).
In several areas of New Mexico and Colorado we saw herds of some kind of deer. How anybody could ever shoot one of these sweet creatures is a complete mystery to me. At one point three baby deer observed us warily from the roadside verge as we slowed down - wish I'd had a camera handy then. (All the photos here are available to view in larger versions by clicking on them.)
We arrived in Durango, Southern Colorado via a route through New Mexico, passing close by Santa Fe, reaching our destination in the early evening of Friday. We'd thought about making this our base for three nights, but one look at the conglomeration of cars and tourists around the main area set us on a different tack. We drove on, northward, to an old mining town, Silverton. It's linked by a scenic railway to Durango, we had hoped to take the train ride, but that didn't happen.
Silverton, one of the highest towns in the United States, is some 50 miles north of Durango along a well kept but winding and ever-rising road around mountains, and through passes. It had been a cloudy day and was starting to get dark before we'd driven far. The road seemed never-ending, and pretty scary in places in the half-light. I nervously viewed the steep drop-off at my side of the car ! This is a small part of the long scenic mountain road known as "The Million Dollar Highway"
(Source).
It was quite dark by the time the welcome lights of Silverton twinkled beneath us - it had taken us over 2 hours from Durango to reach our destination.
We sought a room for the night, and after a fairly unhelpful encounter at one of the old-style hotels, we decided to risk the rather dilapidated Prospector Motel. After our one night stay I re-named it "Motel from Hell" - dirty, noisy, no plug in bath tub, tiny TV placed ceiling height in a corner, a thick layer of dust on top of the bed head.....need I go on? It didn't even have the advantage of being cheap! (Our car, middle).
We ate dinner at The Brown Bear restaurant, a pleasant place.
The owners are very proud of their bar and back-bar which came from one of Silverton's original saloons in its silver-mining days. The bar/back-bar had been rescued from a disco in Denver, covered in numerous coats of purple paint. It has, over several years been painstakingly restored to former glory.
Walking slowly around the center of the village, after dinner, we began to feel woozy and headed back to the motel, both admitted to feeling unwell. After even the effort of brushing my teeth left me out of breath we decided that our malaise must be due to the altitude - well over 9,000 feet. This is 2,000 ft. higher than Santa Fe, where we've stayed in the past, and found no problem altitude-wise.
Next morning we had to de-ice the car, so cold had it been overnight. Windscreen and car body had a thick covering of frost. Breakfast at The Brown Bear, then a slow walk around the village, it felt easier in the warming morning air. Then we were on our way back along the Million Dollar Highway from whence we came. This time the bright morning sunlight lent an altogether different view of the scenic route. It really is spectacular, moreso at this time of year as some of the trees are starting to turn an almost fluorescent gold. Sadly, we couldn't stop safely for shots of the best parts, so photos are limited.
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We reached Durango more quickly in daylight, even after a stop for photographs at Molas Pass. A couple of unsuccessful tries to find a room in Durango, on this Saturday morning, crowds already gathering, had us heading eastward, the 55 miles to Pagosa Springs. There we found a very nice hotel/motel, and spent the afternoon exploring the stores.
Sunday morning found us up bright and early, watching a hot-air balloon rally just behind the motel. A lovely sight !
Sunday was spent driving east through Alamosa, via Wolf Creek Pass, more beautiful scenery, to Walsenberg (unremarkable) and Trinidad (likewise) - all dead to the world of a Sunday. We drove on to Raton, New Mexico, through Raton Pass. Raton is close to the borders of Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado. We saw a long passenger train pass through and pick up a handful of passengers. This is the first passenger train I've seen since I arrived in the USA. We were told it was headed for Chicago - what a journey - on the The Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe !
After spending the night in Raton, we explored a couple of antique shops, Monday morning. The owner of one of them chatted about the town and an old hotel there, its highest building. It was originally called "The Swastika Hotel", but a name-change was necessary, for obvious reasons, in the 1930s. The original symbols in the brickwork prove the story! It's sad that a symbol revered in several cultures, including Native American, became so besmirched. The building now houses a bank.
We headed towards Kenton on the Oklahoma border and found some unexpectedly dramatic scenery along what turned into a dirt road for about 17 miles. Beautiful, colorful mesas and rock formations added a surreal feel to the deserted landscape. There's a volcano near a small village of Capulin. It's possible to drive to its peak, but we didn't stop to do so. Some quaint abandoned buildings, relics of days when the area was first settled, are scattered along the roads hereabout.
Still heading home we reached Woodward in northern Oklahoma, spent the night, then carried on next day via Enid, a biggish city on Highway 81, which highway, after about two and a half hours driving straight southward, led us home again. It had been a very enjoyable trip of some 1800 miles.
Leaving home with only a vague itinerary - west and north just about wrapped it up - we headed towards Texas, passed by Amarillo, to overnight in the next, quieter little town, Vega. I wondered if its inhabitants might be known as Vegans.
(Click on map for larger view).
In several areas of New Mexico and Colorado we saw herds of some kind of deer. How anybody could ever shoot one of these sweet creatures is a complete mystery to me. At one point three baby deer observed us warily from the roadside verge as we slowed down - wish I'd had a camera handy then. (All the photos here are available to view in larger versions by clicking on them.)
We arrived in Durango, Southern Colorado via a route through New Mexico, passing close by Santa Fe, reaching our destination in the early evening of Friday. We'd thought about making this our base for three nights, but one look at the conglomeration of cars and tourists around the main area set us on a different tack. We drove on, northward, to an old mining town, Silverton. It's linked by a scenic railway to Durango, we had hoped to take the train ride, but that didn't happen.
Silverton, one of the highest towns in the United States, is some 50 miles north of Durango along a well kept but winding and ever-rising road around mountains, and through passes. It had been a cloudy day and was starting to get dark before we'd driven far. The road seemed never-ending, and pretty scary in places in the half-light. I nervously viewed the steep drop-off at my side of the car ! This is a small part of the long scenic mountain road known as "The Million Dollar Highway"
"At 9,318 feet, Silverton is another famous mining town of the old west. Founded in 1874, he town still retains many of the Victorian-style buildings erected in its heyday. In a 16-block walking tour, visitors can check out over 50 historic buildings. Despite the average annual snowfall of over 200 inches a year, there are nearly 500 year-round residents.
The highway climbs out of the valley past Molas Lake to the spectacular overlook at Molas Pass (10,910 feet). The air on Molas Pass has earned the distinction of being the cleanest in the USA. In the spring, wildflowers abound, and elk, mountain goats, black bears, and mule deer are often visible from the road.
Shortly after passing over Coal Bank Pass (10,640 feet), there are breath-taking views of Pigeon and Turret Mountains (both 13,000 feet) and three other peaks that measure in excess of 14,000 feet: Windom, Eolus, and Sunlight."
(Source).
It was quite dark by the time the welcome lights of Silverton twinkled beneath us - it had taken us over 2 hours from Durango to reach our destination.
We sought a room for the night, and after a fairly unhelpful encounter at one of the old-style hotels, we decided to risk the rather dilapidated Prospector Motel. After our one night stay I re-named it "Motel from Hell" - dirty, noisy, no plug in bath tub, tiny TV placed ceiling height in a corner, a thick layer of dust on top of the bed head.....need I go on? It didn't even have the advantage of being cheap! (Our car, middle).
We ate dinner at The Brown Bear restaurant, a pleasant place.
The owners are very proud of their bar and back-bar which came from one of Silverton's original saloons in its silver-mining days. The bar/back-bar had been rescued from a disco in Denver, covered in numerous coats of purple paint. It has, over several years been painstakingly restored to former glory.
Walking slowly around the center of the village, after dinner, we began to feel woozy and headed back to the motel, both admitted to feeling unwell. After even the effort of brushing my teeth left me out of breath we decided that our malaise must be due to the altitude - well over 9,000 feet. This is 2,000 ft. higher than Santa Fe, where we've stayed in the past, and found no problem altitude-wise.
Next morning we had to de-ice the car, so cold had it been overnight. Windscreen and car body had a thick covering of frost. Breakfast at The Brown Bear, then a slow walk around the village, it felt easier in the warming morning air. Then we were on our way back along the Million Dollar Highway from whence we came. This time the bright morning sunlight lent an altogether different view of the scenic route. It really is spectacular, moreso at this time of year as some of the trees are starting to turn an almost fluorescent gold. Sadly, we couldn't stop safely for shots of the best parts, so photos are limited.
.jpg)
We reached Durango more quickly in daylight, even after a stop for photographs at Molas Pass. A couple of unsuccessful tries to find a room in Durango, on this Saturday morning, crowds already gathering, had us heading eastward, the 55 miles to Pagosa Springs. There we found a very nice hotel/motel, and spent the afternoon exploring the stores.
Sunday morning found us up bright and early, watching a hot-air balloon rally just behind the motel. A lovely sight !
Sunday was spent driving east through Alamosa, via Wolf Creek Pass, more beautiful scenery, to Walsenberg (unremarkable) and Trinidad (likewise) - all dead to the world of a Sunday. We drove on to Raton, New Mexico, through Raton Pass. Raton is close to the borders of Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado. We saw a long passenger train pass through and pick up a handful of passengers. This is the first passenger train I've seen since I arrived in the USA. We were told it was headed for Chicago - what a journey - on the The Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe !
After spending the night in Raton, we explored a couple of antique shops, Monday morning. The owner of one of them chatted about the town and an old hotel there, its highest building. It was originally called "The Swastika Hotel", but a name-change was necessary, for obvious reasons, in the 1930s. The original symbols in the brickwork prove the story! It's sad that a symbol revered in several cultures, including Native American, became so besmirched. The building now houses a bank.
We headed towards Kenton on the Oklahoma border and found some unexpectedly dramatic scenery along what turned into a dirt road for about 17 miles. Beautiful, colorful mesas and rock formations added a surreal feel to the deserted landscape. There's a volcano near a small village of Capulin. It's possible to drive to its peak, but we didn't stop to do so. Some quaint abandoned buildings, relics of days when the area was first settled, are scattered along the roads hereabout.
Still heading home we reached Woodward in northern Oklahoma, spent the night, then carried on next day via Enid, a biggish city on Highway 81, which highway, after about two and a half hours driving straight southward, led us home again. It had been a very enjoyable trip of some 1800 miles.
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