We went on an amazing fabulous wonderful spectacular ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY trip!! We traveled south down to Durango, Colorado. It is a marvelous place and we loved it. I have a problem with taking WAY too many pictures, so this might contain quite a few!
We stayed at the Apple Orchard Inn, the cutest Bed and Breakfast ever. We had our own little cottage! It was beautiful, with the fall colors and the amazing landscaping.
The main reason we wanted to go to Durango was because I wanted to ride the train! I have ALWAYS wanted to ride a real authentic passenger train, and they happen to have the best one in Durango! The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad!
I was really really excited...
Jake was fairly excited....
Here comes the train!! He got a lot more excited once he saw the train coming!
It was awesome! This train goes from Durango to Silverton, the train has been in operation for 127 years and the locomotives are still 100% coal fired, steam operated! The coaches are 1925 vintage and maintained from original condition. The train goes where no roads do and it is spectacular scenery. The first corner we turned we were looking over a STEEP cliff drop off down to the Animas River. The train cars rattle around on the narrow rails and it was a little scary!
We had a blast, it was so beautiful. We made a few stops along the way to drop off hunters and travelers and fill up on water to keep the stream power going. We made it to our destination in Silverton and had a picnic and did a little looking in some fun shops.
What else do you do on train ride than take pictures!
I seriously loved the train ride!! During the winter it travels to Cascade Falls as the Polar Express and kids get to meet Santa and get a gift from the North Pole. How fun would that be!?
A souvenir we almost bought...
The next day we did a little shopping, went to the train museum and headed to Pagosa Hot Springs for a little soak, in some natural hot springs. This place was so cool! There were 21 different hot pools, all different temps, from 80 to 112 degrees. It is right along the river, what an amazing place!
On our drive home, we stopped to explore Mesa Verde National Park. This is home of the Pueblo Indians and their ancient cliff dwellings.
Square House
Sun House
Cliff Palace (largest cliff dwelling)
Sun Temple
Whooooo! alotta driving.......
And we finally made it home. We had the best time! Now just 7 more weeks of school. We can make it! No more monkeys jumping on the bed!!!!!!
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