“If it smells like vomit, don’t eat it!”
~ Ryan, Mild to Wild Jeep Adventures Driver/Tour Guide
After a short ride up a long bumpy forest service road, and negotiating tall alpine trees getting into our campsite, we took one look around and questioned whether ten days in Durango, Colorado, would be enough.
It’s never easy to figure out how many days we want to spend in a place. We have freedom of movement for the most part, usually only constrained by volunteer commitments months in the future and whatever drive time it takes to get there. It’s hard to pass an interesting area and not try to spend a few days, but then you end up only having a few days to spend anywhere else. It’s a real problem, lol. Using those “Top Ten Things To Do…” articles, visitor services websites, google maps, and just gut instinct, I usually get it pretty close. But while I knew Durango was nicely situated in the San Juan Mountains with easy access to the Four Corners, Mesa Verde, several historic mining towns, numerous hiking trails, and offered fun excursions like train rides, jeep adventures, and rafting, I never got a good sense of the absolute joy that Durango itself could be.
A town ideally situated for tourists and adventurers, it isn’t a “touristy” town. Dozens of restaurants and breweries dotted the historic downtown, and not a national chain in sight. After a quick stop in the visitor center, (VC) we took a stroll of the main street noting the posted menus and realized we didn’t have enough meals to sample all the ones we were interested in. The lady at the visitor center had also given us a list of the live music and events going on. Nope. Not enough time.
We had a few pre-reserved tours and activities planned, the first was a guided hike of the Long House Cliff Dwelling at Mesa Verde. The hike was only about two hours, but the affair took all day with all the driving and walking to the tour trail head. We’d planned to return a different day to bring our bikes and ride around the loop and also visit the other mesa. But we never did. Instead, we opted to ride our eBikes along the Animas River Trail in downtown Durango. A fun 12 miles of multiuse trail along the river, watching the rafters and kayakers along the way and enjoying the easy pace. Of course, a stop at a brewpub was called for at the end of our trek.
The Cascade Canyon train ride was packed with beautiful scenery. But I’m glad we only did the half-day short ride. By the end of it, we were ready to be done. The last of our pre-arranged adventures was a jeep tour into La Plata Canyon, just west of Durango. This, by far, was some of the most fun we’ve had on a guided tour. We rode in an open air jeep driven by Ryan who, in addition to being a highly skilled 4WD jeep driver, was an expert on edible plants AND local history.
On our maybe-do list was a drive up the Million Dollar Highway into Silverton and an overnight at Black Canyon of the Gunnison. After the windy mountain roads enroute to Durango, the windy roads up to the Long House tour at Mesa Verde, the windy steep climbing track into and out of La Plata canyon, we opted not to spend a rainy day driving a windy mountain road into another mining town and to see a hole in the ground. As fabulous as both of those places seem, they will have to wait for another trip. Instead, we stopped back in the VC and asked the lady there what some less-visited attractions were closer to town. She directed us to a brochure highlighting a tour of 14 tree carvings memorializing the nearby Vallecito Canyon fire in 2012. So off we went…
And I’ve hardly mentioned the food, the music, the farmer’s market, the Junction Creek hiking trail, our amazing campsite, and just the overall pleasantness of the town and people we encountered: Elk chops, bison burgers, fresh pasta, delicious ahi poke bowls, Ragtime Pianist at an old historic saloon, a santa-lookalike strumming out some classics at the 11th St beer garden in the rain…
Turns out that ten days was enough this time around, as usual we were ready to go when it was time to pack up. But we left knowing we could return and have just as much fun, and maybe get to a few more of those things from the maybe-do list. For now, it’s off to our next Colorado stop. This one involves family visits!
Where To Now 