Let me just start off by saying this may be a long one because the day was absolutely magic! (and Happy Birthday Dad)
It was a great thing we were in a motel last night because the thunderstorms continued all night. We packed up easily and found a great all day parking spot for only two bucks! (The guy gave us a discount because he liked motorcycles.) At the station, they weren't calling standby numbers yet, so we grabbed a bagel and coffee and a cute little shop down the street. We arrived back to the station just as they called our number and got fabulous seats on an open car at the back of the train.
The train is a historic narrow gauge used a hundred years ago to transfer people and goods between Durango and the mining town of Silverton. The journey is about 43 miles and the train hits a top speed of 20mph. Our car had a roof but the sides were completely open so we could feel the breeze. We were glad to be the last car on the train since there is quite a bit of soot from the engine. The bench faced out and our seats were right in the middle of the car with a small aisle between us and the people to our right. On our left was a nice couple from Florida who had traveled 3000 miles in just nine days. They had also just been to Yellowstone so we swapped wildlife sighting stories.
The start of the ride was filled with energy. We had some serious photographers on board so around every corner people were looking for the perfect shot. There was one man, a bit odd I must say, who had tons of camera equipment hanging from his belt and draping off his shoulders with his main camera mounted on a gun handle who would loudly whisper "yes" after a good photo. The man from Florida must have taken at least six hours of video. It was fun looking for the cliffs, waterfalls, and wildlife from the train. We faced the river side most of the way to Silverton. It followed jagged paths and turned orange in parts from the ore in the rocks. The ride was very rhythmic and relaxing.
The train arrived in Silverton at 1:15 and had two hours for lunch and shopping. Silverton was a mining town until 1991 and now survives only through tourism. It's a bit run down and one of the big attractions is Blair Street that was once lined with brothels and 24-hour-a-day gambling and sin. We headed in the other direction and found a little hole-in-the-wall place with very greasy food. The owner was away on vacation and had a friend filling in who loved to tell stories but had no idea how to run the restaurant. He couldn't find anything, but kept you entertained while he looked. The shops were mostly tacky tourist souvenirs but we found some good stuff hidden in the corners.
The ride back we saw forest most of the time and the conductor even stopped the train for a bear munching grass on a hill just in front of us. We talked about back home and dreams for the future. The breeze was cool but nice and we cuddled to stay warm.
As we pulled into town, we passed the beautiful historic General Palmer Hotel and David declared that we should stay there. It is our last night in Colorado and should be a memorable one. Still not sure if we were serious, we checked at the front desk and they had one window room left. We went upstairs to take a look and found that it looked occupied, but the rooms were as gorgeous as the hotel so we decided to stay. Since the room we looked at wasn't available, they gave us a free upgrade to the Queen Murphy Studio. It was on the top floor with a view of both Main Street and the train station. The furnishings were all antique and elegant and there was a teddy bear on the couch. The bathroom even had a fuzzy bathmat. We parked the bike and called it home. They won David over by offering us a bike cover to protect the bike from the soot of the trains next door.
After we settled into our room, we were off to dinner at, where else but, Gazpacho. We had the same waitress and she walked up to us and said, "Hello, it's the motorcycle people. Would you again like a strawberry margarita and a blonde beer?" We were so impressed. The food was just as good as the day before. After dinner, we walked back to our hotel through the historic downtown. Back in our room, we played cards until late and listened to the laughing and talking from Main Street below.
janet.
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