Riding a Train in Durango, Colorado

Yesterday Martha shared how the family visited the Grand Canyon. On the same road-trip, we also went to Durango, Colorado and spent the day on a TRAIN! We rode from Durango to Silverton, which was a four hour train trip. We stopped for a lunch break, and then rode the train back to Durango. I’d tell you how AMAZING it was, but I think Martha’s video will do a better job of sharing that!

We bought tickets on the open air car, which meant not only were we able to see everything very well, we also got covered in soot and ash from the locomotive. We could see first-hand how deep the canyons were, and we all trembled with how close the train tracks are to the edge of those canyons! I could show you pictures for days of how beautiful it was, and I strongly suggest to everyone to GO to Durango and ride this train.

The General Palmer Hotel

The Durango trip was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for our family, so we chose to stay at the General Palmer Hotel, which was built in 1898. It was one block from the train depot and was a step back into Victorian times! The main hotel building has a very old (very tiny) elevator, the continental breakfast in the morning was served with china and real silverware, and the rooms had big plush robes in the closets.

Aspens in Durango!

One of my favorites from this segment of the trip was seeing Aspen trees in person. It’s September so the colors are changing there, and the trees were gorgeous. And.. they shimmer! There is a very distinct sound when the wind whistles through the trees and the leaves shake and… shimmer. Absolutely amazing.

The only negative about a trip to Durango and Silverton, Colorado is the altitude. I suffered pretty severely from altitude sickness during the Colorado portion of our trip, but it was 100% worth the views and the experience.  If you should go, I highly recommend getting portable, bottled oxygen. It was a life-saver during the several days we were going from low altitudes to high altitudes and back again.

I’m not sure when our family has had a more amazing couple of days, and we’ll be talking about this experience for a long time to come!