Sept. 19-20 Durango & Hesperus, Colorado

Restaurants visited on this leg of the trip included:

• ☻Kennebec Café: We didn’t want to go far for dinner the first night in Hesperus, and the innkeeper on duty recommended the small Kennebec Café, on Highway 160, about 10 miles west of Durango. It was our favorite find on the trip. Fabulous food from a creative menu with wonderful wine at reasonable (though not cheap) prices. Mexican specialties are mixed in with other unusual or classic dishes. It is located in an unimpressive small motel, but don’t let this discourage you. This is a first-class operation. We liked it so much we made a point of stopping there for breakfast on our back from Mesa Verde.
• The Pickle Barrel: After the mob on the train, we were anxious to get some breathing room and wondered off the main drag in Silverton and discovered The Pickle Barrel. We’d been hungry for chili and had that, pints of beer, and an enormous serving of delicious bread pudding. It was good food and pleasant surroundings. (Later we found the Handlebar Saloon, which looked a bit more interesting, but also more touristy and expensive.)

We had a busy time in Durango, esp. since we decided to stay at a delightful bed and breakfast about 20 miles outside town at ☻Blue Lake Ranch in Hesperus. It was dusk when we arrived, and just before finding the turn-off we saw a deer. We loved the natural setting of this B&B, and were charmed by our greeting we received and even more impressed by our lodging. It was one of 3 rooms in a “casita” in a woodland setting. The room was enormous and well-stocked with a TV and other amenities, including a small refrigerator, but not a mini-bar (which we never use anyway). There was big double bed and two lounge chairs as well as a stack of interesting reading material. We had to miss our first breakfast because of needing to make the steam train to Silverton, but the buffet the second morning was outstanding, including an enchilada casserole and lots of breads and spreads. This would be the type of place I’d love to spend a week just being in the outdoors. 

The main reason we put Durango on our itinerary was so Jack could re-connect with an old working buddy from Bermuda radio days, Jim Richards. But while there we, decided to take the steam-driven Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. This meant being there early, only breakfast at a fast-food place (McDonald’s) and a 3-1/2 hour ride on hard seats in a crowded “vintage” railroad car. The experience was interesting and some of the views were spectacular, but we were happy we’d opted for the faster, more comfortable optional bus ride on the way down. The driver was a hoot and we saw some great sights then, too, in spite of thickening snow flurries. 

The high-altitude tourist town of Silverton studiously tried to keep it’s “old West” look. It was getting ready to close down, with all the stores claiming great sales. I did find some nice lined leather gloves, that naturally weren’t on sale. They proved handy for some of the cold days on the rest of the trip. 

We arrived back at our B&B in the dark, after a wonderful dinner and nostalgic visit with Jim and his wife Jean. It included a tour of the new home they’re building which will include a model railroad set-up that will fill their huge basement.  

The morning we were to leave, I awoke a bit early and decided to do a little bird-watching. What I saw was so stunning I made Jack get out of the big warm bed and come take a look. A thick covering of snow, which was already beginning to melt, had covered our cottage, the car and surrounding countryside. For two who’ve lived in Florida for over 25 years it was a wondrous sight. Even the locals were amazed that it was so early.

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The steam engine chugs up from Durango to Silverton.

A view from the train

Silverton's touristy main street.

A back street in Silverton

A coating of snow surprised us when we awoke at Blue Lake Ranch.

More photos below

Sept. 21-22   Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Restaurants visited on this leg of the trip included:

• Far View Terrace Marketplace: It may have been the situation, but breakfast here, at one of the only three “restaurants” in the park, was probably the worst of our trip. We woke to blowing, sleety snow, so after scraping the car off, went to the nearby cafeteria/gift shop. It was difficult to figure out how one got the food and when one did, the line was very long and the food was steam-table bland. The place was packed with busloads of day-tripping tourists and young teenagers. It was painfully noisy. The gift shop was nice, however. Thankfully, we had some left-over cheese and crackers so we ate lunch in the room, waiting for the snow to stop (OK, we’re from Florida. We’re not used to dealing with snow.)
• Spruce Tree Terrace: We’d stopped at this small restaurant by the museum and one of the cliff dwellings for lunch the first day. Even though it was past lunchtime, the line was long and slow, mainly because it was understaffed. One poor young woman was making frybread tacos, burgers and other hot sandwiches as fast as she could. The food was OK, but nothing special. It is only open for lunch and early supper.

We backtracked to visit Mesa Verde National Park, with its amazing cliff dwellings and other remains of ancient Native American life. We had planned our trip around the two nights we could get lodging in the park. We were glad we had, as it’s 15 miles from the entrance to the Visitors Center, and many more miles to the Museum and the habitation sites.

We missed our chance to climb down into the Cliff Palace site, which requires a ticket for a ranger tour, because it was snowing and nasty when we were scheduled. We were surprised to learn the walk went in spite of the weather. Guess the hikers were heartier than we were. We did make it down to the Spruce Tree House, a self-guided tour, by the museum, which is also definitely worth seeing. After the snow stopped, we visited the Cliff Palace site, as well as others, and were surprised at how well we could view it from the upper level.

If you want to get up close, it involves steep climbs on paths, and in some cases ladders. The path to the Spruce Tree House is a fairly steep path but it is well paved.

One could spend a week in the park and not see it all, esp. if willing to do some hiking. Part of the park was already closed for the season by mid-September. I had expected the cliff dwellings to be a half-hour or so walk off into the desert, however, most were easily visible from the road.  

The Fair View Lodge, which is the only place you can stay in the park unless you camp, has small-ish rooms, but ours was in pretty good shape, similar to a motel in a non-urban area. The delight was the porch, which had a beautiful view and overlooked a scrub area. Here we were able to watch chipmunks, rabbits and several kinds of song birds. For the price and the location, it is a decent value. We booked through AAA, which gave us a bit of break on the price, but may have limited the availability. The walls are thin, so it was a bit noisy, which is always disappointing when you’re hoping to be out in the quiet of nature.

Spruce Tree dwelling is the most accessible.

The Cliff House can only be seen up close with a ranger tour.

The canyon leading to Cliff House.

This sun temple was never completed.

Some of the wildlife we saw from our porch. See this cottontail's "girlfriend" below.

More photos below

• ☻The Metate Room: In stark contrast, we probably had two of the best meals of our trip in the Metate Room at the lodge. Unfortunately it is only open for dinner. The menu featured local game and specialty meats, and a creative but hearty menu. The wine list was also top notch. This was more expensive, of course, but not out of range for the quality. As a result, we ate there both nights of our stay.

Sept. 23 Great Sand Dunes National Monument

• True Grit Steakhouse. Unremarkable, at eastern edge of town.
• Arby's, usual chain fare.

On the way to Alamosa, we passed over a couple high passes in the San Juan Mountains, including Wolf Creek. It had just snowed, and the plows had just finished their work. It was breathtaking, liking driving through a Christmas card for half an hour. Mary was driving, and although the roads were good, Jack was too distracted to grab the camera and get a photo. And, of course, there were no scenic pull-offs available.

We had included the Great Sand Dunes National Monument on our trip because it is supposed to be an area where great numbers of Sandhill Cranes, which we have practically in our backyard here, and possibly some Whooping Cranes could be seen. While the dunes are fascinating, they are quite a ways off the main road and in September not a particularly good time to see birds of any kind. It was not worth the extra stop. We’d have been better to spend an extra day in Durango or Colorado Springs. We did see some white-tailed deer in our travels.

We did see some interesting birds on the lake in the practically deserted nearby San Luis State Park. Part of the park was barricaded and the call of the Sandhills was heard from there.

Alamosa is in the middle of a farming area, which was an interesting change. It’s a typical small farming town, so we stayed at the Best Western Alamosa.

A panorama of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the Rockies.

The Great Sand Dunes National Monument from afar and closer up.

The lake at San Luis State Park

Sept. 24-25 Manitou Springs, Colorado

Restaurants visited on this leg of the trip included:

• The Stagecoach Inn was a good choice for a hearty lunch on our shopping day in downtown Manitou Springs. It’s a basic Colorado menu with lots of meat. The food was above average and the prices about average. The lodge atmosphere was very pleasant, including the outdoor dining porch.
• ☻The Craftwood Inn was right around the corner and a perfect spot to splurge on our last night in Colorado. One of those places that’s just a bit over-impressed with itself, but in this case for good reason. The menu was inventive, the wine list extensive, the service friendly and professionally, and the food was fantastic.

As the trip wore down, it was time to shop, but only after we’d made the trip up to Pike’s Peak on the Cog Railway. Since Jack was a newly naturalized citizen, it was fitting that he saw the fabulous views that inspired “America the Beautiful.” The trip was shorter than in Durango, and the view was worth it. There’s also a nice gift shop and small cafeteria at top. The peak was covered in snow and the road to it was closed, so only those on the two-car train were there.  

We had time to also tour the large city park, Garden of the Gods, a beautiful mini-version of what we’d seen in Moab. The lunch room at the Visitor’s Center is a very basic sandwich and soup cafeteria and was somewhat disappointing, but the Trading Post at the southern entrance was the best collection of souvenirs and Colorado products we saw on the trip.  

We had reserved at the Red Crags Bed & Breakfast, which was almost empty in September. It is a big, old very Victorian house, which has loads of character, but also  that old, dusty feel. Great for healthy older travelers like us or younger romantics. The room (Cherub) was huge and very clean and comfortable. So much so, we opted to take our complimentary wine there to have with some crackers and cheese for supper.

The train ride to Pike's Peak was comfortable and interesting.

There were views in all directions from the top.

One of the most spectacular outcroppings at Garden of the Gods.

More photos below