COLORADO......beautiful

Every day, we keep saying that this is the most beautiful scene we have ever seen. We said it driving into New Mexico. We said it in the Valley of Acoma. We said it on top of Sandia Peak. We said it driving into Durango.


Then we went to Mesa Verde and when we reached the 7000 ft. Mancos overlook ,we knew we had reached as close to Heaven as we could get. It was spectacular with the snow capped mountain ranges stretching out before us on three sides across a valley of green.


The day at Mesa Verde was a revelation to me in the ancient life styles of the cliff dwellers and their creations, which have survived untold centuries. Imagine the amazement of the explorer who discovered them in the 1800's and from that day to this the volumes of legends they have been able to tell us with relics found and paintings on the walls depicting life as it was a thousand years ago.


Many of the ruins can be seen from the road and driving around and seeing them is fairly easy, but our brave quartet of Joan, Helen, Tom, and Mary were not
going to stop for "easy", they actually took a tour of Cliff Palace with a group and had to descend on stone paths to the ruins for a first hand look at life on the side of a mesa.


The ranger told them many amazing things about every day life and survival of the ancient ones. What a great experience for them and even though they have aching muscles and sore legs, they all said they would do it again.


The realization that we were standing and looking into 1200 A.D. is a mind bending thought. How fortunate that they have been discovered and preserved for future generations and are recognized all over the world for their importance to the history of mankind.


The pueblos are considered hallowed ground by most of the Southwestern Indian tribes for it is from here they believe their ancestors migrated to their present homes, hundreds of years ago.


Our time there was so meaningful and the day was a very special experience which will be with all of us for years to come.


The very next day, not fully recovered from a very strenuous climb, we were off at 7 am to Durango, 45 miles east, to board the Durango Silverton Narrow Gage railroad for our trip through some of the most gorgeous mountain scenery ever,
the San Juan National Forest and gorge.


We were climbing, climbing to over 7000 feet on an old steam engine train with wooden antique cars and black smoke pouring from the funnel. It was rolling and clicking and clacking and the whistle was blowing at every opportunity.


When we reached the top of the gorge, running so high over the river, the water rushing over rocks below and a sheer drop off straight down.....you could not help but feel you would suddenly fall off the track into the rocks and trees below.


The safety of my seat was not much of a help with the train lurching and straining to reach the top of the grade as it inched around a solid rock wall on one side and the drop off on the other. It was certainly better than any thrill ride Disney has to offer.


What a wonderful three hours to Silverton. Snow capped peaks were towering above us, bright green sunlit trees were swaying in the breeze, the tracks ran along a rushing river and patches of snow lay on the sides of high canyon walls on both sides of us. Sensory overload. Could there have been a more gorgeous day?


The little town of Silverton is much like it was a 100 years ago when GOLD was the reason for being there. It is on the National Historic Register because of the Victorian buildings and in fact is the largest historic community in the nation.


Having a two hour layover there before the trip home did not really give you an opportunity to explore all the dusty dirt streets and mines and stories which surely abound.

Looking up at the mountain peaks which ring the town, you had to think how isolated these people have been for many wintry decades. Once the snow closes in and stops the daily trains from arriving and the only road with access to the outside world, Silverton becomes a little world all it's own.


The whistle blew and we climbed aboard and started the three hour trip home.
It gave us an opportunity to come back to the real world and resurface into the present. So much for escaping into the past. It was dinner time and where is the nearest McD's?