Durango

In September Jeff and I headed out to Durango to visit family and take in the amazing sights of Colorado in the fall. While this was not a paddling trip, it did afford some spectacular scenery in one of Colorado's premier paddling destinations. The aspens were just turning their brilliant yellow when we arrived. We spent the first day driving out from Albequerque, NM and taking the scenic route through Santa Fe and Pagosa Springs.

On our first day we drove up the San Juan Skyway through the towns of Silverton and Ouray on our way to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The weather was beautiful and we had a fantastic time taking in the sights. The next day we played tourists and climbed aboard the Durango & Sliverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. The train winds its way up the Animas River and though we got some cold rainy weather the ride was still quite beatiful. Jeff's brother David and his wife Carolyn picked us up in Silverton and we continued on through Telluride.

The rest of our time was spent hiking Durango, including another trip up Vallecito Creek and enjoying the scene in Durango. On the way back to the airport we stopped to see Aztec Ruins National Monument and Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico. See the full gallery here.

	Red Mountain
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Train heads into the San Juan National Forest	The train along the Animas River
The mighty Animas (low water)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Carolyn on the Telluride gondola
Telluride, CO	Ouray, CO
	Critter!!
	Silverton, CO
Hiking up Vallecito
	At the rim of the creek.
	This is about the most we saw of the creek, at the takeout.
Admiring pretty scenery from the shelter of the Jeep.	Telluride