We stopped in Price so Ryan could get some historic photos, he spotted the old theatre, but I spotted the JC Penney, and even found a $12 dress to buy.
We arrived in Durango around 5:00 it would have been about an hour sooner, but it seemed like construction zone, after construction zone, after construction zone on the way down. Durango was crazy busy, but we figured everyone was probably getting off of work.
When booking our hotel we knew there were two historic hotels that we would like to stay in, the General Palmer...
Or the Strater...
The General Palmer was a little cheaper and had free breakfast, winner, winner! We fell in love with this hotel the minute we arrived, here's why: The entrance...
The "Solarium", where breakfast was the next morning...
The elevator
Plus free cookies in the lobby! The room itself felt like staying at "Grandma and Grandma's house, with a smell to match. But just thinking about how many others have stayed there in the last 115 years was amazing. And, no, the teddy bear was not free, $25 extra, which we did not pay.
After check-in, we went to find dinner and explore the main strip of town, it was everything I hoped it would be. I found my Christmas ornament in the first store we stopped in and the train station was right next door, so we went to check that out.
After shopping on Main we drove up the mountain to discover an entire college. And I mean an entire college on top of the mountain it was really trippy, but it had beautiful views of the town, which was bigger than we expected.
The next morning we knew we didn't need to set an alarm because the train left town for Silverton at 8:00, and our hotel was about 100 feet from the tracks. Well, for some reason they decided to give the old horn a blow at 7:00 while turning it around. Oh, well, I love the sound of trains. Here is a photo Ryan took of it from our parking lot, so yes, we were very close. Seeing an old coal car and the steam was just so cool, even if our car was covered in ash.
After breakfast we did a little back-tracking to Mesa Verde, we knew we couldn't spend much time there, but we couldn't pass it up either. It was definitely a cool experience, we first hiked down to the Spruce Tree house, which led you right up into the cliff dwelling.
And, yes, I got some odd looks form the tree huggers hiking in their Tevas and shorts as I hiked in my scarf and boots, but it was a little chilly that morning. I saw a girl on our way back up wearing a dress, so that made me feel a little more practical. I later took off the scarf and put on sandals since the temperature rose back to the 90s that day.
I was glad to be able to go right in one of the dwellings, but I was also happy to see that many of the other houses were only viewable from a distance. Not only because I was afraid it would take up our whole day, but also for preservation reasons.
We left Mesa Verde around 1:00 knowing we had another good amount of driving that day. We could have rode the train to Silverton, but according to the internet, and others we've spoke to, it takes up most of your day, so we opted to drive there instead. And boy, if you ever think "I would love to see an old mining town back in the day, Silverton is the place to visit. The only paved road was Main, and houses just popped up wherever they decided to be built. Old folks sat on benches in front of the bars and gift shops, smoking and talking. It was run-down, and dirty, and old, and awesome, and amazing all at the same time. It started to rain, so I got a little souvenir shopping in, Ryan got some photos, and on the road we went again.
Our next stop was Ouray, and since we didn't know the correct pronunciation I think we tried them all that day "Oray", "Waray", "Uray"... we still don't know. The road between Silverton and Ouray was dotted with old mining equipment.
Even spotted a dog driving a Jeep.
Ouray was another town we fell in love with, the number of historic buildings was amazing, and the scenery was beautiful!
In Ouray I finally got me an aspen leaf necklace which I had seen in the other towns and regretting not getting one. The necklace is made from real aspen leafs that are electroplated and dipped in sterling silver or gold. I was glad I gave in and grabbed one.
Next we headed to Grand Junction where our next hotel was booked, we got there fairly late so we didn't leave the hotel once we arrived, but did take a dip in the hot tub, it was hard to believe we had hiked that morning, such a long, fun day.
The next morning we explored Grand Junction's "Downtown District" and we got in some trouble when we found two antique shops. I bet we spent over a half hour in each and couldn't take it all in. I found some more collectables for my "vintage" kitchen décor I've started. And Ryan found an old camera and an old coat and hat hook for his shop.
After leaving Grand Junction we were on our way to Altamont, Utah to spend a night in the same cabin we stayed in on our honeymoon. I actually figured out it would have been the same date 10 years ago too. It's called the Honeymoon Cabin, and it's located at the LC Ranch. I figured either the place had not had much upkeep in the last 10 years, or we were easily impressed while on our honeymoon. There were just little things that needed some TLC, like the screen door's handle had broke off that leads to the balcony off the master, so the wind blew and slammed it open in the middle of the night. There were a few lamps that didn't work, a few dead bugs on the decorative pillows, some mold in the shower. I was still glad we went because it was fun to remember, and it was actually funny to see how much I didn't remember.
We ate dinner in Roosevelt and then watched Ghost Adventures at the cabin. Ryan took some star trail photos off the deck, I like this one with the lightning in the background over looking the pond behind the cabin.
I'm so glad this trip was as fun as I hoped, you never know when visiting new places. Our schedule worked out just as we planned, and I never felt rushed or stressed. It was a trip filled with a lot of junk food, soda, construction, crappy Colorado drivers, hair pin turns, winding roads up tall mountains, and more country music than I cared for, but Ryan did find some Mo Town and 80s for me every now and again.
I can't believe it's been 10 years, and when I think of how I expected our life to be 10 years after we got married I'd say this is just what I'd hoped for.
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