Saturday
Funny thing. The furnace worked perfectly all evening, last night, and
again this morning. Yeah. Right. Hosing off the battery terminals is
going to fix the furnace. Interesting coincidence, though.
Up and off early to get to the train on time. Three and a half hours up
through spectacular scenery. Two hours in Silverton to wander around.
Three and a half hours back, checking out the backside of all that gorgeous
scenery. A lot of motion. A little tired tonight, and the boat is still
rocking, but a nice way to spend the day. A ten-car train plus a boxcar.
Right at the maximum capacity of the locomotive. There are coach cars, open
cars, and a parlor car. The parlor car gets hooked onto the tail end of the
train. We got to stand outside on the back porch as much as we wanted to
get the best view. Full service inside. All the coffee and cokes and
goodies we could eat. Rugged inaccessible gorge that they somehow laid
track through, then they followed the Animas river the rest of the way to
Silverton. Most of the trip goes through land with no roads. There are
some houses and cabins in there, but the only access is by this train, or
horseback.
The locomotive is a living breathing awesome beast. Standing next to it,
you can feel the life. It radiates heat, smoke, and steam. Even at rest,
it pulses and pops and creaks and squeaks.
There is an interesting tradition. Every Memorial Day. The Iron Horse
Classic. It's a bicycle race from Durango to Silverton. Fifty miles, from
Durango to Silverton, and an elevation gain of three thousand feet over two
mountain passes. They race the train. The bicycles follow the road. The
train follows the tracks.
And the winner is.....
The train has never won.
Carol, Michael's wife came by to walk Annie a couple times while we were
gone all day on the train. She said Annie was good for her.
The motorhome next to us is a WanderLodge. It has an interesting feature.
They have a free-standing barbecue outside, with a propane hose plugged into
a fitting on the side of the motorhome. How handy is that? You never have
to mess with propane bottles.
Tomorrow, off to Pagosa Springs.
