Silverton, Colorado – 4/15/2015
April 15, 2015 (Wednesday)
Happy Tax Day! I hope you all got refunds!
Michael spent the morning doing taxes for Aaron and Arla. I walked over to Starbucks and got some coffee and a muffin. Around 1:00 PM, we headed out. Our original thought was to go back to Mesa Verde National Park and Cortez, Colorado. However, due to the time we opted to drive to Silverton since the train won’t be going there until May.
The drive to Silverton is about fifty miles of beautiful and scary roads. The drop offs are so steep that it reminded us of the Big Sur area (without the ocean). We got to see lots of snow covered mountains on that side that we couldn’t see from this side. Just spectacular. We saw waterfalls, frozen lakes, and just some gorgeous scenery. So glad we went there. One of the passes going into Silverton was almost 11,000 feet. Also, the temperature went from the 50’s in Durango to the 30’s in Silverton area.
Once in Silverton we just drove around. A cute little mining town. We got to see some churches, the library, an old jail, old buildings, and the highest Harley Davidson Dealership in the world. The town itself was dead as the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad doesn’t start up until May. Most of the stores and shops were closed but we did find a little cafe on a side street called Hungry Moose Bar & Grill. Michael and I split a fish special and a hamburger. Really good food and a nice place. At the end of the meal the server offered us a piece of candied bacon. Never had it before. Was pretty good and had a kick of hot cayenne pepper. Michael said it had a bite that kept on biting.
We drove back and stopped at the Pinkerton Hot Springs. What a fun and beautiful hot springs. All the different colors were lovely.
That was our day. Hope yours was great!