One day the entire family took the train ride on the Durango to Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. What a day! It was July and they had overbooked the seats for sure. We chose to ride in the open-air cars to take in all the scenery and oh my, what scenery! It was absolutely beautiful! It was a long ride but we enjoyed every minute of it going up into the mountains to Silverton. We had been warned to bring along warm clothing because even in the hot summer months it could be very cold up in the mountains and we could possibly even see snow. As it turned out the entire day was hot and we lugged around heavy jackets all day. The seating was so tight on the cars that more often than not you had to stand up. Once we arrived in Silverton we had several hours to spend there visiting all the tourist shops and eateries before getting back on the train for the long, long ride back to Durango. They do offer a bus ride back and if we ever take that trip again we will know to take it for the return trip. Going back you see basically the same scenery and let me tell you, by the end of the ride we all had sore bottoms! Upon arrival we all went out to dinner at a local restaurant in Cortez, called Francesca’s. What an adventure!
this was our train ride on the way up into the mountains
David and Linda enjoying the ride and taking in all the scenery in an open-air car
the gang arrives in Silverton after a few hours on the train
the train waits for us to to explore Silverton
Silverton, Colorado
Silverton, Colorado
David and Linda cool down with ice cream cones in Silverton
the entire gang at Francesca's Restaurant in Cortez, Colorado... after a long day of train riding
