Durango/Silverton Train Ride

Last Saturday, we rode the Durango/Silverton Train that was built back in the 1800's to transport people and miners to and from these two towns. Because the train trip is 3 1/2 hours one way, we opted to ride the bus up to Silverton and ride the train back to Durango. And because of that, we got to see scenes like these.....

Fortunately, the bus was not full so we sat in the back, away from everyone else so the kids wouldn't be too miserable!

I enjoyed the bus ride as much as the train ride because you get the views going OVER the mountain and although I've seen these views many, many times, this is the first time I've been over these passes in the fall and gotten to see the beauty that autumn presents. Also, the bus driver is a tour guide and he narrates interesting facts about the area. Once in Silverton, you have about 2 1/2 hours to eat and shop. We ate at a neat little place called "Handlebars"

The restaurant was full of stuffed Rocky Mt animals and it was interesting to look around there. Then it was time to load up on the train!

Haven tried to rob the train.....but was unsuccessful (maybe it was the little orange end on her gun that gave it away!)

So when you are on the train, you are going through the bottom of the mountain ranges that you got to see from above earlier. But the views are equally gorgeous!

And fortunately again, we were at the back of our train car and not many people were on it so our kids had a little more freedom than they would have on a crowded train.....

There were times that we were on the edge. This was our view down.....

It was a fun day! This is huge tourist attraction and a pretty expensive trip for a family of 5 (Thanks Mr. Bert for 2 free tickets!). We felt like if all the tourist get to experience this, we should as well so we went for it! It was great!