A day off the bikes - a day on a steam train!

Miles today: 0

Miles so far: 775 (obvs)

After almost 800 miles in the last four days, mostly in blazing heat, we awarded ourselves a day off! We had chosen to stay a couple of nights in Durango so we could take the narrow gauge railway up the Animas River valley to Silverton - until we discovered it took four and half hours - each way! Now don't get me wrong we were looking forward to it, and enjoyed it thoroughly but 9 hours on a steam train is for the aficionados only. I did send pictures back to my friend Garry, as we rattled up the valley, and he was suitably impressed. But he definitely likes s steam train!

But us mere mortals established that a shorter, only two hours each way, option to Cascade Canyon was available and duly took that.

And it was magnificent, even if you have little interest in steam trains. The scenery was amazing and the engineering, some 140 years old, to carve it through rock walls, and hang it to the cliffs overlooking the river - well that was something else! Impressive. Not quick though - roughly 20 miles (40 odd to Silverton) took a couple of hours of slow rattle and roll. About an hour there to have a wander in the beautiful canyon and then a couple of hours back.

All the way there we congratulated ourselves on having chosen the open cars. Not quite so glib on the way back as we had a violent cloudburst just outside Durango. And man the temperature drops when it rains round here - another 10ºC drop in a matter of minutes, which finally made me grateful for having lugged a fleece all the way up there. As soon as it stopped it climbed straight back up to the customary 30ºish.

And just as an afternote. Here is Rob looking totally embarrassed after he jokingly asked the only Mexican woman on the train to get him three coffees as she politely asked to get past us to get to the “buffet” car. Of course in a random act of kindness she returned with the asked for coffees. He had the good grace to look guilty, apologise profusely and offer to pay for them (she refused). We of course called him a racist, misogynistic pig. 😉🤣

Unfortunately we have found a bar with a free pool table in it for tonight. What could possibly go wrong?! Tomorrow, back on the bikes and heading north into the mountains and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Sounds fascinating! So for now I'm signing off with a couple of utterly daft selfies!

Glad we didn't get caught doing this with the merch!

Only I can manage to cut off the bottom of my head and the top of the picture!