Durango Colorado – A Land of Many Mountains

We were excited to head to our next destination — Durango, Colorado. On our way, we stayed at a friend’s place in Dolores. They have a beautiful home that fits right in with the natural beauty of the forest and river. It was nice to catch up and have a nice dinner out.

The next day we arrived in Mancos which will be our home base for the next couple of weeks. The RV Park is great — very quiet and peaceful and our site sits right on the Mancos River. The river provides some stress-relieving white noise 🙂 I think this is the first time we have seen a real forest and so much water since we left the Northwest all the way back to last September. I think we are going to love Colorado.

Mancos is about 20 miles west of Durango and is only 10 miles from Mesa Verde National Park. This National Park is known for its archeological sites of cliff dwellings of Native American Pueblo ancestors. We see modern pueblo style houses all over the Southwest but never stop to think these are imitations of a style created by the Pueblo people over 1000 years ago. I also enjoyed all of the pottery artifacts. Seeing Cliff Palace, one of the largest cliff dwellings, was awe-inspiring. We also liked the audio companion tour for the Mesa Top Loop. Narrated by a descendant of the Pueblo ancestors. An immersive experience.

I decided to do what the locals coined The Big Three for my first bike ride. It rides through the 3 towns of Mancos, Cortez, and Dolores. Views of Mesa Verde, the San Juan Mountains, sweeping green pasture and farm land. Eventhough it was all highway riding, there was a nice shoulder at all times and the vehicles gave plenty of room. A pleasant day on the bike.

We hiked the Bear Creek Trail near Dolores in San Juan National Forest. This time of year all of the creeks and rivers are extra high and running super fast due to all of the snow melt. Creates for some spectacular water views and a nice, soothing soundtrack for the hike.

Our first visit to Durango, we drove up a bit of the Million Dollar Highway to hike the Purgatory Trail. Some amazing mountain views and creek views on this one. Colorado has no shortage of mountains and forest.

We hiked with our friends from Dolores along Scotch Creek and had lunch in the small, historic mining town of Rico. Dining options were limited to the 1 cafe that was open, but it was surprisingly excellent. Simple fare of sandwiches and salad but most of the ingredients were locally sourced. Very good food and the decor made the place feel like a rustic ski cabin. Very cozy.

Our friends graciously invited us to raft the Dolores River with them. Such a fun experience. Some decent sized rapids. It was a bit cold mostly because my feet get cold easily. But I still had a great time.

Back to Durango to bike the Animas River Trail. This 14 mile round trip bike path follows the Animas River with several bridge crossings. The only complaint I have with bike paths in cold weather places is that the pavement cracks and huge gaps form. The city tries to fill these in but not well enough. However, it is still a great path. We made a few pit stops along the route – Bread Bakery and Carver Brewing Company. Pastry and beer for some fuel 🙂

Pretty much all of our hikes were in various parts of the San Juan National Forest. It is so big with so many access points, I think you could do a different hike each day of the year and still not run out of trails. We hiked Ramparts Trail in the Echo Basin area. The trail winds through beautiful aspen groves — packed tightly together with leaves that shimmer in the wind, creates a magical feel. We saw some bear tracks on this hike, but luckily no bear sighting. Just a reminder as we continue to travel north and more bear country, probably time to start carrying bear spray.

My next bike ride was from Durango up the Million Dollar Highway to the Purgatory ski area. The first section rode out of town along county roads and past alot of beautiful ranch houses and barns. Lots of cyclists and very little traffic. Then it joined back to the highway to start the real climbing. By this point most of the cyclists turn back, but a few of us are up for the challenge 🙂 I stopped for lunch at Purgatory along with a homemade chocolate chip cookie at the nearby Needles Grocery store. All downhill, well mostly, back to the start. I hit 48 mph on part of the descent — wowzers that is fast on a bicycle with skinny 25mm tires 🙂 100 km route — all day ride. I love metric centuries. Just enough to challenge myself but not too much to be exhausted the rest of the evening.

We kayaked Summit Lake located about half way between Mancos and Dolores. Eventhough it was one of the least windy days we have had in the Durango area, it was still fairly windy on the lake. Southern Colorado is just windy, well at least this time of year. Our inflatable kayak is holding up well, but the seats which are also inflatable are not. They are losing air, not sure if the issue is a small puncture or the valve. Despite the seat issue and the wind, it was still a nice day to be on the water. Lots of blue herons and a bald eagle landed on a tree near us. Afterwards, we sat by the lake for a picnic lunch. An older couple were setting up wind surfing gear. It was cool to watch how they paddle out on the water and get the sail up. Once the sail is up they took off across the lake. Impressive.

We are nearing the end of our stay in southern Colorado, and felt like we had to do a day trip to Telluride. OMG! 🙂 Wow!! I’m so glad we did. This little mountain town that is known for world-class skiing is incredibly beautiful in spring. There is a free gondola that connects Telluride with Mountain Village. So much fun to ride the gondola and explore both towns. We also got off at the top of the mountain to walk around and check out the views. In Mountain Village we stopped at the Telluride Brewing Co. Good beers and since we were the only customers at 1 pm, the bartender gave us quite a bit of interesting info on the area, including how it is becoming a billionaire’s playground and pushing all the locals out who can no longer afford the rising costs. That is unfortunate. We had lunch at Baked in Telluride, a bistro of baked goods, pizzas, even burritos. After lunch, we hiked Bear Creek Falls. I don’t think this is the same Bear Creek we hiked in Dolores, but maybe? Anyways, this was definitely near the top of the list for most scenic hike we have done on this year long adventure. The Falls were incredible. I got close up to the falls into the spray zone — felt brisk and refreshing 🙂 Telluride was so cool!

I wanted to take Emi on County Road 250 which is the first part of my Durango-to-Purgatory Ride I did earlier in our stay here. It is such a scenic stretch of road with red cliffs, forested hillsides, big open pastures, beautiful ranch house architecture of so many various styles, and a cool stretch of the Animas River that runs through a narrow granite canyon. Emi’s friend, Michelle, was able to join us. We also checked out the Durango Farmer’s Market before the ride. Plus a post-ride early dinner at Ska Brewing Company. One of my favorite days 🙂

That’s a wrap for Durango. Definitely going to miss this camp site right on the river — one of the most peaceful spots we have had. Next stop – Rocky Mountain National Park – stay tuned…