thank you

Father, 

Thank you is so inadequate to express my deepest gratitude for this time in Durango. I have been refreshed so deeply in my soul, spirit and body. Being with you in the middle of your creation and sharing it w/ my best friend and husband for TWO MONTHS has been like heaven. 

My heart has been rested. I even had some grieving time and got to cry for Mom and it was nice to be alone to do it. 

Sharing this place with my girls and their families was such a sweet time. We love them both so, so much. I hope they got a taste of that and also of you.

Thank you, thank you for the cooler temps and the beautiful scenery along so many paths. Thank you for helping us to get back into better physical shape and to be able to enjoy the process.

I am eager to follow you. YOU are the substance of the shadows that I have experienced here. YOU fulfill every need and desire of my heart. Thank you for the shadows! Thank you for who you are. Teach me more about yourself. Help me to meditate on you this coming year and to believe so that I may understand you, know you more.

I am yours,

Sue Anne

weekend round up and the train ride

We have had an awesome time this summer and it's time to wind it up! William had been wanting to go on a backpack adventure. He knows that I will hike all day, but really prefer a bed at night. So, Friday he went solo to Lake Vallecito, just about an hour northeast of Durango. He hiked in about 6 miles, set up camp then headed back to meet me at the trailhead the next morning. It was rainy and pretty chilly most of the time. I cannot say I'm sorry I did not go! But, I'm glad he seemed to have such a great time. He said he used every single thing in this 30 # pack.

Here he is back off the trail and doing the big clean up. Everything got pretty wet.

We took it easy the rest of Saturday. I made a huge pot of soup. We watched the Broncos and went to bed early...because on Sunday we caught the train from Durango to Silverton. It was amazing. We really debated about doing this. I did not know how I would do with heights and the motion of the train on the old narrow gauge. I have to to say that the train ride was GREAT. NO nausea and I did much better than the four times we have driven up 550 to Silverton. There was really only one steep place, called the 'highline' and it was over in about 3 minutes. I would encourage everyone who is considering a Durango trip to take this ride. We took the narrative coach ride and had a guide who took on the character of a famous 1800 Durango local and narrated most of the trip for us. It was 3.5 hours long each way. Many people opt out of the return trip and take a bus back down for a much shorter trip of 1 hour. I am really glad we did the 'whole' thing, tho. Since I posted 3 photos on instagram, this is my outlet today for more pictures that I took. I took over 300! I got it down to about 85 that I will put in a book to remember our train trip. Here are some of my favorites!

 We started at the Durango Depot. This is the original depot that is still in use.

The famous 'highline' from my window...heading towards Silverton.

The inside of the narrative coach

 See the little 'transom' windows at the top? No air conditioning, but really not needed since it was in the 60's most of our ride.

We followed the Animas River for the entire route. It was a beautiful blue green color. Most of the track is built on the old toll road between Durango and Silverton. I loved the aspen groves and they are just starting to change color. 

Animas River

Aspens

I've been to this little coffee shop 4x this summer, so knew they had great mochas. We had about 2 hours to hang out in Silverton and eat lunch, browse, etc. 

William loved the ride as much as I did.

Leaving Silverton (above) and heading back down to Durango (below)

the beautiful Animas River at a peaceful spot just north of Durango

I took my 'good' camera and so glad I did. Most shots came out well, just needed some color boosting. We have loved our stay here. One more week to go, then back HOME to Texas! We will probably spend our evenings this week doing our favorite little hikes around here. I'm going to finish up all the books I started...I think I have read about 7 now.  Maybe one more Looonnnggg hike on Friday since William has that day off.

Sand Canyon Loop and Lizard Head Trail hikes

We did two very different hikes this weekend. The Sand Canyon Loop on Saturday was so beautiful and different from anything we had done or seen while in Durango. It was just west of Cortez and Mesa Verde in the Canyons of the Ancients. So glad we started early by 9 am. It did get up to about 90 by the time we ended our 5 mile trek. We saw lots of lizards and also some Indian ruins tucked into the cliffs. Afterwards we ate burgers at Sonic in Cortez. I don't know if a burger ever tasted so good! I 'super sized' the pix below, so be sure to click on each one if you want more detail.

Sunday, we headed over towards the Lizard Head Pass which is about halfway b/w Dolores and Telluride. One of the things I really enjoyed about the drive was the Dolores River Valley as we approached the pass. I wish I had taken pix of the valley. So, so green and beautiful with the river flowing through it, reddish cliffs on one side and green mountains on the other. This hike started at about 10,700 feet with 1600 feet elevation gain. We did not make it to the peak of what is called Black Face, but we did get to the top of the ridge! It was about a 7.5 mile hike. I call this a "2 sandwich hike".

About 1/4 of the way up, we had views of Trout Lake:

This is where we paused for Sandwich #1. (and on the way down for #2!) I remember I said, "Wm, we are NOT going all the way up there, are we?" He said, "Naw, see the trail heads over to the right of this." He was wrong.

 Yes, here we are, almost at the top of all those rocks! BUT, what a view!

This is actually at the top, walking along the ridge, which was about 50 yards wide. This is where we decided to turn around.

Big smiles for all the magnificent views!

Click on the picture to see both of us!!!