A day trip on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Colorado, September 28, 2015

We’ve done the Durango to Silverton round-trip train excursion at least 3 times.  It takes up most of the day, all day if you do it like we did the last time when we were camping at Mesa Verde National Park, 40 miles away from the train station in Durango.

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Wikipedia
Accessed 8/21/22

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, often abbreviated as the D&SNG, is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on 45.2 mi (72.7 km) of track between Durango and Silverton, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The railway is a federally-designated National Historic Landmark and was also designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1968.

The route was originally opened in 1882 by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) to transport silver and gold ore mined from the San Juan Mountains. The line was an extension of the D&RG 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge line from Antonito, Colorado to Durango.

The line from Durango to Silverton has run continuously since 1881, although it is now a tourist and heritage line hauling passengers, and is one of the few places in the U.S. which has seen continuous use of steam locomotives. In March 1981, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) sold the line and the D&SNG was formed. Today, the D&SNG, along with the C&TSRR (Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad), are the only two remaining parts of the former D&RGW narrow-gauge network. The railroad has a total of nine narrow-gauge steam locomotives (eight of which are operational) and soon-to-be eleven narrow-gauge diesel locomotives, six of which were acquired within the last three years, on its current roster.

Some rolling stock dates back to the 1880s. Trains operate from Durango to the Cascade Wye in the winter months and Durango–Silverton during the summer months. Durango depot was built in January 1882 and has been preserved in its original form.

Teardrop (T@B) trailer at Morefield Store for campground check-in; Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, September 27, 2015

Mesa Verde has been a favorite of ours for quite a while going back to the 1980s.

A Sacred Place

National Park Service
Accessed 8/21/2022

For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. Today, the park protects the rich cultural heritage of 26 Pueblos and Tribes and offers visitors a spectacular window into the past. This World Heritage Site and International Dark Sky Park is home to over a thousand species, including several that live nowhere else on earth.

World’s Largest Teardrop Manufacturer

nüCamp RV
Accessed 8/21/2022

nüCamp RV has been manufacturing teardrop trailers and small campers since 2004 – ahead of the tiny living trend.

Located in the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country, we manufacture the iconic TAB Teardrop Camper, the TAG Teardrop Trailer, the TAB 400 Teardrop Camper, and the Cirrus Truck Camper. Each of our travel trailers and truck campers are equipped with a cozy sleeping area and a beautiful kitchenette. Our camper trailers are inspired by European influences and feature a modern look that will turn heads. These small campers allow you to take the comforts of home on the road without sacrificing quality.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Cannonville Visitor Center, Bureau of Land Management, Cannonville, Utah, October 6, 2015

Bureau of Land Management
Accessed 8/21/22

The Cannonville Visitor Center is one of four visitor centers in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, each with a different theme. Tucked away in the heart of Cannonville, Utah, this visitor center offers interpretive displays of human geography, Native American & Pioneer history in the Monument. The friendly and knowledgeable staff here can provide weather reports, hiking recommendations and road reports, which is a must-have for visitors exploring the Monument, as it sits on the north end of Cottonwood Canyon Road, which is a rugged and scenic 47-mile dirt road that connects Utah SR-12 with US-89. The Cannonville Visitor Center is generally open from mid-March to mid-November.

VW Westfalia camper, The Hogback, on Utah Highway 12 in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, October 6, 2015

Utah Scenic Byway 12,
Accessed January 15, 2018

Between Calf Creek Recreation Area and Boulder Town is an internationally famous stretch of byway known as “The Hogback.” As the asphalt clings to this thin razorback ridge of slickrock, the terrain spills steeply off to each side toward winding creeks and canyons below, where cottonwoods provide ribbons of green, gold, or gray depending on the season. Driving here is slow and cautious, but the vistas are incredible.