Day 6: Colorado Springs to Durango

The crew brought their bags to the bus this morning as the sun was beginning to think about rising over the beautiful Colorado mountains. After a sleepy, but wholesome, breakfast, we loaded the bus and headed toward Silverton, CO. The excited nature on the bus slowly fell quiet as we headed out of the city limits and the Colorado mountains began to engulf us on both sides. Some students slept off their early morning, while others sat taking in the "live movie", as Glenn liked to call it, playing outside our windows. 

This drive is easily in the top 3 for scenic drives on the Grand Western Tour. It is spectacular to watch the pine tree covered mountains outside Colorado Springs turn to rolling green hills as we pass through Salida, and then transition to the rock covered mountains that earned the Rockies their name.

About halfway through the journey we found ourselves on the Million Dollar Highway (the name comes from the fact that it took a million dollars to form just one mile of the road). This became our first driving "group activity". All of the students were woken up and encouraged to enjoy the "live movie" still playing outside their windows. Phones and cameras were plastered against the windows once again as we drove between the Rockies with the Arkansas River at our side. The sights of the Million Dollar Highway were breathtaking and left many students in awe of their natural surroundings. A few students found the proximity of the bus to the edge of large droppoffs to be breathtaking as well, in a more literal sense of the word. However, Clarence did a wonderful job as always in getting us safely to our destination.

We pulled into Silverton, CO just in time for lunch. The crew split off in groups of three or larger to eat and enjoy the small town. Silverton is an old mining town turned tourist town. Many of the original buildings have been restored to fit the needs of tourists while simultaneously taking them back in time. 

Once it was time to catch our train, the crew met back up accompanied by full stomachs and some shopping bags (both will be a trend throughout the summer). We then boarded the Narrow Gauge Railroad from Silverton to Durango, CO where we are spending the next two nights. 

The railroad twisted and turned through the Colorado Rockies following the path of the river. The students enjoyed postcard views for 3 hours of the steady-rocking train ride. Mountains, valleys, waterfalls, bridges, kayakers, and campers passed by on both sides of the train. 

Upon arriving at the depot in Durango, CO, we checked in to the hotel before being given free time for dinner and exploration. The students spread out and picked from many local restaurants for dinner (pizza and burgers were best sellers this evening). 

The whole crew is back safely at the Durango Downtown Inn and ready to catch up on some sleep. 

Until tomorrow-GWT