4 posts tagged “rivers”

Here are yet more pictures from the train ride Mom and I took on the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.  These are from the trip back from Cascade Village, and they were taken through the soot-covered window of a moving train, so forgive the quality.

Much of the line runs right along the side of a mountain, so those who are afraid of heights might not want to look down.

Another Oh-My-God-We're-Gonna-Die shot.

Probably my favorite scenary shot from the trip.

A view of the steam engine ahead of us on a left turn curve.

A couple of more straight down into the river shots.

A similar left-hand turn allowed me to take this shot of the steam engine ahead of us, but this time with quite the sunburst.

This shot wasn't an artifact of the light or anything.  The white cloud to our left is steam from the engine, drifting away.

A rather pristine lake we passed.

And that's all!  Sorry to take so long to get them all posted.  Thank you for indulging me.

In conclusion, I'll say that it was a lot of fun!  Strix and I will definitely have to do this together sometime, preferably in the summer when we can stay in the open observation car longer and take prettier pictures.  I've heard that it's really nice to do when the leaves are changing, but that you have to book during those weeks well in advance.

Here are more pics from the train ride I took when Mom was here:

The footbridge at the Cascade Village stop.

Views of the river from the footbridge.

A detail shot of the floor of the footbridge.  Not in the best of shape.  Watch your step.

A couple more shots of the river.  I like the giant treestump in the foreground of the one on the right.

A shot of the steam engine itself.

My favorite shot of the train.

Detail of the bell and whistle assembly.

The front of the train, with an unfortunate shadow from a tree falling right on the nose.

One of those little maintenance cars that run on the tracks, as seen on some side tracks we passed looping back around to head back to Durango.

Okay, I have probably one more batch after this one, but it's time for bed.

More pictures from the Durango-Silverton train ride...

Pictures of the river at the Cascade Canyon stop, where we all got off to walk around a bit before heading back.  At this point, my mother stepped in a 1" deep hole and ended up flat on her back next to the train.  I told her she looked like a turtle on its back, and she didn't appreciate it.  She decided not to trek through the snow with me to see the rest of the sights.

A footbridge just a little down river from the train.

The entrance to the footbridge.  It was just as slick and hard to climb as it looks here.

Supper time.  More later. 

In honor of my mother staying with us for a while, yesterday her and I went to Durango and took a ride on the D&SNGRR steam engine, which has been in operation since 1882, to Cascade Canyon, Colorado.  Visit the Railroad's web site for some fascinating reading about the train's history.  It used to haul gold and silver ore from the mines, and now it just hauls people.

During the summer months, the train runs all the way from Durango to Silverton, Colorado (thus the name).  During the winter months, the danger of avalanche is too high, so it only runs a little more than halway to Silverton, stopping at Cascade Canyon before heading back.  It's a short trip to nowhere, but people take it for the scenary, photography opportunities, and the experience of riding in an actual steam-powered train that was originally built in the 19th Century (although it has been rebuilt and refurbished many times since, of course).

Has nothing to do with the railroad, but I took a picture of this on the way to the railroad.  These are the doors to the General Palmer Hotel, a fixture in Durango.

A mural on the side of a building depicting Main Street in Durango as it looked in 1890.  There is an unfortunate shadow of a street light post ruining the shot, but you get the idea.

A sculpture of three young horses outside the train station.  One of the train cars can be seen in the background.

The front of the station.

A view down the Observation Car, which is an open air car where it's easier to take pictures of the passing scenary.  Unfortunately, it was too cold to spend much time in there, though a number of the passengers tried.  I went back into it a couple of times, then gave up.

A view down Coach #2, where we were seated.  A word of warning if you ride this train: the men's room in Coach #2 doesn't have a lock.

The Durango-Silverton more or less runs along the route of the Animas River.  This is a shot I almost didn't get of us crossing the river, with a footbridge in the distance.

I got this picture violating the rules of the Observation Car, which were to keep your all your appendages inside the car.  I'm such a rebel.

A couple of slightly blurry pics of another train we passed that had not stood the test of time.  It had been left on this side rail to disintegrate over time, but it still looked cool.

A view of one of the many points of rapids along the river.  You can also see the ice forming on the rapidly moving water, giving you an idea of how cold it was.  No swimming.

A view in the Concession Car, where Mom and I went to get something quick to eat.  If you want something hot, it's going to be microwaved, and you have to be rail thin (get it? rail thin?) to work behind that counter, but they had a pretty impressive array of junk food and a full bar, to boot.  You could get whatever drink you wanted, and then immediately dump it down the front of your shirt because you're on a train and bouncing around like a human pinball.

Running out of time, but I have many more pictures, so stay tuned.