From Durango, CO

Yesterday, Mark was trying to steer between traffic cones in a construction area and he hit several of them on the passenger side of the RV. He was driving in between the rows and couldn’t figure out how he was hitting them. We figured it out this morning, but more on that in a moment.

This was the BLM land where we parked last night near Queens Valley, AZ. It was a beautiful place to wake up this morning.
We stopped at a rest stop in Superior, AZ.
We discovered that the reason we hit the cones yesterday was that our stairs weren’t pulling in as they should when we hit the button. So while we were stopped, Mark had to work on the step motor.
Working on the step motor
He finally got the steps to pull in, and then he took that piece of rope and tied them in place. The whole rest of the day, we had to take one giant step in and out of the RV.
Then he took Tucson for a walk…
…while I took a picture of my socks!
We can finally say we’ve been to Miami! …Arizona
Hairpin turn!
This was a good stop for taking lots of photos
Salt River Canyon
We walked out on a bridge over the Salt River
Mark’s shot of the river
Shadow effect
Tucson and Mark reading some info about the Apache tribes that live in the area
Looking back to where we took those pictures
We stopped at another spot that reminded me of the Grand Canyon!
One of those “I shoot you; you shoot me” moments!
We hit Holbrook, AZ by 1:10 pm and it was 82 degrees. It felt good!
These were called “window rocks”. There were a whole bunch of these caves as we approached the border with New Mexico.
New Mexico welcomes you!
A solar farm
Mark was starting to get drowsy, so I kept giving him snacks and drinks to try to keep him awake.
It looked like we were heading into rain, but fortunately, we turned north before we hit it!
This area reminded us of the Badlands in South Dakota.
We crossed the Animas River.
Leaving New Mexico; entering Colorado.
We began seeing snow-capped mountains.
Coming into Durango, CO

We tried stopping at the Walmart in Durango, but they don’t allow overnight parking either. We are about to give up on Walmarts! We ended up making reservations at a nearby campground, but by the time we got here, it was dark. Mark has gone to bed. This has been the first trip in several years where we have taken time to do some fun things. It’s been a wonderful day! I’ll leave you with the song that made me want to come here, The Silverton Train by CW McCall:

She was born one mornin’ on a San Juan summer
Back in eighteen and eighty and one
She was a beautiful daughter of the D and R G
And she weighed about a thousand ton

Well, it’s a-forty-five mile through the Animas canyon
So they set her on the narrow-gauge
She drank a whole lot a’ water
And she ate a lot of coal
And they called her the Silverton (Silverton train)

Here comes the Silverton, up from Durango
Here comes the Silverton, a-shovelin’ coal
Here comes the Silverton, up from the canyon
See the smoke and hear the whistle blow

Well, now listen to the whistle in the Rockwood cut
On the high line to Silverton town
And you’re gonna get a shiver
When you check out the river
Which is four hundred feet straight down

Take on some water at the Needleton tank
And then a-struggle up a two-five grade
And by the time you get your hide
Past the Snowshed slide
You’ve had a ride on the Silverton (Silverton train)

Here comes the Silverton, up from Durango
Here comes the Silverton, a-shovelin’ coal
Here comes the Silverton, up from the canyon
See the smoke and hear the whistle blow

Now, down by the station, early in the mornin’
There’s a whole lot a’ people in line
And they all got a ticket
On The Train To Yesterday
And it’s a-gonna leave on time

Well, it’s a forty-five mile up the Animas canyon
So they run her on the narrow-gauge
She takes a whole lot a’ water
And she needs a lot of coal
And they call her the Silverton (Silverton train)

Here comes the Silverton, up from Durango
Here comes the Silverton, a-shovelin’ coal
Here comes the Silverton, up from the canyon
See the smoke and hear the whistle blow

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