It was a full day of travel today. It was also a little cooler; we broke out our long pants for the first time on the trip. We bused to Silverton, Colorado this morning. The driver/tour guide was a hoot; we learned a few things and somewhat didn’t notice that we were climbing to better than 10,000 feet (at least until we stopped at a viewpoint. The view was tremendous!).

We arrived in Silverton about 15 minutes before the first train of the day was due to get there. So, job one was to beat the train passengers to the town’s restaurants for lunch. We did this, beating a path to Handlebars, a tavern/restaurant on the Main Street of town. They served a great meal in a really fun space…see pictures below.

This left us with an hour and a half to explore downtown Silverton. We shopped a little, bought a coffee for the train ride, and as we often do wandered by some little churches to take pictures. Soon enough, the call “all aboard” rang through the air.

We had the good fortune to have a steam locomotive pulling the train, the sounds and sights of a steamer are nostalgic. The ride from Silverton to Durango was nearly four hours, but was the prettiest scenery you could have asked for. We saw mountains, aspens just turning on their fall colors, the canyon dug by the Animas River, and so much more.

So, the next two days are free for us to spend. Tomorrow we plan to drive the Million Dollar Highway for ourselves, visiting Silverton and Ouray for a closer look.