Durango
to Silverton Steam Train
|
|
The old folks and
Sniffy took this steam train ride several years ago, so this
time everybuddy decided to go and take the train ride that takes
you from Antonito, Colorado, to Chama, New Mexico.
It is a very
dramatic train ride where they take you from Durango, at the
train station right next to McDonald's, and you end up in
Silverton, about 50 miles away, around lunch time.
Jim took this
ride in 1953, and it was essentially the same this time, except
that he was smart enough not to keep sticking his head out the
window and getting his eyes full of coal cinders and smoke.
You can find out
more about this great train ride by clicking on their website
below:
Durango
& Silverton Train
|
|
|
Sparky's
Colorado Vacation, Page 4
by Sparky |
Silverton,
Colorado
Silverton is the
end of the train ride that comes here from Durango, but we didn't take this time cuz we took it
another time a couple of years ago, but there are a lot of other
touristy things there, as mentioned in the column at left. When
the train arrives just before noon, there are excellent photo
opportunities for avid photographers, who sometimes follow the
train and take zillions of photos of its every twist and turn. In
the downtown area are numerous shops, stores and restaurants
catering to every whim imaginable. Gift shops combined with
ice cream stores, art galleries stuffed into old houses, and lots
of other seemingly odd combinations. Old
Hundred Mine Tour We
did, however, decide to check out the Old Hundred Mine Tour, and
the old folks went on the mine train, and Sniffy was hiding in
Jim's jacket pocket, cuz he reely likes anything to do with mines,
tunnels and caves. There's only jest a few
pictures below cuz they
have a reely good website, and you ken check it out at: Old
Hundred Mine Tour
|
Sparky's
Old Hundred Mine Tour Photo Album |
1. Entrance to the Old Hundred
|
2. Extra mine trains
|
3. Machinery demonstration
|
4. Sniffy on blasting machine
|
|
Photo
#4 shows Sniffy sitting on one of those dynamite machines that
makes things blow up. He is blurry cuz he was so scared that
if he moved it might blow up the entire mine.
And, the miner that explained
things on the tour told everybuddy to watch out for some little
guys called "Tommyknockers," who hide out in mines and
make things go wrong. Like, when you go to eat your lunch,
somebuddy already ate most of it, and your coffee has salt in
it. Or your hammer handle is greasy and you can't use it
very well. Or, back in the reely old days, your candle that
you have on your hat, or hanging from a little holder stuck in the
wall, will suddenly blow out and leave you in the dark. They
also steal sacks of gold when they get a chance.
Tommyknockers are a lot like Irish
Leprechauns, except that Leprechauns drink Irish Beer, while
Tommyknockers always drink the kind of whiskey that miners and
cowboys drink.
After the mine tour we took off to
get to Chama, New Mexico, where the next train ride would start
out from.
|
|
Silverton |
|
Silverton
is an old mining town that has turned its attention to the
mining of tourists. It has a beautiful Visitor Information
Center, and it is even open during normal hours. |
|
(Many
small towns seem to only keep their visitor centers open for a
few hours each week, like Wednesday from 3:00 to 5:00, or
something like that).
You can find out
more by clicking on the Silverton website below:
Silverton,
Colorado
|
|