Pleasant Dreams, by GJ

Now that we are no longer able to travel much, I find myself missing it a lot. I especially miss the Rocky Mountains. There is a corner of Colorado, the far southwestern corner, near Durango that we always loved. For one, you can take a train north to Silverton, an authentic old mining town. For another, you can drive north and enjoy a truly “white knuckle” drop into the town of Ouray. Mainly, though, as you take that narrow highway north, you’ll feel a genuine sense of “being involved” in the Rockies. You’ll see peaks of 10, 12, 13 thousand feet all around. You get a sense that you are riding a crest of them, and, while that’s not altogether true, you do touch the continental divide.

If you are ever in the area, and if it still operates, you must take in the “Chuckwagon Dinner.” (I think it’s called.) It’s outdoors, at the foot of a steep cliff, with a portable tarp that can be used in case of rain. With your meal, you get good, old-fashioned, western music, like that of “The Sons of the Pioneers.” (“Cool Water.”) They serve you on a tin (?) pie plate and you are warned to keep your thumb where they can put the cold apple sauce. Any other place will be too hot to hold.

There is a reservoir not far east, and you can stay there, enjoying a great view and making many uses of the water. ( (Boating, fishing, etc.) One motel has huge flowers in front, and dozens of hummingbirds gather there. This whole area is called “The Four Corners,” where CO., NM, AZ, and UT come together. Supposedly, there is a spot where you can stand with one foot in any two of them, or in all, if you happen to have four feet!

We have visited Durango a number of times and can’t seem to get enough of it.