Blog #17

March 21-April 1

One of the problems with not updating the blog more often is that I start to forget what we did. We were in Durango a total of two weeks and two days and we really got to pack a lot in. And yet there’s more after that. A challenge is cell service. I’m posting now while I’ve got the chance — and WordPress is being a bit finicky about that as well. Apologies if this post looks wonky.

One night, we heard they were playing Ragtime at the Strater Hotel’s Belle Diamond Saloon in downtown Durango. Turns out, the piano player forgot that Monday was the day to take apart and tune the piano. No Ragtime for us, but we did a self-guided tour of the iconic, historic Durango hotel. When the description says it’s a Victorian era hotel, I generally think run down and long in the tooth. Not this one. They do a great job of keeping up the space with modern but historically correct wallpaper and upholstery. It was really beautiful. While we couldn’t get into the Saloon, there is also a bar called The Office that is so beautiful and used to be a men’s club. Definitely have to try that in the future. They had a guitar player as well. Lots of live music in Durango.

You can tell this was a real Wild West kind of town. Miners made money here and lost plenty in the saloons and casinos. I think the town does summer “shoot out” events for the tourists, but you can honestly see that must have happened here.

Aside from the saloon, there are wonderful breweries here. We went to three but there are many more to choose from.

It wasn’t all eating and drinking. We explored a couple Durango’s multitude of hiking trails. We had our daughter Rachel with us quite a bit as she traveled from her job in Utah (4 hours away) on her weekends (Mon-Wed) to be with us. We got a spot right next to us at the campground for her teardrop trailer, and we even were lucky enough to have her fiancé Madison join us! Their dogs and our dogs all got along famously. We went to the amazing dog park again. We washed Rachel’s white dog (oh! the red mud!). We went on some great hikes.

More coffee shops

A friend from college (thank you Rosa Kim Broseman!) virtually introduced us to some of her friends who moved to Durango. Over a couple of beers, we learned more and more about what they liked about the town and why they moved from Baltimore. Jim and Emily Baskin are great people and were a wealth of knowledge. We feel so lucky to have met them.

We also stopped by a Ford Toyota dealership as Rachel is considering a trade in. There is a hot market in Durango for a Tacoma with 250K miles! But the dealership was incredible to me. It had a fireplace! and a basketball court — inside — for March Madness! And an ice cream and popcorn dispenser! Who does this?

Leaving Durango was hard. It’s mud season so leaving caked boots and paws behind was not difficult, but there was so much more to do and see. I didn’t get to check out their farmer’s market, bakeries or the 10 year-old library near the Animas River. I saw a sign for a wine event in town after we left. We wish we had more time.

We headed out on Wednesday, a little later than planned, and made our first stop in Moab. It’s a cute, touristy desert town boasting outdoor sports from rafting (yes, there’s a river) to ATV tours that also is famous for being the place where my daughter has a vet she trusts. Our 13 year-old Lab Toby got an ear infection — probably because we didn’t put gauze in his ears before a bath. The vet was wonderful, culturing and cleaning his ears, and giving us overall old dog advice.

The red rocks and mountains of Moab gave way to other desert and then snow-capped mountains as we entered Utah.  I took photos from the car, and they don’t do it justice, but Utah is just an amazing state. I wish I had written down the changes in topography as they were happening. Snow-capped mountains give way to flat desert, but always around another corner were more. I often get tired when I drive, but I went 6 hours just enjoying the scenery and listening to my book. Mountains give way to red rock to the topography you expect around Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Red rocks in strange formations. One formed into what looks like an old fashioned beehive.

We stayed overnight in Utah, excited to find an In-N-Out Burger.  David worked all day the next day, but encouraged me to go to Park City and ski.  I haven’t gone in years and was quite frankly a little nervous to go by myself. Skiing is something I like to share – plus I’m afraid of getting injured, especially because I had cartilage surgery on my right knee in November before we moved. However, I had to justify dragging our ski outfits and boots all over the country, so I went. The goggles, gloves, pants and other ski accoutrement finally came down from the Thule perched on our massive F-250. 

And it was all worth it.  I skied slowly and on green easy trails to start. It was sunny in the morning and lightly snowed in the afternoon. 

I finished on the slopes around 2:30 and got home to David (after returning rental skis and poles) around 4. We took a drive to the Great Salt Lake and walked the dogs in the depleted lake bed. The lake is receding due to the drought out West and really is a problem. LI

We went to Trader Joe’s afterwards. FINALLY I scored some out of state bags. Thank you, Utah! We restocked the Airstream, made dinner, watched more of Inventing Anna and went to bed early. We wanted to hit the Idaho Airstream dealership before it closed so they could take a look at a minor problem.

The drive was amazing. Our country is truly a thing of beauty. Again, photos from the car don’t do it justice.

The Boise Airstream Adventures dealership was so helpful. I called last week to see if we could schedule a service appointment. Like a great doctor, all Airstream dealerships are working at least 3 months out booking appointments. They said since we were driving through, they could set aside a couple of hours to look at our problem, maybe not solve it but at least give us a diagnosis. I called again on Tuesday and they said to just give a window and they would help us out.  Indeed, they did! They determined that our stabilizers (only used when we are stationary) are not going up due to a bad switch. It’s still under warranty and if they had the part, they would have fixed it. It’s just great we know the part number so we can ask another dealership to order it and install it in the future.   

They also offer complimentary campsites for Airstream owners for up to 3 nights! That may help people getting repairs, but it’s also a great service to offer those of us passing through. 

While the Airstream was getting a diagnosis, we went into Boise and tested the best ice cream in town – according to a couple of websites. The Stil doesn’t only provide amazing flavors of delicious ice cream but offers “flights” of mini cups that include pairings with wine and beer! So much fun! We had to drive so we tasted 8 flavors and no alcohol – all delicious. I think my favorite was Honey Bourbon or Chai Whiskey.

We got back to the dealership had a great conversation with the repairman about elk, antelope, deer and bear hunting. We talked about poachers and how some judges don’t give strict enough punishment for those who hunt without a license. 

All the people out here are so nice. We’ve had great conversations with total strangers in a way that didn’t happen on Long Island. So much more is happening every day. I might be a bit behind but I have to post before more occurs!