3 Reasons to Ride the Durango Train One Way If you’re on the fence about whether to ride the Durango Silverton train one-way, or do the whole kit and caboodle through the astounding wilderness of the Animas River Canyon, you’ve chugged yourself over to the right place! It’s no secret that the Durango train is […]

Renaming the Rivers of Southwest Colorado — The Juan Rivera 1765 Expedition The majority of the information in this article about the naming (and renaming) of Southwest Colorado rivers on the Juan Rivera expedition, including Rivera’s journal excerpts, has been sourced from the incredible and comprehensive work of Steven G. Baker and Rick Hendrick’s Juan […]

The Animas River — A Tale of Untamed Resilience The appellation, “Río de Las Animas”—the River of Souls—was written in the journal of Spanish colonizer, Juan Maria Antonio Rivera while crossing the Animas River on horseback in 1765 (Durango Herald). One can only imagine what sights lended to this name.   Perhaps Rivera sensed the looming […]

Everything You Wanted to Know about the Aspen Tree So, you’re looking for some cold hard facts about the aspen tree. Well, you’ve come to the right shady corner of the internet friend. That’s a pun on trees, in case you’ve got the wrong idea about that quality double entendre.  Aspens, the quaking aspens of […]

What to Expect on a Trails and Rails Trip – A Photo Story When you sign up for a Trails & Rails trip with us, you best get ready for the ride of your life, especially with fall colors arriving. A brief synopsis of how this trip works, is the first half of the trip […]

How to Book the Trails and Rails Package If you’re looking for a jaw dropping, gobsmacking, dare we say downright stupefyingly scenic day in the San Juan Mountains, Trails and Rails is the topnotch way to see the tiptop sites between Durango and Silverton.  The Trails and Rails package combines a cliff-hugging cruise from Durango […]

3 Ways to Explore the Animas River Valley besides the Durango Train  With fire season upon us in Southwest Colorado, the Durango Train can face unexpected closures on occasion. When this happens, would-be passengers are left to whip up a new agenda for the day— And we’ve got some solid suggestions! That is, as long […]

7 Glowing Trails You Should Hike ASAP During Fall in Durango Looking for some trails to get your fall festivities on near Durango? Good on ya! This area is a leaf peeper’s paradise by late September to mid-October. If you catch the aspens of the San Juan Mountains in their prime, you’re in for some […]

3 Awesome Historic Detours off the Million Dollar Highway   The Million Dollar Highway is a historical site in and of itself, but its many detours along the cliff-hanging route add so much more context to its initial creation in the 19th century.  When you drive U.S. 550, you’re cruising on over a century’s worth […]

How the Silver Boom made Southwest Colorado & Its Wild Mining Towns Before the mid 1800s, Colorado mining towns were nonexistent. The untapped land was home the original people known as the Ute, who migrated with the hunting season across this wild western territory. White settlers had made their way through these rugged mountains on […]