Days 90 & 91

Hey all!  I am giving Lisa a break and jumping on the keyboard for the first time in a long time.  I think Lisa caught y’all up to our first night in Durango…

At our first get together, I met our host’s next-door neighbor – who casually mentioned that it was the weekend of a big bike rally in nearby Ignacio, and if I wanted to borrow his bike to go for a cruise I was more than welcome.  He really had to twist my arm.

So, Saturday morning after breakfast I climbed onboard my borrowed Road King and went for a ride up to Vallecito Reservoir.  It. Was. Awesome.  The hardest thing was the fact the county roads were 45mph, and the sweet mountain curves were begging for a fist full of throttle.  I was back in time for lunch and had only a slight sunburn.

That night was our first presentation at the First United Methodist Church in Durango – it was a great group, and we followed that up with two presentations the next morning during services.  It was great to get to know the folks there – they actively support a couple mission initiatives in DRC and actually have a couple heading to Lubumbashi next month to check in with the mission post out thataway.  Oh yeah, and they just had a team come back from Nairobi Kenya!

Sunday afternoon was nice and relaxing, and it really started to turn into a “man”cation – catching a decent college football game after a Texas style barbecue lunch.  Durango is a really cool town that has a vibe of it’s own, kind of mix of Sante Fe and Boise perhaps?

Labor Day was more family time followed by further “man”cation… we loaded up in our truck and followed our host’s Suburban up to Silverwood, then on to Ouray hotsprings for playtime.  It was different than any hotsprings I have previously visited.  The springs were actually piped into several large city pools, with slides and wading areas and all that jazz.   If the water wasn’t warm, you would have thought it was any other small town public pool.

Can anyone out there visualize the waterfall on the Coors Beer ads?  We went there. Once again: It. Was. Awesome.  Not just the falls, the drive.  Already to get to Ouray we had to drive over a set of narrow mountain passes that had no guard rails because the avalanches just kept taking them off – think winding road with no shoulder and a sheer 1000ft drop.  Then it got seriously fun.  The road from Ouray to Yankee Boy Basin (where the falls are found) is a no joke four-wheel drive climb.  Not the “you need a lift kit and a winch” kind, but the “seriously man, trucks weren’t meant to stay on the pavement” kind.  It was a pretty fun drive that called for some aggressive driving and at some points the road literally went under cliffs overhanging the full width and only at about 15’ of  overhead clearance.   Some pictures should surface pretty soon of the truck at a pretty serious angle of attack taking on some of the bigger creek beds and ditches.

Apparently, one of the turn offs we passed is a four-wheel road running over Imogene pass to Telluride – it started off with a 2’ deep ford and was really calling my name…

We made it down in one piece right before a storm hit the mountain and went down in to Durango for a sample of the local cuisine – if you are ever there check out Carver’s.  Absolutely delicious!

Huge thanks to our Durango hosts for the hospitality, setting up logistics for 3 presentations, and really giving us a taste of Durango.   I will let Lisa write tomorrow about Tuesday’s adventure!  See you soon Nampa!