Today we did something we’ve wanted to do for a very long time. We rode the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. We were scheduled on the 8:45 train so we watched the 8am train roll out of the station. 
As soon as we set off, it was apparent that trains make people happy. People honked, waved and took pictures. It reminded us of when we take the Moto Guzzi with the side car out for a spin. Same reaction. It sure made Tom happy because he had a kid-like grin on his face the whole day.
Once we left the town of Durango, we crossed farmlands and ranches.
We soon began to climb in elevation and train lumbered with great chugs of steam. We paralleled the Million Dollar Highway that we traveled a few years ago and the Animas River for much of the journey.
At one point we could not even see the ground beneath us as we were on the very edge of the cliff.
The exhaust from the train is sprayed with water so as to lessen the chance of fire from the soot. This results in a charcoal rain. More on that later.
We made a few stops for passengers to board and exit. These are called flag stops. At one of these stops, we passed some old rail cars.
The clearance through the canyon at some points was less than a foot and you had to be mindful of your limbs and head hanging too far out of the car. 
After four hours we got to Silverton – 9,318 feet in elevation. Silverton is an old gold and silver mining town. We had lunch at a great little place, Eureka Station, that embraced the hard rock mining heritage. We channeled Cathy’s grandpa, a gold miner of Cornish decent, and had a Cornish pasty and a Pabst Blue Ribbon for lunch.
We walked around the town for a bit and Tom tried desperately to get a piece of soot out of his eye as a result of having his head stuck out of the window like an excited dog the whole trip up.
After many eye washes, Tom finally dislodged the soot from his eye and enjoyed the trip back to Durango with his head firmly ensconced inside the gondola.
Our view on the trip back was on the opposite side of the canyon but just as beautiful. 
The couple next to us was very nice and we conversed throughout the trip. On the way back, Cathy asked where they were from – Fairplay, Colorado. They, in turn, asked where we were from. We told them near Sacramento and the woman said she grew up in Fair Oaks. Cathy asked what high school she attended and it was the same school that Cathy went to! Such a small world.
Finally we started to get closer to Durango and there were any rafters enjoying the river. Two of the decided instead of waving to the train, the would drop their pants and moon us. Sorry, no picture. It happened so quickly and we were laughing so hard, we failed to capture the moment.
So once back in Durango, we headed back to our hotel room because we were covered in soot (see what we did there with the title?). It was all over our skin, penetrated socks and other garments. Our hands were filthy. It took some scrubbing to get it off.
We will have to do some laundry when we get to Moab. It is going to be a hot day tomorrow. Moab is set to reach triple digits so we are going to try to get an early start.
We did find one barn today!
Monkeybutt Chronicles 