Showing posts with label Pink Saturday Posts. Show all posts

Sunday, October 8, 2023

Durango and Silverton Railroad a Travel Adventure in Colorado!

Do you love taking a historic and scenic train ride? Colorado has many, and my husband and I have made a point of taking a ride on them all. I have twelve train rides featured on my blog under the label Colorado Railroads, beginning with this post and continuing back to the first one we took ten years ago. Each train ride offers wonderful views and experiences. We typically enjoy these train rides during the fall season when the stunning colors of the Colorado aspen trees enhance the beauty of each journey. and the Durango Silverton Narrow Gage Railroad was no exception! This time of the year is also around our anniversary and we celebrated number 49 this year!

We began our journey by driving from our area of the Colorado Front Range to Durango, Colorado which is located in South West Colorado in the San Juan Mountian region. There is so much to see and do in Durango but our time was limited on this trip so we were there primarily to take the round-trip train ride that we scheduled ahead of time. The train fills up quickly this time of year so it is best to make advance reservations. We chose the 9-hour roundtrip journey (includes a 2-hour Silverton layover), but there are other shorter options if desired, and special train rides such as the upcoming Holiday Polar Express train ride that begins in November and ends at the end of December.

My husband and I reserved our seats on the open-air Gondola Car as we enjoyed seeing the sights from all sides of the train and having the flexibility to move around the car. The Gondola Car had an outward-facing bench on both sides as assigned seats but there was a lot of flexibility to take photos and I took hundreds! I made these photo collages to make sharing them much easier. to see more detail each collage can be clicked on and it will enlarge. As the Durango Silverton Train left Durango we passed, businesses, homes, farms, and ranches as well as the Durango Hot Springs area.

As the train rose higher and higher up into the San Juan Mountains we saw beautiful vistas and autumn color. The train follows the Animas River route and crosses over and around the river five times during its journey. You can watch a video short I took of the train climbing up into the mountains on this YouTube link or on my Mille Fiori Facebook page at this link.

The scenery was breathtaking!

The colorful fall foliage, the vast San Juan Mountain vistas, and the icy blue/green Animas River views were stunning!

At one point the train stopped at a mountain resort and some backpackers disembarked to hike. we also saw a man zip by on a zip line-- see the last photo in the lower right in the collage above. If you'd like to see a short video reel of more of the train ride on my Mille Fiori Facebook link Click Here--make sure to turn on the sound on the video to hear the sound of the steam train and the train whistle at the end of the video--it is very iconic and a bit romantic to me.

The terminus of the train ride is the historic gold mining town of Silverton. which is nestled in the San Juan Mountains at an elevation of 9,3018 feet (2,840.1264 meters)

During our round-trip train ride, we had a two-hour layover in Silverton where we enjoyed a nice lunch and took a walk around town to visit the shops.

Silverton Mountain is a thrilling year-round destination for skiing enthusiasts. The mountain boasts of over 400 inches (1016 centimeters) of hefty snowfall during winter, leaving the trails ungroomed. The current advertising campaign aptly describes the experience as "all thrills and no frills." However, the recent acquisition of the Silverton Mountain area by Aspen Travel Adventure Company may lead to changes beyond the current offerings.

Our train ride back to Durango was equally scenic.

We ended the day with a delicious dinner in the Diamond Belle Saloon at the historic Strater Hotel in Durango, where the diners were serenaded by a wonderful Ragtime Paino Player during dinner. It was a wonderful way to begin our 49th anniversary!

The next day we took a drive on the famous "Million Dollar Highway," US 550. from Durango to Ouray, Colorado. Photos will be in my next post, where you will see how it may have gotten its nickname.

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Sunday, October 1, 2023

Autumn Quotes

Happy October!

A beautiful autumn has arrived in the higher elevations of Colorado!

"Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves. We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!"

~ Humbert Wolfe

My husband and I love to take scenic drives this time of the year. We packed in many miles and saw many sights last week on our travels. One highlight was taking a ride on the Durango to Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Durango, Colorado. This is a historic train that travels up into the San Juan Mountains to the old mining town of Silverton. More about this train ride in my next blog post.

Here are a few of my favorite Autumn quotes to go along with some of the beautiful scenery that we saw...

"October is the treasure of the year."

~ Paul Laurence Dunbar

"The heart of Autumn must have broken here, and poured its treasure upon the leaves."

~ Charlotte Bates

"October is the opal month of the year. It is the month of glory, of ripeness.

It is the picture month"

~ Henry Ward Beecher

"As long as Autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas, and color enough to paint the beautiful things I see."

~ Vincent van Gogh

"No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face."

~ John Donne

"October is a hallelujah! reverberating in my body year-round."

~ John Nichols

"The beauty of the trees,

the softness of the air,

the fragrance of the grass,

speaks to me.

At the summit of the mountain,

the thunder of the sky,

speaks to me,

The faintness of the stars,

the trail of fire,

and the life that never goes away

they speak to me.

And my heart soars!"

~Chef Dan George

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves change."

~ Elizabeth Lawrence

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Sunday, September 17, 2023

Farewell Summer!

“There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.”

~ Celia Thaxter

The fall season is just a few days away, and although it is my favorite time of the year I'm always a little sad to see summer end. After a cold and rainy spring, our summer weather was mild and our lives were quiet as we stayed home most of the time and cared for our gardens.

Although the deer--and even squirrels--ate many of our tomatoes our patio container pepper crop was a good one. I roast them and save them in my freezer for chili, soups, and sauces.

This morning I was greeted by a deer convention being held on my front lawn. They were enjoying the shade and drinking from our birdbath.

Even though they ate all my flowers and many of my tomatoes, I can't help but think they are cute!

Our grandsons are both busy playing sports--high school football for the oldest and Little League Fall baseball for the middle school child. Our oldest grandson accompanied one of his best friends from childhood to a high school Homecoming Dance this weekend. They have been friends from their baby days as they were born a week apart and both their mothers are also best friends.

Our oldest granddaughter, along with two of her classmates, was chosen to take down the American flag and the Colorado state flag at the conclusion of their elementary school day. With great care and respect, they folded both flags and stored them until the following day. Each morning, the students recite the Pledge of Allegiance and receive general announcements.

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

I hope you all had a wonderful summer!

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Sunday, September 10, 2023

In Remembrance of 9-11

The Pueblo, Colorado, a 9-11 Memorial is located along the historic Arkansas Riverwalk, in front of the Center For American Values, which is dedicated to the delivery of high-quality civics-based education for our nation's youth (K-12) and houses one of the largest Medal of Honor Portraits of Valor. You can read more about this center in a blog post I wrote in 2013 on this link and my post about the historic Arkansas Riverwalk in Pueblo, Colorado on this link.

A piece of steel from one of the World Trade Center buildings is part of the Pueblo, Colorado, memorial and is facing toward New York City.

It's hard to fathom that 22 years have passed since the terrorist attack on the United States that took place on September 11, 2001. At that time, my husband and I were residing in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, where we had a clear view of the top of World Trade Center Building 2 from the front of our home. My husband worked in building 7 of the World Trade Center complex, and we frequented that area of NYC often. Our daughter was studying in college in NYC, while our son was living in Washington, DC for his college education and subsequent work. The memories of that day are still vivid in our minds.

I have written many posts about 9-11 since I began my blog--many, many memories and photos that I took in New York and also my reflections about the day after we moved to Colorado in 2013. You can find all those posts under this link for the posts with the 9-11 label--keep scrolling for more after each post--there are 17 posts in total.

We will never forget!

All 50 states of the United States have memorials to the Terrorist 9-11, as well as many countries around the world. You can see many of them on this link on the 9-11 Living Memorial Website.

In the Colorado neighborhood in which I now live we have a memorial to Jason Dahl, the pilot of Flight 93, the flight the passengers bravely fought the terrorists that took over the plane and it crashed that day in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Jason Dahl lived here --just a few blocks from where I now live--and the community erected this stone that has an eagle figure and the words: "'May he soar with the eagles." In the photo collage above you can see that memorial on the right and on the left is his name on one of the two 9-11 Memorial Fountains, in NYC, that now stand where each World Trade Center Tower once stood. As another memorial, there is a scholarship that has been established in Jason Dahl's memory to help young aviators achieve their dreams,

The 9-11 Living Memorial Project was launched in 2006. The Living Memorial Digital Archive Project is an online collection of photographs that chronicles the 2,977 lives lost on 9/11 and the 6 individuals and an unborn child that died in the 1993 bombing and also documents stories of responders and survivors. Today, the 9/11 Living Memorial is an extensive online collection of over 87,000 photographs that will expand over time. Through their partnership with the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City, the 9/11 Living Memorial is now a core component of their "In Memoriam" exhibition, which commemorates the lives lost in the attacks and provides visitors with the opportunity to learn about the men, women, and children who died. There are also survivor stories as part of the website. Please take some time to read some of the stories today if you can.

"No day shall erase you from the memory of time" Virgil

Is there a 9-11 Memorial where you live? I'd love to learn about it in your comments below.

To all our friends, neighbors, and work associates that we lost on 9-11...

We will never forget!

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Monday, September 4, 2023

September Joys: Peaches, Tomatoes and Football!

A beautiful sky over the foothills near Boulder, Colorado

Happy September!

Colorado experiences an early autumn due to its high elevation, however, there are still a few weeks of summer remaining to enjoy.

One of the joys at this time of the year is Palisade Peaches from the western slope of Colorado. They are juicy and sweet freestone peaches and every year I look forward to them. Last year our daughter had a business trip to Palisade and purchased a box of peaches for us. I made many delicious dishes with them which you can see on this post.

This year, our oldest grandson entered high school and his school orchestra has a fundraiser where Palisade Peaches, and honey from peach grove bee hives, could be purchased. We bought 20 pounds of peaches and a jar of honey-- both so wonderful!

I recently made a lifestyle change to eat a low carbohydrate diet from now on--see why on this post--but, happily, peaches are one of the healthier fruits that I can consume in moderation. The first meal I made was a Tomato Peach Fig and Burrata Salad, with arugula, basil, and prosciutto added and a balsamic glaze on top. We enjoyed it on our deck as we watched the sunset. It was the perfect meal for a warm evening!

This year I tried a Peach Quick Bread recipe from the blog "Sally's Baking Recipes" for my husband. It was delicious! It had a cinnamon crumb topping and as well as cinnamon-swirled peaches inside the cake's interior.

I had less success with attempting a low-carb version of a peach loaf using almond flour, coconut flour, and monk fruit sugar substitute. It did not rise too high despite having both baking powder and baking soda added. It may have been because of my area's high elevation as I live at 6,200 feet (1889.76 meters) and baking is often a challenge here. It did taste good, and I hope to get better at baking with substitutions so that I can also enjoy some low-carb treats. Does anyone have any low-carb baking hints for me?

A savory dinner with peaches was this one called Balsamic Peach Pork Chops with Blue Cheese from the blog "Closet Cooking."

It was fabulous!

I used extra peaches since I had more pork chops than the recipe called for. I doubled the recipe and served them separately so I could regulate my portion size.

Additionally, I still have an abundance of zucchini and zucchini blossoms growing in my garden this September, so I made zucchini fritters for my husband to enjoy.

As far as gardens go, a disaster hit my patio tomato plants!

If you look at the collage above you can see the photo in the lower left corner of my plants a week ago. I was picking many red tomatoes every day, as you can see by the basket of ripe ones. I came out this week to find that a deer somehow squeezed past the chicken wire fence around my plants and ate all the tops and tomatoes it could reach! AGH!!! I lost so many tomatoes. Knowing it would probably come back I pulled all the remaining tomatoes and will allow them to ripen inside by a window. The season for tomatoes was coming to an end, but it was sad to lose so many.

Finally, another September joy is watching our oldest grandson play football on his high school freshman team. It is nice to see the team learn sportsmanship and for them to be kept busy in the afternoons after school with practices. He also hopes to play lacrosse in the spring.