The snowstorm from the night before only left about 2 or 3 inches of snow on our truck, but the road from Ouray to Silverton was pretty treacherous. It’s a dangerous road even when conditions are perfect, but the morning after a big snowstorm was especially nerve wracking. Traffic was very light, though! And when we started getting closer to Silverton, we picked up their local public radio station, which was playing some awesome commercial-free Motown music. We didn’t have time to stop in Silverton, because I had reserved a slot on a sleigh ride near Durango for 1:00 PM. So we drove on.
Despite all the snow up on the passes, the Animas River valley above Durango was very dry. After driving around a bit looking for a place to get a sandwich, we decided we’d have to settle for cheese and crackers and fruit. So, we pulled into the Rapp Corral and I asked if we could use their picnic table for lunch. The woman there (Anne Rapp, I suspect) said, “Didn’t you get my message? We had to cancel the sleigh rides due to lack of snow!” Unfortunately, I had not gotten her message. I later found out she’d just called earlier that morning, and we were far from cell phone coverage, up on a mountain in a snowstorm.
We made the best of it, though, and drove on to Durango, where we had lunch at a little restaurant in an old house that reminded me of Lucile’s in Boulder. After lunch, we drove onward to Pagosa Springs. There, we checked in to the Econo Lodge. Beth was in the mood for an exceptional dinner, as she felt like the past couple meals hadn’t been anything special. So she found the nicest place in town, and we went there. The food was indeed good, but it was very expensive and the service was just so-so. I think the place was called “JJ’s Upstream.”
The Upstream (or I think it has more of a name than that) was
very good. We ate then when we stayed in Pagosa this summer too.
The next time you are in Pagosa – eat at the Mine Shack on the
way towards Wolf Creek Pass. It is awesome and not near as
pricey as the other one.