The wife and I are thinking of taking a vacation in late October in the Durango area. I know September would be better but schedules just won't allow it.

We are probably going to take the train to Silverton one day and were thinking maybe a day cruise on the San Juan Skyway. Is October to late in the year for this? Any other suggestions in the area? Will it be cold? Snow?
TIA

 

I lived in Durango for years and LOVE IT! It can snow in Oct but is rare. The train is cool, but VERY VERY SLOW! it will take ALL DAY to take the train up and down and you will be covered in soot. If they are running the half way train I'd take that one. They do have a nice Train Museum too.

I think the drive from Durango to Ouray is one of the best in the lower 48. I always enjoyed going early having breakfast in Silverton then lunch in Ouray.

Watch for deer and ELK! The deer are big and the Elk are like cows in high heels and will total your MINI at any speed.

Where will you be driving in from?

 

Not far... Houston.
I have business in N.Texas the week before so I'm looking at it like that part of the trip is on the house. We went to the Ozarks last fall and loved it. The N.Texas trip came up so we decided to incorporate that into a vacation and venture out west. I'm leaning toward driving the Cooper but don't have to. I could take a crew cab 4x4 truck (too much gas) or a GTO (too loud). We've travelled in the Cooper before and like it, I guess my biggest concern is road conditions.

 

take the Cooper, the roads are really good in CO and once you get there you will kick yourself for not taking the MINI. Not sure how much time you have but here's a route I would take. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sadd...65,7.03125&z=7

The San Juan Skyway Rocks too.

 

my family has a cabin in lake vallecito which is about 30 min from durango. oct is the salmon run month and you can see some amazing kokino salmon runs on the rivers by lake vallecito. i have seen it snow in oct but usually its just a little colder than summer. i love durango

 

If you are in Durango you have to eat here - http://serioustexasbbq.com/index.htm

Great BBQ!!!

 

Granted there are no really good bbq places in Houston but it does seem a bit over the top to drive 1K miles from Houston to get "Serious Texas BBQ"!!
I'll give it a try, it's gotta be at least as good as Houston's finest!!

Really good BBQ!!

 

Love me some deep fried Pickles too.

The only place I would make sure and eat is breakfast at the http://www.durangodiner.com/ Food is good old greasy spoon and the owners/cooks are too funny, try and get a seat at the counter.

The best place in town, Seasons, had a fire and is rebuilding, if they are open when you get there, it's worth dinner. Have Fun

 

You're correct! It is great. I had lunch there today. To bad we don't have BBQ that good in Houston

 

Guess I'll have a side of crow when I get back to DGO too.

 

I missed the diner today, about 5 minutes late... they close @ 2pm. Maybe Thurs. we're headed to Ouray in the morning. We're havin' a ball! The weather alone is worth the trip.

 

Oh the drive to Ouray is one of my Fav's. Get up really early and have breakfast in Silverton and avoid the RV's on the road too. The Box Canyon at Ouray is cool too. Watch the hair pins on Red MTN Pass.

 

Wow, just Wow! What a drive.
O/T but the JustaCooper has about the same power as my John Deere mower @ 10K' asl. I was pretty careful to keep it rolling good on the uphills but it kind of caught me off guard on close to level ground a few times.
Thanks for the tips, we're comin' home!