Extremely Long Day

We started Day Four with a white water rafting trip down the Animas River. Jeff and Rhonda kayaked, while Heidi and Maria were in a raft with the guide and two other people (who turned out to be from Harrisburg!). It was a really fun time. 

Once back in Durango, we took the shuttle to Silverton, which is an Old West mining town nestled at the base of the mountains. At 2:30, we boarded the scenic steam train (similar to the Strasburg Railroad) for the three hour trip back to Durango. The tracks follow a creek, which was extremely beautiful. We were in an open air car, which wasn't a problem until it started to rain. 

About 2/3 of the way through the trip, we encountered a problem. The rain had washed down the newly burned mountainside (there were forest fires on that mountain just last week), bringing along with it ash and debris. The rains created flash floods, one which left debris all over the railroad tracks. The mudslide and also eroded part of the soil under the tracks. We were at a standstill. It was 5:30. 

Luckily, we were stopped right under a bridge where the road passed over top the railroad. All they would have to do is send some buses and have us climb up the bank, right? Wrong. There were mudslides blocking the road in 5 or 6 places before the buses could even get to us. 

They brought a diesel down from Silverton to pull us back to the last crossroads, so the buses could meet us. And so began the waiting. It got cold in the open air car, but they offered free hot chocolate, so that helped. Eventually, the buses made it and we climbed out in the dark. We stepped of the train at about 9:00. 

Once off the train we had to wait in the buses to make sure that all 400 people were accounted for. Then, we drove the half hour back to Durango. We got of the bus at 10:00. 

All the campgrounds were closed, so we parked in the Walmart parking lot for the night.