Durango

We arrived in Durango with the offer of staying at Jim and Tami's house, not to mention the allure of more mountain bike riding. They have a spare bedroom with en-suite in their very nice house that was extensively rebuilt last year. Not thinking that a break from the RV was required, it was
very nice to be in a house again. The RV was emptied of essentials and very quickly it felt deserted in there. We took the opportunity to give the RV a good clean, particularly the upholstery and carpets. There has also been a chance to do some shopping for clothes, a BBQ, hiking tent and replacement toilet seat. All not helping our average daily spend.

When you own them, bring the big toys home to play.
Jim cleaning up the garden for landscaping, willing helper.

 

We had met Jim by chance in Sedona. He is a keen mountain biker and has lived in Durango all his life. If you are passing through and need a bobcat he's your man

Raiders Ridge looking north.

(targetrental.com). Durango is considered by many to be one of the birth places of mountain biking and Jim has been there from the beginning. Durango is at the southern end of the Rocky Mountains, go south and quickly arrive in the dessert, go north and very quickly you will be seeing 14 000 ft mountains. The riding here is world renowned but what has quickly become apparent is that the infamous alpine riding season is very short, about 6-8 weeks in summer. Luckily there is a massive network of local trail that would take weeks to explore fully.

Lower section of Raiders, Progressive Trail

You can ride from the house for all the local rides, starting at 6 600ft. Most of the riding was done in the Horse Gulch area east of town. Jim's favourite ride is Raiders Ridge, a huge climb (400m) to the top, followed by a highly rocky, technically challenging ridge before descending into fast rocky trail with a few jumps thrown in (about time, airtime has been limited). Jim rides a Santa Cruz carbon Tallboy and is seriously quick over rocks and can ride rocky climbs I haven't got near conquering, it must be those large 29" wheels! This trail was so enjoyable and there were so many challenges to learn

that Rob rode this trail 5x. The other trails in Horse Gulch tend to follow gradually sloping valleys. Some super-long and fast descents were discovered by linking Sidewinder/Cowboy/Big Canyon and Anasazi/Stacey's loop. These trails have fantastic flow. The payback was big climbs. Other areas all too briefly ridden were the Ned Overend trails and Twin Buttes trails.

Durango takes a little time to grow on you, a bit like good music. There is a great main street with many restaurants, interesting shops (including bikes!) and a great laid back feel. There are bike stands and people riding everywhere.

Fiona and Rob took the opportunity for a night out (while Symi went to the local hot springs), we cruised to town on bikes (of course) riding along the picturesque Animas River, promptly got lost before  finding our way to the main street. The decision was made to eat at Chimayo and we sat at a bench overlooking the kitchen. We started chatting to a man, discussing what would be good food choices, we were keen to explore some of their southwestern specialties. He turned out to be the owner and until two years ago had been a chef for an Australian owned Nascar team. After a great meal we rode home on the river path, startling a herd of deer (Fiona was startled as well but quickly recovered saying oh dear!).

For Easter we had an Easter egg hunt. This was a bit different though – inside as it was cold outside, could snow and the local deer would probably eat the hard boiled eggs

Tami, Symi, Emma, Tanner making Easter eggs

which the kids had dyed and then left out to be hidden. The kids received a basket from the Easter bunny with xmas stocking like toys and very little chocolate compared to Australia. Symi enjoyed participating and embraced the cultural experience but will be glad to get back to Crabbe Place and Australian traditions – especially the chocolate. Also – NO hot cross buns! – what’s that about? It was fantastic to have the opportunity to spend Easter with a very generous American family (with kids) and experience their traditions. One of these was a massive ham that we had for dinner, which was enjoyed by all. Tami cooked us some excellent meals. She and Jim were fantastic hosts.

On Easter Monday (there is no big holiday here like Australia!) Symi went to school with Tanner (one of the kids) for the day. She had already met Aspen (in the same class)

Off to school for the day

who has an Australian mum, she was very enthusiastic to have Symi in the class. She had a good day and was thrilled to be given a notebook by the teacher.

Rob has been getting an Ice hockey education. Jim is a keen player and Rob went to watch his last game of the season. The game is seriously fast and appeared very rough. Jim assured me the game I watched was gentle! Colorado are also playing Minnesota in the play-offs every second night. During a break in the game we switched channel to the movie Footloose, a violent scene was about to come up (some had watched this movie way too many times) and as the kids were watching Jim suggested we switch back to the ice hockey! Hilarious.

It was great to spend time with Jim and Tami's family and experience life with an American family. Their generosity will not be forgotten. 

 



Deer wandering a common sight