Our drive to Durango was such an easy day. JUST 48 MILES! Marcia and I made a chili dinner for our guests and we hosted a Murder Mystery. Each guest received a character with clues and objectives. What a great time! Everyone really got into their character and did a great job on their outfits. The best dressed actress award went to Pat, the best actress award went to Mary, Tony won the prize for most money, and Bonnie was the only one who guessed the murderer correctly.
After dinner, some of us wandered down to Dave and Louisa’s rig for a little karaoke. Even though most of us couldn’t sing, we had fun trying.
The next day, we toured Silverton, Colorado. We took a bus from Durango to Silverton and had a wonderful bus driver who acted as our tour guide.
We arrived in Silverton about 11:30 a.m. which gave us plenty of time to shop and eat lunch.
The photo on the bottom left is Silverton’s first and oldest recorded bordello, purchased Sept. 16, 1878. By the end of 1880 it was one of the five buildings in the two blocks later to become “Notorious Blair Street” the core of the red light district. At its peak, Blair Street housed some 40 bordellos, saloons and boarding houses. Blair Street ran 24 hours a day. At night the uproar of music, singing, gambling, and drinking was horrendous. The Red Light Era died out in the early 1950s.
Everyone recommended “Handlebars” for lunch, which is where our whole group headed. What a great local place. All around the bar are pictures of their handlebar mustache patrons. While you dine, you can spend the entire time looking at all the artifacts they have collected. Not only is it an interesting place to visit, the food and service was excellent. 
We were scheduled to ride back to Durango on a historical steam train the Durango & Silverton Railroad. The train tracks were completed in 1882 to haul silver and gold ore from the mountains, but it was soon realized that the view was truly precious. This scenic line has been in continuous operation ever since. The train has to make the 4% grade up the mountain and I can tell you it is slow going! We were so glad we took the bus from Durango up to Silverton and rode the train back. Even going downhill, it took us 3 ½ hours! 
The train dropped us off in downtown Durango where we decided to take a look at one of the older hotels, The Strater Hotel, built in 1887. 
The following day was A DAY OFF! We took a motorcycle ride up to Ouray, Colorado (known as Colorado’s Little Switzerland), along with one of our guests, Ken. What a great ride! The route took us the same way as our bus did to Silverton. We stopped in Silverton for a little more shopping, then on to Ouray. From Silverton to Ouray the road was definitely a motorcycle road. Curvy road, a lot of switchbacks and beautiful scenery. 
It was so weird to see green hills on one side and pink hills on the opposite side of the road. 
In 1882, prospector John Robinson discovered a massive pipeline of silver ore and staked the “Yankee Girl” claim. Unlike most local mines, the Yankee Girl shaft went nearly straight down – 1200 vertical feet. Eventually 12 levels were developed below ground. In places, silver ore assayed as high as $10,000 per ton making Yankee Girl one of the richest concentrations of silver ore in the United States. Ore from the mine was of such a high grade that it bypassed the concentraon mill and went directly to the smelter for processing. Yankee Girl was forced to close in 1898 with the decrease in the value of silver. During its 16 years of operation, it produced nearly $12 million in ore. The value of the ore in today’s market would be worth over $100 million. 
We arrived in Ouray just in time for lunch. We actually debated that morning on whether we should ride to Ouray because thunderstorms were in the forecasts. We were so lucky that the only time it rained was while we were eating lunch. Not only did it rain, but there were pea size hail!
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