Durango, CO - Beer, Bikes & Chocolate

Durango, CO
La Plata County Fairgrounds


We left Cortez and headed about 50 minutes east to Durango, Colorado. What a fun town it is.  So much to do.  It's one of those few places where we say, "I think we could live here". Durango was founded in 1880 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, when they extended their line from the town to Silverton to haul precious metals from the mines.

We chose to camp at the La Plata County Fairgrounds.  We spent a couple of weeks here.  Since the temps were still jumping from warm to cold, we needed electric hook-ups.  We looked at some of the surrounding national forest areas for boondocking, but they were either too small for our rig or didn't have the required cell reception for Steve to work.  The camp area at the fairgrounds was very simple, just a gravel area with room for 6 rigs.  Very clean.  Busy during the day, but quiet at night.  At $16.50 a night, it was a real bargain!  Plus, it was located right smack in the middle of town next to the bike trail.

There are several brew pubs in this small town.  Animas was right off the bike trail so we stopped in.

Steve was not that impressed with the beer.  SKA was his favorite brewery in town.

 

Next up was Animas Chocolate Factory. 

Cute little shop with everything chocolate!

I picked out a nice selection of truffles.  It was Mothers Day after all.

So we had our delicious coffee and polished off the whole box!  Normally I don't eat sweets, but I made an exception today.  No bacon flavored, but the Salted Carmel was my favorite.

We also signed up for a tour at Durango's Craft spirits where they make whiskey.  Unfortunately, the tour was cancelled so we just had a drink.

A Bloody Mary for me and a Moscow Mule for Steve.

I was able to fly back to my cousin Brian's wedding last year, but was unable to make it back to California for my cousin Eric's wedding.  Those Italians know how to celebrate! Us cousins have so much fun! 

Here's a picture of Uncle Larry and the 5 boys. (Eric second from the L)

 

 

And their 2 beautiful sisters.  Yes, there is 7 in their family!

 

The bike trail here is wonderful.  It stretches nearly 7 miles through Durango’s Animas River Greenway with easy access to a variety of parks, green spaces, community recreation center, public library, downtown Durango, neighborhoods and schools.

The Public Library.

I liked the donor "books" incorporated into the landscaping.

The trail follows the Animas River.

One of the parks where there was a Dandelion Festival going on earlier that day. 

Tunnels and parks.

Not the clearest picture, but I liked this musical section at the park.  Wind chime type instruments.

Lot's of bridges, access to fishing spots and plenty of benches to stop and rest and watch all the rafters go by.

 

Durango gets a thumbs up so far!