My day on Friday didn’t go exactly as planned. I had an 830 appointment to get my new tires put on the car. I got there early and they were finished by 845. So far, so good. I then had a 10 o’clock appointment at another tire shop (I’ve never understood why Discount Tire doesn’t do alignments. I guess they want you to buy more tires!). Well, that shop discovered that I needed a wheel bearing in the right rear wheel (they took me out in the shop bay to hear the difference between it and the other rear wheel when they were spinning. I know from listening to Car Talk on NPR that you don’t put off getting wheel bearings). They had to order, acquire and install the part before they could complete the alignment (which the car badly needed). So that ate up 3 hours of the day and I cooled my jets by walking to the Durango Mall, about a half mile away, shopping or browsing at JC Penney, TJ Maxx (oh boy), where I did get a good deal on a 2nd, smaller backpack, and Bed, Bath and Beyond (one of my favorite stores, although I only bought one thing as a Christmas gift for someone). On the way back to the shop I ate lunch at a restaurant and took my food outside to sit at a table overlooking the Animas River. It was a very nice day until the rain hit around 330pm.
I had been planning to spend the afternoon at Mesa Verde National Park, about 35 minutes west of Durango, after the wheel alignment, which I had assumed would be done by 11. I decided instead to stay in Durango and do the 230pm Yard tour at the Durango-to-Silverton Railroad which I will be riding on Monday. When I was on the Chama train about a week and a half ago someone told me that if you have a ticket for the Durango train the Yard tour is only $5 and you get to see lots of behind-the-scenes stuff.
While I was on the Yard tour a huge thunderstorm arrived in town (I was hoping it would pass north but it managed to hit downtown). Other Airbnb guests where I am staying had taken the train ride today and when they got home last night they said that they got dumped on and that there was a substantial amount of hail north of town, which blanketed the ground and was quite thick in places. I bailed out of the Yard tour early (it was just about done anyway) and got to my car just as the rain was about to hit. It wasn’t raining where I was staying about 10 miles south of town so I went home and took a nap!
When I learned on Wednesday that I had a gash in one of my front tires I stayed close to home until they were replaced and was in downtown Durango for parts of three days. Here are some of the things I saw as I walked around town:
The rocking chair in the photo below was in the Visitor Center in town and was actually very comfortable. I have the name of the local craftsman who made it if you want to order one.
This bronze statue was across the street from the Visitor Center, outside a small downtown mall.
This Darth Vader model was inside the window display for a “Head Shop” (marijuana is legal in Colorado). He carrys a condom in a pouch on the necklace (never noticed that in the movies…). Glad to know he practiced safe sex. We don’t need any “little Darth’s” running around.
Did you know Darth Vader was married? He wife’s name was Ella.
And the stuffed bear outside THIS Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store is clearly a Denver Broncos fan:
johnboystravelblog 