The Durango and Silverton Train to Cascade Canyon

This was a surprise for Scott, but something I’ve always wanted to do, too. The train to Silverton was not running yet as there was still considerable snow up in Silverton. So, I made reservations for us to do the “Winter Train” to Cascade Canyon. It was a 5 hour round trip and just perfect! I think the 10-hour round trip to Silverton would have been too much for us anyway. I booked the best class car which came with unlimited soft-drinks, 2 private bathrooms, the very back viewing deck with one in the front and our own attendant/tour guide/bartender/train steward! Her name was Charlotte and she was wonderful. The trip was 2+ hours to Cascade Canyon were we did a 3 point turnaround, stopped for picnic lunches and headed back. I had packed a cooler and we had a lovely lunch on the train as it was bit risky for Scott getting on and off the train. Since we were also the last car it was quite a hike up to the pavilion where there were picnic tables since there were 13 cars plus the engine! I took a massive amount of photos and I’ll try not to bore you with them all, but it was just such a fun and beautiful (and sometimes nail-biting!) trip, I didn’t want to miss any of it! Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, Tiko went with us! He was absolutely golden, people didn’t even know he was on the train until we stopped and I took him off to do his business in Cascade Canyon!