And the fun continues…..

Day 4: Today, we were in Purgatory. Literally. We bought lift tickets for Purgatory Bike Park and planned to ride as many downhill runs as possible. However, the park doesn’t have a lot of runs (i.e., “trails”). Purgatory has a lot of potential to be a really good bike park, but that requires money and it doesn’t seem like that is a priority for the park planners. Skiing seems like more of a priority at Purgatory. I did learn that back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Purgatory hosted some World Cup downhill races and the bike park was a destination location because of that. One of the runs is even called “World Cup” (how appropriate). Check out this video to see what I did NOT ride!

After riding the chair lift up to start run number 5, my SAT thought he’d check in with a friend to ask about a “really awesome backcountry trail in the area.” His friend gave my SAT some information and we decided to go on a spontaneous adventure. Instead of doing our fifth run, we rode a forest road out of the bike park and into the backcountry in search of the Elbert Creek trail. This trail is a 3 mile downhill trail through the forest, ending about 2 miles from Purgatory Resort on US 550. I was hesitant to ride Elbert Creek at first because my SAT’s friend said there were some chunky, more technical sections, but once we got going, all fears disappeared. It was an absolutely beautiful trail and the riding was pretty flowy with only a few chunky sections (all rideable). Riding back to Purgatory on the highway wasn’t even too bad! After visiting the resort gift shop, we stopped for drinks and fries at the Nugget Bar, which was only a few miles away. Despite its questionable exterior, the Nugget was a fun place to hang out at! When we returned to our Airbnb, Hank and Hannah greeted us warmly and showed us their favourite toys. Hank and Hannah are SO CUTE!

Day 5: One of the great things about being on vacation is lounging. We loved our leisurely mornings at the Airbnb! After breakfast (which was MUCH later than normal!), we did a short little hike right by the Airbnb, during which we saw a couple of groups of touristy horseback riders. Seems like the hiking trail we chose is used a lot for guided horseback rides. Then, we headed into Durango and got lunch at Carver Brewing Company. After a relaxing lunch, we headed over to Mild2Wild to get set up for our river rafting experience! We signed up for a 2 hour trip down the Animus River and had a great time. We would have loved to experience more rapids, but that requires a swimming test….which we did during the trip. We jumped in the water — with our guide’s approval! — floated through one section of rapid water, then swam back to shore. Perhaps next year we will do a “harder” rafting trip. 🙂

After our wild water adventure, we had dinner at Kennebec Cafe outside Durango. Initially, we thought dinner would not be a good experience because we waited for about 15 minutes before being seated. (We were later informed that there was a group event that was keeping the restaurant staff pretty busy.) However, our server was very attentive and the evening was delightful. Dinner was DELICIOUS and I highly recommend this place. If you decide to visit Kennebec Cafe, know that it is open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday only and you need to make a reservation. Also, it’s located right off the highway. The sign makes the place look very unassuming, but the interior is lovely. The patio is pretty and the whole place is quiet enough that you can have a conversation without shouting!

Day 6: We finally locked up our Airbnb, said goodbye to Hank and Hannah, and drove to Durango. We were going to check out the Twin Buttes mountain bike trails on the west side of Durango, but got a bit distracted and ended up at Animus Mountain trailhead. I was delighted to see a deer lounging right by the trailhead! We started our little ride climbing up Animus Mountain trail. I did not enjoy it. Lots of technical, steep climbing! (Pro tip: the Animus Mountain trail is hard! Yuck.) BUT….we sure had fun on the downhill trail we rode! We flew down the Swerve trail then ended up riding the rest of the way down Animus Mountain trail. Hooray, we didn’t die! To celebrate, we got a snack, did some window shopping along Main Avenue (not Street, haha), then drove to our friends’ place in Mancos, where we caught a little bit of the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremonies.

Day 7: Our friends (Carl and Lifan) took us for a fun, mellow ride at the Boggy Draw trail system. It was a lovely morning! After the ride, we stopped for brunch at Kelly’s Kitchen, then went back to the house where Lifan made a traditional Taiwanese breakfast called shao bing. Yum! She even made her own soymilk! I am inspired to try making my own. (Yes, really, my SAT.) After a lovely walk around their large acreage, we packed up and went to bed, as we were leaving early the next morning.

It was a lovely week and I’m already thinking of what to do for our Colorado trip NEXT summer. If you have any ideas for me, let me know!