A Siren Song or a Vortex? Durango and the River of Lost Souls Beckon You

1 Jan

Mike Smedley

YEARS AGO, a bumper sticker appeared: “Durango. Because Every Other Place Just Sucks.” It was undoubtedly the harshest, rudest, and most sanctimonious explanation for one’s choice of hometown.

Downtown Durango

Fort Lewis College sits on a bluff overlooking Durango, giving panoramic views of the city and the Animas River.

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad skirts along the cliffs overlooking the roaring Animas River deep in the San Juan Mountains. This area is accessible only by historic railroad.

The famed cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park represent the height of the Ancestral Puebloan peoples, who abandoned their stone cities around the year 1300 after a crushing 23-year drought.

In Southwest Colorado, an abundance of rock and a love of plants come together to create jewel-box displays, as this stacked fieldstone retaining wall turns into a vertical crevice garden.

The Durango Botanic Gardens.

Durango’s Demonstration Garden is bookended by the Durango Public Library and the Animas River Trail. An award-winning Plant Select test site, it was created and is maintained entirely by Durango Botanic Gardens member-volunteers.

It’s morning in Durango, with the promise of a sunny day, interesting plants, fascinating geography and a rich cultural legacy that dates far into prehistory.