Durango's Main Ave

Over the last week and a half we've gotten to explore the town a bit more... the Main Ave and surrounding streets are filled with businesses, cute shops, and great places to grab a bite to eat... all with gorgeous views of the mountains as a backdrop. We thought you might enjoy a little peek into some of our favorite spots in this town!

Main Ave, looking south

Carver Brewing Co- a great spot for their homemade Beers and yummy food...
also a great brunch spot!

Ken + Sue's Restaurant - always cited as a favorite among locals we've met

The Strater Hotel... their Office Spiritorium has great happy hour
specials and a wonderful atmosphere

More to come as we keep exploring Durango!

Hiking in Durango

Today we went for a hike in the San Juan National Forest, part of which is in Durango. The scenery is beautiful, though the altiutude here (over 6500 ft) is very different than Chicago! It really takes a toll and we're finding ourselves out of breath much faster than expected, so we have to go slow... all the better to enjoy our surroundings!

Home Away From Home

We're here in Durango at the condo we rented from its owners. The place itself is up on the mountain at the Durango Mountain Resort: ski season just ended before we arrived, so we have lots of solitude up on the moutain... but can still drive into the downtown area for some more civilization if we're feeling lonely.

Entrance to the Mountain


Our condo (along with 7 others) is in this building

Our living room/ kitchen area

Jason & the boys

Our bedroom

View from our back balcony

We're in Durango!

We arrived in Durango late last night, after a very stressful drive through the mountains from Colorado Springs. Much of the drive was extremely steep as we wound up & down the mountains... at about 15 miles an hour. In our little compact car. We didn't think that the mileage seemed like a lot to cover in a day, but we were very glad that we didnt have further to go at that pace! Now we're at our 'home away from home' for a few weeks... pictures of the location to come soon!

Colorado Springs

While poor Jason traded from the hotel room today, I headed out to see the Garden of the Gods, a free public park and National Natural Landmark in Colorado Springs. Such gorgeous scenery - those red rocks are amazing! - and great hiking to get some excercise before the final stretch of driving (for now!). Some pictures from my visit are below... enjoy!

On the Road

Believe it or not, we're driving across country in our little 2005 Toyota Corolla. With all our clothes, etc we'll need for 2 months. And two dogs in the backseat. Its a bit tight, but Nicki likes a good puzzle and organization project, so planning the packing kept her busy before we left.

Our trusty ride

Frank & Boozer enjoying the backseat

I'm sure that there are lovely parts of the state, but this is what most of Nebraska looked like... flat highway (and not much else!) as far as the eye can see. We basically drove straight through across the southern border into Colorado, then to Colorado Springs (where we'll stay tonight).

Its been a long couple of days driving (how is it that just sitting in the car can be so tiring?!), so we're excited to be getting closer to our first 'home away from home' tomorrow.

Western Adventure

We're about to head out on our 'Western Adventure,' combining a Road Trip with some sightseeing and extended stays in towns that interest us. For anyone who wants to follow our travels, a map of our key stops is below:


1. April 17-20: Starting in Chicago, driving to Durango, CO (via Omaha, NE and Colorado Springs, CO)
2. April 20- May 13: stay in Durango, CO
3. May 13-17: driving to Boise, ID (via Moab and Park City, UT)
4. May 16- June 11: stay in Boise, ID
5. June 11-20: driving back home to Chicago, with stops at Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks (and Jackson Hole, WY), Mount Rushmore, and The Badlands in South Dakota

We're often asked how we decided upon Durango and Boise for extended stays... we both were looking for some interesting scenery and to 'live' in places where the residents love their towns. In talking with friends and researching the best places in the US to live, Colorado and Boise kept coming up, so we decided to give them a try!