I happened to text my friend Jeff who just moved to Durango as Sara and I passed through Monticello, UT on our way back to New Mexico. "Come visit, it's my birthday" said the reply text. Since this was only a 1 hour driving detour for us at this point we decided, sure, why not! I only saw a bit of Durango but from all appearances it seemed like a very nice place to live. Some of that tidiness and outdoorsy vibe that emanated from Santa Barbara but with its own unique style. We had a killer dinner on the large wrap-around front porch and then headed to a local brewery for a birthday beer.
In the morning Jeff whisked us off up the mountains for a couple hour hike through the trees and up to a nice view over alpine meadows and even a rock glacier. High peaks in every direction. I could certainly see what Jeff saw in the San Juan Mountains.
Afterward we drove Jeff's poor Civic down a rough truck road and then
walked a couple minutes down the hill to a beautiful waterfall. We each
cliff jumped about once, savored the frigid water for mere seconds and
paddled furiously to dry ourselves in the sun. Sadly summer was now
essentially over.
Still having a fair bit of drive yet to do (and my car seeming to limp
along from an oil leak), we reluctantly left after this (despite offers
of other awesome things to do) and drove for home. We had an aborted and
almost disastrous attempt to reach the Bisti Badlands (roads through
mudstone melt into a frictionless mess in rain...) before narrowly
escaping and continuing on. This was one of the more impressive
thunderstorms I had ever witnessed. Thanks to Jeff for his awesome hospitality.
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