This Rocky Mountain Railroad Will Transport You Back in Time

Above, the Durango train at High Line with the Animas River below. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Ever since I discovered the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad back in the 1980s at a travel show in Southern California, I have ridden the train several times. Most recently, I rode the train last year from Durango to Silverton, Colorado.

Since I moved to New Mexico five years ago, I am only a few hours away from Durango. This allows me to make more visits there.

Above, the Durango train about to depart the Durango depot. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Thrillist has posted an article on the train that is entertaining as well as informative.

They begin it with:

You can take the Hogwarts Express through Scotland, or the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul, but only in the Rocky Mountains of Southwestern Colorado can you board a vintage train that’s been chugging its way through the San Juan National Forest—hauling both passengers and mine ore—since the 19th century. The appeal of the historic Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, one of very few trains in the nation to consistently use steam locomotives, isn’t magic or murder mysteries. It’s the memories you’ll make while enjoying killer views of the roaring Animas River, dense forest as far as the eye can
see, and picture-perfect mountain towns seemingly preserved in time from a bygone Gold Rush era.

Now a National Historic Landmark, and operating out of the same train depot since July of 1882, a ride on this timeworn train feels like a blast from the gilded past, in which miners would use it to transport gold and silver from the mountains into the burgeoning town of Durango, Colorado. Said town, now an endearingly frontiersy mountain hub lined with saloons and western wear shops, was founded by the Denver and Rio Grande Railway in 1880, fueled by more than $300 million worth of mountain metals that have traversed its tracks. Today, while the Gold Rush has ceased, that same railroad still reigns as a foremost attraction in Durango. It’s anchored by the same classic depot since day one, whisking wistful passengers through the high-elevation forest for day trips and special events.

Above, inside the Durango train museum after entering. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If one hasn't decided yet on what to do this summer vacation season, a ride on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is worth considering. Also, there's a free museum at the Durango depot roundhouse that is worth a good browse through.

To read the full article, go here. 

Where Things Stand At Our National Parks

Above, Mesa Verde National Park, where amenities and camping are now open. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Our national parks are beginning to open up for visitors. Some are more open than others. Some are allowing camping and some aren't. 

If one is wondering where they can go to now, Thrillist has all 62 listed with current conditions.

They begin with:

With Memorial Day in the rearview, summer adventure season is now in full swing... well, relative to our moment in history, at least. And while many of our treasured national parks were shuttered throughout the spring -- when the world's health is at risk, even Smoky the Bear has to do his part to flatten the curve -- many are now, finally, offering visitors a chance to play in our greatest outdoor spaces.  

With 62 parks in the system all adopting different policies on reopening, it can be hard to keep track of what's open right now. To help save you the embarrassment of driving across multiple states only to be met with an empty ranger station, we're keeping tabs all of them to tell you what's open, what services are available, whether you can camp, and what you're allowed to do once inside. 

Hopefully, this list will change quickly as more and more of these national treasures open up to responsible, respectful, and safe use. The list is current as of June 1, 2020. We'll be updating each and every one of them things progress. 

To see where things stand, go here. 

Guide To Joshua Tree National Park

Above, the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park a few miles north of Interstate 10. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The closest national park to the City of Los Angeles is Joshua Tree National Park.

As it is, the park gets a lot of visitors during the year. I last visited it in 2015 and camped at the park's Cottonwood Campground.

Thrillist has posted a guide to Joshua Tree National Park.

They begin with:

The Mojave Desert has inspired a number of monumental artistic endeavors, including the fictional planet Tatooine in Star Wars and the iconic U2 album The Joshua Tree. Joshua Tree National Park actually lies within the boundaries of both the Mojave Desert in the west and the Colorado Desert in the east, but the landscape within the park is wholly unique to itself. 

Joshua Tree National Park gets its name from the tree species Yucca brevifolia, which is more commonly known as the “Joshua Tree.” Legend has it that Mormon settlers heading west bestowed this name on the unique plants that are only found in the Mjave, but that story has been debated and remains unverified. Still, there’s an absolute ton of geological and anthropological history in the area; multiple indigineous groups settled the area as early as 4,000-8,000 thousand years ago. 

Nowadays, the park and surrounding areas serve as a haven for the artistically-inclined, UFOlogists, solitude seekers, and otherwise offbeat creatives drawn to the power of the desert. Ken Layne, a writer, podcaster, and publisher of Desert Oracle (a desert-based publication and radio show) has lived in the area for years. He calls it a “one-of-a-kind place” with a “mix of weird geology and wide-open skies.”  

David Smith, Joshua Tree’s park superintendent with the National Park Service, says there’s a magnetism to the region. “People come to Joshua Tree for their own individual reasons. Sometimes it’s wilderness. Other times people come here for the music history, the diversity of raptors, or just the epic landscapes. People come to Joshua Tree to find themselves." 

From a dome built by telepathic instructions received from aliens to a sleepy saloon that’s hosted musicians like Paul McCartney, there’s no shortage of funky, fun, and sometimes freaky things to do and see in and around Joshua Tree National Park. Here's how to do it all.

To read more, go here. 

Best Camping In Yellowstone National Park

Above, the Gibbon River. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today must be Thrillist's Yellowstone National Park day as they have another helpful article on the park posted.

This one is the best camping in Yellowstone.

When we visited Yellowstone National Park three years ago, we stayed at the West Entrance/Yellowstone Park KOA located just outside of West Yellowstone, Montana. Private campgrounds outside of Yellowstone such as this is another option for travelers, especially if all the campgrounds are full.

There's a number of camping options in Yellowstone and the article covers them all.

Their article begins with:

It is illegal to sleep overnight in Yellowstone’s parking lots or picnic grounds -- a fun fact I learned on my previous visit four years ago, when a park ranger woke me with a loud rap on my car window and abruptly asked me to move. (In my defense, I thought I’d already left the park, having passed under one of those big “You Are Now Leaving the Park” stone arches, but apparently I stopped some 30 feet shy of indeed leaving the park.) 

Please don’t sleep in your car in Yellowstone. You have better options! Yellowstone has a grand total of 2,178 camping sites spread across 12 campgrounds, seven of which are run by the National Park Service and are first come, first served. The other five are run by a private concessionaire called Yellowstone National Park Lodges -- these require reservations and are a bit more pricey. Visits to all campgrounds are limited to 14 days from July 1 through Labor Day, and 30 days the rest of the year -- with the exception of Fishing Bridge, where I guess you could just live out your remaining days in an RV if you wished. You also have options for backcountry camping in Yellowstone -- meaning you’re sleeping in the park’s undeveloped wild, carrying everything you need with you -- and glamping, meaning the opposite of that, plus private chefs and massages.

To read more, go here. 

Thrillist's "Ultimate Yellowstone National Park Travel Guide"

Above, Clepsydra Geyser. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If there's anyone out there who has never visited Yellowstone National Park, they should put it on their bucket list and go.

Yellowstone is the definitive national park and it is so large and diverse, one only scratches the surface of what it has to offer even if they stay there a week. I've been there twice and still haven't seen everything.

Above, two Yellowstone mountain goats. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Thrillist has posted their "ultimate" Yellowstone National Park travel guide and it is well worth a read and bookmarked.

It begins with:

There is no surviving piece of the American West more iconic than Yellowstone. Early Native Americans lived in the region for more than 10,000 years before white explorers designated it the world’s first national park in 1872. Our National Park Service was created here in the Mammoth area in 1916, when the U.S. Army was protecting the park from poachers and developers who looked at Yellowstone’s vast resources the way Sylvester looks at Tweety. Two years later the Army moved out, and the NPS has been a custodian of this land ever since (that’s why the park rangers wear Army hats). 

Even by national park standards (which is to say pretty high), the ecological diversity contained within Yellowstone National Park is absolutely astounding. On your visit expect to see bison, elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and birds -- many, many birds. The especially lucky will spot wolves, moose, bighorn sheep, black bears, or grizzly bears. 

But the animals are the least of it. Geologically, the Yellowstone region -- carved by glaciers and sitting atop one of the world’s largest active volcanoes -- is in a class of its own. It contains the largest concentration of thermal features anywhere in the world, like bubbling hot mud pots and steaming, hissing thermal pools that seem too colorful and alien to exist naturally. It also contains more than half of the world’s geysers, period.

Above, a mom and one of her cubs. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here. 

How To Visit Yosemite From A Pro

Above, Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Travel writer John Flinn can't stop returning to Yosemite National Park. He's been there 100 times. Thrillist has an article on his many visits to Yosemite with his advice on how to fully enjoy the park.

It begins with:

There’s a way to arrive at Yosemite Valley, the well-trafficked area of Yosemite National Park that houses its most picturesque cliffs and waterfalls, that takes you through a tunnel. When you emerge, the vista of El Capitan and Bridalveil Fall are perfectly framed against the background of Half Dome, just as Ansel Adams captured it in his famous 1934 photograph. For those who have visited the viewpoint, it’s as if you can reach out and touch a postcard.

He even tells where to get lobster tacquitos just outside the park.

To read more, go here.