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[jwthomp]

Durango is a great jumping off point for a lot of what Southern Colorado has to offer. Cortez and Mesa Verde is a short distance away, and they are celebrating 100 years as a national park this year, with a lot of events planned throughout the summer. If hiking is your thing, the NPS is conducting hikes this year to Mug house - never before open to the public; and Oak Tree House - closed to the public since the 1930's.

If you have a day to kill, try the Durango and Silverton scenic railroad - travel by narrow gauge steam train to Silverton, have some lunch, and ride back.

You have a great selection of roads to take the SSR on. My favorite is 550 North over Molas Pass into Silverton. The drive is fun and the views are great, but it gets even better north of Silverton into Ouray. When you get to Ridgway, take 62 to Placerville and 145 to Dolores, then 184 to Mancos and 160 back to Durango. Take in the sights along the way. 145 roughly follows the old right of way of the storied Rio Grande Southern.

Something I like to do is rent a Jeep for a day and hit the Jeep trails. If you like 4-wheeling, there is something for every skill level in the San Juans. If you like life on the edge, Black Bear pass will give it to you - you can access it from Red Mountain Pass on Hwy 550 - just be prepared to buy the Jeep you rented, and make sure the life insurance is paid up. (If you're a novice or driving anything bigger than a Wrangler, don't do it.) Engineer Pass is rental jeep friendly from the Silverton side - you can head down into Lake City and head back over Cinnamon Pass back to Silverton for a fun day of four wheeling.