July 8 – Durango

July 8, 2016 – Durango
This morning Earl, Linda, and I had signed up for Whitewater rafting. We went over to their office and rode a bus to the river. We were given a safety briefing that explained what to do if you fell out of the raft. By the time they were done, I was terrified. Linda kept assuring us that it would be fun. On our raft was just the three of us and our guide. We started out and practiced using the oars. The first part of the trip was pretty mild, mostly floating down the river with a few small rapids. The guide told us that we’d have three good rapids coming up in a row. They were great. We got soaked and no one fell out of the raft. What a fun time. We bought a CD with pictures that they took of us from the shore as we went through the rapids. I’ll make copies when I get home for Earl and Linda.
After getting back to the hotel and changing into dry clothes , we walked down to the river so I could get a few pictures and then explored downtown Durango.
The dinner tonight was at James Ranch. One of the daughters told us the history of the farm. Her father decided to leave L.A. 55 years ago and start a cattle farm. Along came 5 children so he built a complex of beautiful homes on one section of his land and sold them to make money while learning how to best have an organic beef farm. As the children grew up, each left when they turned 18. Eventually each came back. The parents said that you are welcome back but family doesn’t work for family. Each had to develop their own business. Now the children have an organic vegetable farm, a dairy farm that produces cheeses, a chicken and egg farm, and a restaurant and market shop to sell the meat and cheese. It was fascinating to learn about them. Finally we had dinner in a large tent on the farm.
Tomorrow we are taking a narrow gauge steam train to Silverton and touring a mine.