A Picnic in Durango, Colorado

We have long wanted to visit Durango, Colorado.  It looks so special on the map, all nestled up there in the La Plata Mountains, with the beautiful reservoir Lake Nighthorse nearby.  So this day we planned a hike and a picnic on Rim Drive.

This is the picnic view on Rim Drive overlooking Durango along the Animas River below and the La Plata Mountains beyond.

First things first, on to the hike; Steve checks out the info board at the trail head of the Colorado trail.  Apparently this trail goes all the way to Denver.  We plan to go a couple miles in to a bridge that crosses Junction Creek, a tributary of the Animas River.

The trail went along Junction Creek fairly high up on the canyon wall.

We began to see some fall colors emerging on this September day, as well as a few rocky outcroppings, one of our favorites.

We even had some rocky outcroppings on our side of the canyon for a close up look.

Gari strolls along the colorful trail.

Steve pauses for a hero shot on the trail bridge that crosses the Junction Creek.  This was our hiking objective for the day and was our turn around point.

A view of the bridge from down in the creek bed.

Gari is happy to arrive at the bridge objective.

On the way to the picnic spot, we stopped by Lake Nighthorse for a look see.  It was a very beautiful lake, but it was attended and they wanted $8 for a day fee.  Nope, we just looked from the pull off and continued on to the picnic spot on Rim Drive above town.

Romeo parks in front of the La Plata Mountains overlooking Durango.

Gari takes in the nice view of Durango and the mountains.

We were parked right across the road from the Fort Lewis College athletic fields.

Ahhh, there's a nice picnic spot all set up and waiting for us! Sometimes things just work out.