The point of stopping in Farmington was to sample the beers from 3 Rivers Brewery. Frankly, I was disappointed. The had a very limited selection of pre-filled growlers, and a bar full of unfriendly locals, so we didn't stick around and taste and sample. We did get a perfectly good IPA that kept us going through the night and in to Durango the next day.
The drive to Durango was short and scenic, we rolled in to Durango just in time for breakfast beers at Culver's. It's a smaller pub, with good food and excellent beer. I believe they are known for the bread the bake with their beers. It's been a while since we were up there, and I didn't have my 33 Beers book (http://www.33beers.com/) so I'm not sure what we drank, I will venture a guess, that J. had an ... Oatmeal Stout and I had the IPA.
After Culver's we headed to Steamworks. Steamworks ruled! They had so many yummy, yummy beers. A wonderful helpful friendly tender who gave us free appetizers. It was one of those times you almost wish the beer was non alcoholic so you could sit there and try pints of them all, all day long.
Sadly there was driving, and high mountain passes to be negotiated so we moved on up the road to Telluride.
Not far outside of Durango, the mountains grew steeper and the Aspens more vibrant.
We climbed and climbed in to the mountains and watched the temperature drop. More Aspens, more mountains, and a stop in Silverton for more beer.
Silverton is very sleepy and small, and would probably not exist anymore, were it not for the Silverton-Durango scenic railroad. There was a sleepy local pub, that brewed its own beer, so we stopped in for a pint. It was not very good, and the locals were not very nice. They suggested we head over the pass, and shave our time to Telluride by an hour. I love a good 4x4 challenge, but the jeep roads at 12,000 feet, are best left to people with more expertise than myself. J sensed a rat in their claims and we stuck to our original route over Slumgullion pass and in to Ouray for the hot springs.
Once we got to Telluride we had a great meal and lots of red wine with my aunt. My uncle brough home some steak from the CSA ranch he's been working at. He tried to recruit us to go out and ride the next day. There were calves that needed porcupine quills removed from their snouts, but I thought I was a bit too green to be riding a horse on a working expedition, so I politely declined. Instead we thought we'd tackle and easy "locals" hike recommended by my aunt.
For starters, NOTHING is easy at 10,000 ft, not even for those who are acclimated at 5,000 feet and eat 2.7 mile hikes for an afternoon snack. My friends, this 2.7 miles, felt like 13.1 of a half marathon and took nearly as long. This locals hike afforded absolutely stunning views, herds of elk on the valley floor, the ski mountain, the Tomboy Mine, Bridal Veil Falls, Mt. Wilson (aka the Coors Can Mtn)more mountains clear to Utah and of course, beautiful aspen forests.
I laughed, I cried, I found a lost great dane named George. Then we headed to... the brewpub, to refresh our souls with MORE BEER!
I figured Smugglers was alright, after all my college aged cousin had left an empty growler in the kitchen of our guest house. Well, it is just that, alright. It's the only game in town, but it did not hold up to the high standards put forth by our local Albuquerque pub, or Steamworks or Culvers. Nevertheless, we drank all our tasters and hastened back to the house to rest our weary legs. Our trip was nearing it's close and the next day we were heading back toward Creede, to check out more snowy mountain passes, more pubs and more abandoned mining towns.
