Last year my sister-in-law suggested we do an adults only trip to celebrate her husbands’ 40th birthday. Honestly, I didn’t think it would ever happen. Between the 3 couples going there are 8 kids to account for, and did I mention we were bringing one set of grandparents of said children on this trip? But, where there is a will, there is a way. Shout out to the grandparents that stepped up to make this trip happen.
All my brother-in-law wanted for his birthday was to get out of the Texas summer heat. I cannot disagree with that birthday wish. So, after an extensive search, we settled on Durango, Colorado. We wanted somewhere we could fly into without a long drive after landing, a house big enough for 8 adults, fishing, mountain biking and a spa. Durango hit all the points for us.
Where We Stayed
We found our house on VRBO.com, but booked it directly through this website in order to save the VRBO fees. The house itself was fantastic, but it appears it is no longer available for vacation rentals. Their are tons of other houses in the area that are still available for vacation rentals.
The house was about 30 minutes north of downtown Durango and across the highway from Purgatory Ski Resort. We didn’t mind being outside of town, because we did a big grocery trip the day we arrived (my in-laws drove in from Dallas and also brought in a carload of food) and planned to eat at the house most of the week. The location was perfect for us.
What We Did
In front of the house was a beautiful small lake that you could rent kayaks and paddle boards by the hour (it was $15 an hour at the time we were there), there were even a handful of kids swimming in the lake. The water was crystal clear; you could see the bottom from almost every spot of the lake. The views from being on this little body of water were unmatched. Mountains and blue sky in every direction. It was my first time on a paddle board, and I couldn’t have loved it more.
The driveway of our house was next to the entrance of the Purgatory Flats Trail. Don’t let the name fool you, it was anything but flat. The website says it is approximately 4 miles to the Animas River Trail, but our watches clocked us at just under 5 miles to it. It was a mix of climbs, descents and flat land. Tons of places to stop and take in the views or stop along the river. The second time we went on the trail, we only went in about two miles and walked along the river for Matt to fish. The hardest part of the trail for me was dealing with elevation when on any of the climbs, breathing was just hard.
The guys took two different full day guided fishing trips while we were there as well. They went thru this company and their guide was Kyle. They had a blast both times. The first trip they fished the Lime Creek and caught brown and brook trout. They didn’t keep any fish from this trip, but really racked up on their second trip when they went to the San Juan River in New Mexico and brought home 14 rainbow trout. Matt has a fly pole that he brought, but they were able to rent everything they needed from the guide. We ate the trout from their second trip the night they caught it and it was excellent.
While the guys were fishing the first day, the ladies hit up the spa. This seems to be a requirement for me on any vacation lately. Spa day. It is my absolute favorite way to unwind on vacation or anytime really. We went to the Woodhouse Day Spa in downtown Durango. It was small but lovely. I almost always get a facial and a massage on days like this. After our spa day, we walked around downtown Durango. It is a charming little town with all kinds of shopping, coffee and restaurants.
On the guys second day of fishing, we headed out to explore Ouray and Silverton, two towns north of Durango. Ouray was about an hour drive and not for the faint of heart (well at least for my carsick self, sit in the front on this drive if you even get a little carsick). Ouray is similar to downtown Durango, but the views are just amazing. We had an excellent lunch at a local brewery and had coffee and ice cream while enjoying the shops and views. We drove through Silverton on our way back to the house as well. It is a historic town with tons of things to do even has a main street that’s looks like its frozen in time from the days of the Oregon Trail.
My brother-in-law took a guided mountain bike ride with Durango Mountain Bike Tours on our last full day. He has really gotten into biking where he lives in Texas and was excited to ride in the different terrain and elevation. He did a four-hour ride that took him through the mountains. His guide was able to teach him some specifics about the bike and guided his ride based on skill level. He said it was an amazing experience. He an Matt rented mountain bikes and rode them down Purgatory mountain the first day in town which I was a little nervous about but they came back alive and had a great time.
Lastly, y’all, I went white water rafting. We went with Colorado Outback Adventures and it was a blast. Our guide was Corey and he made the trip so much fun. It was not a very intense ride; I would’ve taken my girls on it. According to their website, children as young as 3 can ride. The guide did most of the rowing from the back, but we all rowed from time to time. It was an amazing way to see the town and learn even more about the city.
What We Ate
We did so much during the day that we mostly ate at our house, but we did eat out a handful of times.
Upon arrival, we stopped at the Animas Brewing Company to grab lunch and some local beer while waiting on the house to be cleaned and ready to check in. The beers were great, the food, not so much. I got a salad, which was pretty decent, but the burgers were very overcooked and the nachos were awful.
We ordered pizza that night as well from Paradise Pizza. The food was pretty good, we got pizza, wings, an antipasta salad and the pesto spaghetti squash. It was the perfect, we need food quick because we are tired and have traveled all day meal.
On our spa day and our last day in town we ate lunch at Steamworks Brewing Company. The beer and the food was excellent. The first time we went it was just the girls, then our rafting guide said it was one of his favorite places for local beer and food, so we decided we’d go back with the guys on our last day in town. Both times, everything we ordered was excellent and the beers were fantastic as well.
Since we were there the night of our wedding anniversary, we decided we’d do a nice dinner at Primus Restaurant. Y’all, this restaurant is a VIBE. It is very small, think a Manhattan or Paris small, with exposed brick everywhere and the most amazing staff. You will have to have a reservation. They have wild game, seafood and steak. Everything was excellent. Our server was fantastic, we were the last people in the restaurant that night, the chef came out to thank us for coming. All in all, it was one of the better meals we’ve had in a while. I cannot recommend enough.
I think I have covered everything we did. It was a jam-packed week and I enjoyed every bit! I am so thankful we were able to get away just as adults, but this would’ve been an amazing trip with kids as well. I think our summers will include a mountain trip from here on out. It was so nice to get away from the heat and humidity and really enjoy the outdoors!
