One man's Durango diary and PHOTO TOUR (Mancos: condo, house)

[jchasse]

So there’s a lot of discussion and debate about this place I’ve moved my family to. Some people love it. Some appear to hate it. But for many reasons it almost always stirs debate.

It’s not my intention here to do the pros vs. cons discussion. That’s been covered elsewhere. I’m just hoping to post some snapshots of what life is like through the eyes of a Northeast “transplant” who happens to love this place in spite of its (relatively few) flaws.

I expect my posts will be occasional, and the pictures probably of poor quality. I’m no photographer, and that’s not really my point here…

Cheers.

[jchasse]

To start, here's a picture taken the first time I ever set foot in Durango. It was memorial day weekend, several years ago. It was a fluke, spur of the moment trip. We came to visit a friend of a friend and help him repair some fenceline on his property north of Mancos.

It was pretty miserable weather (it snowed heavily), I had a horrible cold, wasn't used to the elevation, and we ended up scrapping the work plan and drove the Million Dollar Highway loop instead. Not necessarily a great idea in bad weather.

But somehow, I knew the place was pretty special.

One year later we rented a place in town for a month. Another year later, we sold our house in Fairfield County CT and brought our 3 month old daughter to southwestern CO.

[jchasse]

Here are a couple from the archives...

First is a picture of the Animas River from the deck of the condo we rented sight unseen when we moved. The second is a section at the northern end of the Animas River Trail...this was on the walk from the condo to WalMart! Not bad scenery...

Lastly, my daughter and I on the Colorado trail in our first winter here.

[jchasse]

hmmm...if someone could let me know how to insert the actual pictures instead of the little thumbnail links, it would be greatly appreciated!

[CAVA1990]

Not sure but they expand to a good size once you click on them.

[delta07]

Great post! And it really, really makes me miss Colorado...

In order to have your pictures post a normal size in the thread, they have to be linked to a website. So you have to upload them first to flickr, or picasa, or something like that (and it has to be a public album). As the other poster said, they expand fine when you click on them, so it may be more trouble than it's worth (unless you already have them online somewhere).

[CAVA1990]

[CAVA1990]

I just clicked on that one's thumbnail and did a copy paste.

[AMB8301]

Wonderful idea. I've called Durango home for many years now and still couldn't imagine living anywhere else. if you don't mind I might add a few pics to the thread.

[DurangoJoe]

Great thread. My wife & I will be moving to Durango in another year and starting to build a house within the following 6 months.

Can't wait. We'll wake up to this every day once we get the house done.