Absurdities #12

By Eilene Lyon As I was driving into town in the morning, I saw a cluster of at least 10 deputy sheriff and Durango police SUVs escorting an all-black bus heading the opposite direction. The bus wasn't like a large tour bus, but the size of the shuttles at the local ski area. All the... Continue Reading →

March 9, 2023 36

From the Vault: Woolly

By Eilene Lyon Breaking up is sometimes made more difficult by the fact that, just because you want to lose the partner, you don't necessarily want to lose their parents, too. I met Doug in the Mountaineering Club at The Ohio State University. By the time I graduated, we'd gotten engaged. It was a spur-of-the-moment... Continue Reading →

October 13, 2022 52

The Palace Restaurant–RIP

By Eilene Lyon This is the second in my series about historic buildings on Main Ave. in Durango, Colorado. I earlier covered the unique Durango Depot. Few buildings remain in the 500 block of Main Ave. from Durango’s earliest days, and this area was known for many years as the seedier side of town (south... Continue Reading →

September 15, 2022 39

Artful Durango – Part 1

By Eilene Lyon I've enjoyed blogs about public art from around the world, so I am going to do a series highlighting some public art in Durango, Colorado. This installment features a few of the many murals around town. These are recent works (to my knowledge). I did not find information on the artist in... Continue Reading →

May 26, 2022 50

Durango Train Museum

By Eilene Lyon While train history is a big part of this museum’s raison d’etre, the exhibits range far and wide. Nine years after the original roundhouse (where the steam locomotives idle at night) burned down in 1989, a portion of the replacement structure was set aside to house the museum. At least two locomotives... Continue Reading →

April 7, 2022 39

The Durango Depot – 479 Main

By Eilene Lyon With the encouragement of Anabel at The Glasgow Gallivanter and Brandi at Make the Journey Fun, I’ve decided to share bits of my Old West hometown. One project I’d like to undertake, perhaps as a book someday, is a study of Main Avenue buildings and the businesses they’ve housed over the past... Continue Reading →

October 28, 2021 43

Tracks Across Borders

By Eilene Lyon On a recent camping trip, I took the opportunity to discover portions of Colorado’s newest scenic byway (which continues into New Mexico). Called “Tracks Across Borders,” this byway follows the historic route of the narrow-gauge Denver & Rio Grande Railroad between Chama and Durango. (I’m one of those people annoyed when state... Continue Reading →

September 16, 2021 37

San Juan Sagas

Found Photo Project #2 By Eilene Lyon Photo Find I enjoy finding 19th century photographs in the local antique store that have some identifying marks. This photograph of 6-year-old Henry Lloyd Wilson caught my eye, despite the defacing scratches. It has so much information: his age, the date the photo was taken and where, and... Continue Reading →

June 15, 2021 56

From the Vault: Berlin Wall

By Eilene Lyon The “From the Vault” series features an artifact or family photo from my collection to illustrate a tale from my distant past. Bridging the East-West divide has never been a simple matter. It's complicated further when the two sides have been handed entirely different sets of expectations. My tale begins when a... Continue Reading →

March 11, 2021 43