47.13 'Color ado': Avoid a trip, not fall in Durango, though on a fall trip. The Outer Loop of Animas Mountain.

The Animas River winds its way through Durango.

Perrin Peak in the middle, a hike we have enjoyed a couple of times.

Durango is a fascinating city which has the feel of a town. When we first visited, it appeared more of a cowboy/western destination. Preliminary judgement indicates it’s less cowboy and more of the usual. What’s interesting is that many houses are constructed in the forest, giving occupants a rural flavor. We like it. 

It’s hard to believe the number of mountains surrounding the city—it’s a real issue for us because Jenni feels we have to attempt them all. You’ve got to have some sympathy for me. Talking of Jenni, we met her cousin Daverille and husband David, for a short while. We had not seen Daverille for near on twenty years, making it a pleasant reunion. South Africans are spread over the world, the few of us relatively speaking. 

On our return from a great hike (another day), one I rated a top-ten, which Jenni disagreed with, and I conceded probably because there are already 83 hikes in our top-ten. Anyway, we noticed one of the cleaners at the motel had her two children assisting. The kids of each gender, probably 4 and 3 were as cute as children can be. One wants to sweep them up into one's arms and hug them. The two were helping Mom and were quite serious, too. It was a sight to behold. The sad part is that society will probably influence the kids to believe their Mom is not engaged in an ‘acceptable’ job or position, thereby lacking ‘status'—what a crock. Currently, they think the world of their Mom and her function as their exuberance bubbles over while helping her. Indeed! Should I be the Mom, I’d be proud of my kids and vice-versa. It brought an incredible day to a happy conclusion to engage with the little ones.

The Animas River continues to wind and wend its way through Durango.

Cheers,

Jenni and Jeffrey