A day in Durango

We began our day with breakfast at Jean-Pierre’s whose catch phrase is, “the FRENCH French baker since 1969.” The setting was beautiful (wood antiques, French paintings on the wall), the food delicious, and the waiters did double duty in off moments playing selections on the grand piano in the front window.

We then moseyed up and down the main street, wandering into jewelry shops, art galleries and some excellent Native American traditional arts galleries. We passed a sporting goods store with a prominent front window display of aerosol cans containing OXYGEN. Apparently Gordon thought I was kidding when I suggested getting a couple. FINE. See if I care when one of us has to be dragged, blue in the face, to Urgent Care.

As it was at least a half hour since our full French breakfasts, we popped into the local Animas Chocolate factory. We were able to view the chocolatier at work making chocolate toffee bark, and then sampled the wares with a couple of espresso sized hot chocolates smothered in whipped cream. Between bouts of licking his whipped cream mustache, Gordon engaged our guide and barista in a lively discussion of all the places both had lived. Heather managed to get a word in edgewise, telling the young man that we shared West Bend, Wisconsin as our birthplace.

Our parking meter was annoyingly running out, so we hopped in the car to find the Pinkerton Hot Springs north of town. While we were admiring the single, but beautiful formation, a young man pulling a lawn care trailer asked us if we were familiar with the area. Following his helpful suggestion, we went a little further up the road to see Bakers Bridge. This is apparently where they filmed some scenes from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, including the iconic leap from the cliff. Amazing how they could stretch the scenery even before CGI. After a bit of searching, it appears they made the leap at Baker’s Bridge, but landing into the river was filmed elsewhere.Read more