9.15.09 Tell you about Telluride

Its official. I'm moving to Telluride, CO. What a great place. The best little town we've been through so far with a main street that has all you need or want. Plus there are no chains or gaudy Targets, etc...great stuff. We were just passing through on our way to Fruita but we did learn they have great rock climbing, skiing, and mountain biking. A definite future trip needs to be planned. On our way to Telluride we stopped at Alta lakes and took some good pics. Nice lakes up on top of a mountain and past an old cattle ranch that was burned down two weeks prior. They were offering a $500.00 award for any information leading to the capture of the arsonists. We did not have any information.

We walked around the town and visited a number of the shops, mostly for t-shirts. The town itself is up just under 9000ft. Talking to the shop owners we found that they are definitely hurting because of the economy but they were all super friendly and helpful. I was asked while being rung up for a single t-shirt if I wanted to buy a kayak. I politely declined. Then if I wanted to buy a coffee mug. I bought the mug. Ate lunch at a local establishment where the owner called us 'partner' 46 times. A nice man he was.

Hitting the road north to Fruita. Oh by the way the kayak store person called Fruita a 'sprawling piece of poo'. Nice. So the ride north really was a perfect demonstration of the different terrain and weather one hits out here. We hit mountains, vistas, valleys, highway, county roads with no winter maintenance, rain, fog, blazing sun, hot and cold in the span of about 20 minutes. The big white puffy clouds with blue backdrops float by and then coalesce into dark ones and then back again constantly throughout the afternoon hours. At one point just north of Ridgeway we were on US550 with the Rockies to our right and the Uncompaghre Plateau to our left and the clouds were doing their best M.C. Esher impression. Cool stuff.