Telluride, Colorado Bound

• August 10, 2022
• By Daryl
• 0 Comment

With adventuring stirring in our souls, we headed to bed an hour early for a 7AM departure.
With coffee in hand and cameras at the ready, we make attempts at three different departures; forgetting this and that.
Finally, I lock the door one last time. 

My reputation preceded me, as my playful ways set the stage for the day. Down the road a way, or should I say up the road, for the purple mountains ahead were our destination. The chaparral preceded the stands of Aspens, still as a cat, for the wind was absent. The road wound around the curving turbulent river, racing to it’s final resting place. 

Soon, tall pines were nestled amongst the white birches and the numerous aspens. Views of the river flickered between the bush and breaks in the trees. There were thousands of feet of reddish, solid rock walls, lining our path. 

The glorious palette of God’s hands is spread in broad strokes from the stream, up the rock walls, to a blue sky with fluffy clouds. A fine day lay ahead for team Saunders.  

With both hands on the wheel, a chipmunk scurrying to mid road, came to a stop. Bunny was looking down at the time, when I quickly swerved missing the little rascal. Bunny then quickly whispered in my ear sweet driving suggestions.

We passed by rustic relics of the mining era, and small towns with grand stone facades crowning the noble buildings from late 19th century. Banks, bars and general stores of yore, are now coffee shops, restaurants and trinket shops. 

The heavy snow fall in the winter makes for green pastures for the horses and cattle, later.
Lakes, surrounded by mountains are a beautiful deep blue to turquoise, but the streams move fast and tend to be silty.
We drove a side road and witnessed beautiful scenery with vast valleys, and tall grasses blowing in the breeze. Small creeks nestled below, with tall vistas and clear to cloudy skies. 

Turning back towards Telluride town, the drive provided pleasant views. Telluride has that old-town feel, with upscale shops and mountain architecture pleasing the senses. Driving slow, we toured up to twin Bridal Veil Falls. A small community pool and a picturesque lake surrounded by trees and views were revealed in our drive. Along this route, we also toured the ski area with upscale architecture and quant markets.

Driving back, past a 35-acre ranches dreams are made of, had us dreaming of buying. But, research revealed snowfall of 76 feet of snow in a nine month period. Our dreams of that moment faded, but the drive continued; up past hot springs in the town of Ouray. There, we saw well-kept nineteenth century buildings and homes, starting more dreams and higher elevations.

Off to the right we see the Box Canyon and the source for the hot springs, made for a new adventure. We stopped at the slot canyon and hiked up to water falls.

Time has delivered a hunger, relieved by a Mexican Food Restaurant, with mountain water to quiche our thirst.

We made our way back to our mobile homestead. I entertained Bunny with a story of me being kicked out of Tiny Tot Nursery School for being socially unacceptable. She has a hard time believing I was once, painfully shy.