From Hot to Cold and Red to Blue

October 6^th  through 8th - Telluride, CO

Joyce and I got moving early on Sunday morning, even forgoing coffee and breakfast in our rush to head northward from Sedona. Our destination was Telluride by evening and it looked to be about 7 hours away.  We would be going to a completely different type of terrain from the red rocks.  We were already told that there had been snow

in Telluride but upon checking the weather there, we would have blue skies and mild temps.  And when I say blue skies, it’s a blue there you never see in the East.  I suspect it’s due to the contrast of the white at the top of the mountains against the sky but it’s startling in its depth of color.  And being big sky country, it seems like you could reach out and touch it.

I looked forward to meeting some new people and get the local info about this cool, mountain town.  We stayed with Debbie, a friend of a daughter of a client of mine.  She has a lovely and cozy condo in a small neighborhood in Mountain Village on the ridges above Telluride.  Debbie and her kitty, Merlin, made us feel so welcome. We were told Merlin was a shy boy but in no time he was winding himself between our legs.  

It had been dark when we drove in so the morning’s views were a complete surprise.   With lots of windows, the morning light flooded our room and blue sky once again showed up.  We saw gold aspens shimmering

in the breeze and mountain vistas on all sides with snow capping some of them.  There were even small patches of snow on the ground.  Being back in among the trees and cooler temps made me happy and I was energized to get out that day.  I had been to Telluride once before and really looked forward to showing Joyce around. 

Telluride is a town where there is only one way in and out.  It is set in a narrow valley surrounded on three sides by steep mountains.  I remember the town as being charming and quaint with friendly people everywhere.  This time around we were getting a more personal perspective from our new friends: Debbie M, with whom we were staying, and my client’s daughter, Debbie N (“the Debbies”). 

On our first day venturing out we treated ourselves to manicures and reflexology massages after lunch at the Aroma Spa.  From the extremely dry air, our skin and nails were a horror and we apologized ahead of time to Michelle, the owner and manicurist.  She laughed it off and asked about our adventures.  We relaxed the afternoon away being pampered by Michelle and Candice, enjoying the fun chatter and warmth of both of them.  Michelle was a dear; incredibly kind, open and giving. 

On Tuesday, the 8^th, Joyce and I went over and picked up Debbie N’s sweet dog, Maggie, to accompany

us on our hike.  We wanted to get on a trail that would take us on the mountain above town and in the alpine country. Bear Creek fit the bill and we spent a couple of hours hiking and taking photographs in this beautiful wilderness. Maggie wasn't too sure at first why her mom wasn't coming along but she eventually relaxed and enjoyed herself. Joyce and I both were missing our dogs so spending an afternoon with Maggie was a nice treat. She was willing and well-behaved, a practiced trail dog with good manners. 

We were looking forward to the evening and being able to spend more time with the Debbies.  Joyce and I wanted to repay their hospitality by making them dinner before we left so we took Maggie back to the condo and spent the afternoon doing some prep work for dinner and doing some long-overdue writing for the blog.

For dinner Tuesday night we chose the Silver Palate’s Chicken Marbella with rice and roasted vegetables.  When both Debbies’ arrived from their days’ work, we opened up some white wine and nibbled on good cheese and pears.  Joyce and I both were happy to be cooking for a change instead of dining out and the Debbies’ appreciated someone cooking for them.  It was an extended evening of good food and wine with great conversations flowing as though we were old friends instead of new.   The moderate hike and exertion already had us feeling good and then to add wine and getting to know two awesome women…..perfect end to a perfect day!  We were laughing late into the night and the repoire we built was a great beginning to new friendships. We couldn’t thank them both enough for making Telluride another highpoint on our journey. 

I had thought Park City would be the place to go skiing but now we are sold on Telluride. I rather thought

that if we had hit Telluride after Denver we may never have made it anywhere else. As it it was, some worsening weather was predicted for later in the week. We decided we had to get the MINI Cooper out of those mountains while the getting was good. 

Thanks so much to Debbie M and Debbie N for being such great hosts!  You all are the best!