More Mountain Ranges and Eastward We Go

October 9^th to the 11th, Crestone, CO

Joyce and I were loathe to leave Telluride but we had a long day of driving through more mountains to a town called Crestone in Colorado.  We were told this was

a very artsy, counter-culture kind of place where we could expect to find quirky people.  I thought, ‘cool, my kind of place.’   I would have to reassess a bit as it turned out the town was a little more on the fringe than I had expected.

Our day of driving through Southwest Colorado was lovely. We saw more scenic vistas and views. We drove up and over Lizard Head Pass, hoping to see an elk or two. No luck on that score but we liked what we did see. I could definitely see a trip back to this part of Colorado for more exploration.

Eventually, we got to our next airbnb, which wasn’t so easy to find in the dark.  Closer to our destination sage,

scrub brush and no trees surrounded us so our surroundings looked the same in all directions.  There was a labyrinth of rural gravel roads whose signs were very difficult to read in the dark.  It turned out our gps would have taken us right to our destination if our hostess had provided the street address but she had had too many bad experiences with

guests getting lost, even with gps, and so she had provided us with only narrative directions that took more time, resulting in a later arrival. We finally pulled up to a cute little place where Claudia awaited us.  She was the quintessential, frugal prairie woman who enjoyed having travelers to break up the sometimes lonely but always beautiful and contemplative natural space.  We felt a bit like we had come across a motherly aunt with an eccentric past, strong opinions and a mix of salty language.   

Claudia’s place was comfortable with lots of windows and no neighbors around, just sage prairie and the sound of chimes from the outside patio.  Outside our window in a little rock garden were these pretty little glass flowers that lit up and changed colors through the night.  I don’t usually go in for that sort of thing but I really liked these.  The small house was decorated with collections from around the world  but yet simply done. It felt spacious and snug at the same time.   

The town of Crestone, as we discovered the next day, was a collection of makeshift buildings thrown hither and yon onto whatever patch of land must have seemed convenient at the time. There were only a handful of streets but they meandered through scrub, left-over construction supplies and painted walls reminiscent of flower-child days. There was, surprisingly, a more than adequate grocery and liquor store in this tiny town and it had  several  restaurants and a tea shop that, strangely, always had more cars nosed up to its walls than to any other spot in town. If we had had time, we might have checked this place out to see just what it was about these teas and herbs that were so popular in this psychedelic hippy town. 

The handful of galleries and restaurants all seemed to be painted in tones of fuchsia, cyan and sunburst yellow with hand-painted enticements strewn across their storefronts or on  numerous cock-eyed signs posted in their yards.  One  little café in particular had been recommended to us for breakfast or lunch  as "really good"……Jim and Michelle’s Farm Table.  The description was an understatement. Everything was delicious and artfully presented while the atmosphere set us at ease with sounds of Alison Krauss and Willie Nelson singing in the background.  The artwork on the wall and town gossip murmuring under it had me thinking this was probably a gathering hole for the locals (always a good sign).  We lingered over coffee, a decidedly slow pace being set for just the right kind of relaxing day.

The Joyful Journey Hot Springs Pools felt fantastic and yes, it really was named that.  It had multiple pools at different temps to choose from.  We sank into luxuriously hot mineral water that stayed between 102 to 105 degrees.  It had turned into a blustery day with sun, rain and hale blowing through in intervals but the pools were protected with Plexiglas that blocked  the wind to keep it comfortable.  We were complete prunes by the time we motivated ourselves to get going back to Claudia’s for the afternoon.  After that long hot soak, we were ready for an easy meal and an early night. 

We did sleep great out there with the chimes

and constant wind blowing.  Waking up to mountains surrounding us and watching shifting thunderclouds every few minutes, we found our heads lifted skyward often. A few times the lonely sound of coyotes could be heard, closer than I would have thought. We were in bed

relaxing that last evening in Crestone, with books and some maps, by the unbelievable time of 8:30pm. I can only imagine hearing Walt's shock at that. Our usual schedule would have us turning in around 11pm or midnight but that

had drastically changed on this trip. I wondered how long that would last once we got home. I was enjoying that time schedule and rather hoped I might try to stick with it.