Telluride
So Good we want to live here...sometimes
We pulled into Telluride right at sunset. We had no idea where we were going but as soon as we hit main street (Colorado Ave) our jaws dropped at the breathtaking backdrop overshadowing the historic town. Within minutes our view got even better as the sunset cast striking shadows and colors across the mountain facade behind the historic storefronts.
We crashed and hit the mountain in the morning. Again, wishing for snow but admitting to ourselves that there was no storm approaching. The mountain was surprisingly good despite packed conditions and we had a blast riding back and forth between old town Telluride and the newer/more modern village at the base.
The gondola here will take you directly up from the old town or across to the village for dinner or shopping and we couldn't help but think back to the gondola plans for Ogden that made us move there years ago (that also fell through not long after). If you have dog in tow, they'll even let you take your pup up to the summit.
We did enjoy our time on the mountain, mostly for the epic views and the mountainside bar with live music and hot toddies for us weary skiers and riders.…but it was the historic town of telluride that really drew us in and made it really hard to leave.
Telluride started as an old mining settlement and the entire town is now on the historic registry. Somehow they have done a fantastic job of allowing growth but still preserving their historic beauty.
It may not be for everyone, but for my industrial modern aesthetic…this place was eye candy at every turn. Almost every building from new condo to 200 year old home was a combination of wood, steel and rustic corrugated metal, probably exactly what we would do to our place in Portland if we thought the code would allow it!
I fell in love with Telluride quickly and found myself checking out real estate books and flyers dreaming of owning a small home here (almost every house in telluride IS a small home, because its trapped in the valley and expansion simply isn't an option), but we quickly learned that the cheapest, most rundown shack in town was almost 2million dollars. Since Jen was also using our afternoons to collect/ready for taxes...we are well aware that we cannot afford a 2 million dollar home here or anywhere else. ;) So much for finding another diamond in the rough to convert into industrial modern gem.
I finally gave up my search but enjoyed the town just the same. The pizza at Brown Dog was out of this world (and worth two stops even in our short stay in town), and almost everywhere we went showed us a great time. I cant think of any other town in recent memory that drew us in so completely that we walked literally every block checking out the views, the architecture and the atmosphere.
We took a day to hike up the river just outside of town to find yet another frozen waterfall. The hike was covered in snow, icy and treacherous at parts...but so worth the hike for the views all to ourselves. Truly magical, just like the town it sits above.
While the storm wasn't expected to hit here (or anywhere nearby) we began to see storms on the forecast for California and started planning our approach. We made one last night out happen and had a long evening of cocktails and conversation at There, where we enjoyed the amazing menu, perfect drinks and a pretty awesome crowd of people (it may have, in fact gotten a bit out of hand)...and then we're pleasantly surprised to find snow falling as we walked back to the van (with a few friends in tow for one last drink after shutting the bar down).
In the morning we fought to rally to get one last day of fresh snow in on the mountain. Thank goodness we did, because we stumbled upon Prospect Bowl, which was full of terrific snow, fun runs and made us feel like we had the mountain to ourselves! After that, we pretty much flipped a coin and decided to leave town. It was truly tough to pull ourselves away from this place, but the pending storm in Cali is a big one...and we have a few stops planned along the way.
