Week Two

Well, it's hard to believe that I'm in the second week of our visit already. My Dad and Terrie left on Monday, Molly and I had a quiet time Monday and Tuesday while the boys were in camp. We gave ourselves permission to do nothing more strenuous than walk to the library, camp and watch Elmo. Seems crazy not to hike everyday when you are here but a vacation should involve some downtime too. On Tuesday afternoon, my Mom and step-Dad arrived. We had some nice walks through town on Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday, we sent the boys off to their second overnight camp out. This one is to the ghost town of Alta - I am jealous! Its funny how a hike I thought would be too tough for them, they can handle with their camp group. Did I mention that they hiked up to Bear Creek falls on Monday? I guess that is the "Falls Hike Take 3." Drew tells me that the falls were really cool. Maybe I'll make it to one - someday. Wednesday morning, the non-campers went up the gondola to catch the view and then on the river walk. During Molly's nap, Derek (step-dad) and I went on the Jeb Weibe trail. Amazing views and a good 3 hour walk up and back down the ridge on the north side of town. Of course, I need to do the hike again with Andy who is currently sitting on the runway in Philly :( on another of his marathon business trips. I also need a nap and I believe Derek needs Oxygen!

The view from the top of the hike towards the east side - bridal veil falls


towards the west side - supposedly Utah is visible somewhere...

Proof that I made it up!

A beautiful Aspen forest on the hike

Hike to the Falls - takes 1 and 2

Well its been a fun and busy week-end here - sorry we haven't posted in a few days. My (Diane's) dad and step-mom are visiting and we've spent a lot of fun time hiking and showing off the town of Telluride.


We had a mellow Friday day further exploring the town and the boys discovered the town library. Here they are reading (quietly!).


Friday night, Diane and the parents attempted the Cornet Falls hike - supposedly a somewhat easy 1/4 mile up to a beautiful falls. The trail, however, was nowhere to be found about 1/2 way to the falls!


On Saturday we hiked the Coonskin Loop and enjoyed some great views of the valley. There was also still some snow on the ground! This is Diane with her dad and step-mom.


On Sunday we attempted to hike up to the Bridal Veil falls but it was too steep for the jog-stroller so we had to abandon that waterfall too. Here is Drew with Grams and a view of the bridal veil falls.

Dad and Terrie go home tomorrow and we will miss them. I will have to attempt to coerce another visitor into trying for a waterfall hike later in the trip!

A night at the Bluegrass Festival

Well, the boys made it back from their overnight camp-out in one piece yesterday. Sounds like they had a blast! They made spaghetti for dinner over the campfire, roasted marshmallows and told scary stories late at night. Drew lost a tooth on the trip and then he literally lost the tooth somewhere on the camp-out. We THINK the tooth fairy will still come here to our house, but Drew wrote her a note to explain the circumstances just to be safe. We'll see on that one.

Di and I went to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival last night. We got there in time to see Emmylou Harris and Counting Crows play. It was truly incredible to see a show in Town Park in the valley.

Counting Crows played a great set. If memory serves me correct, the originals they played were:

• Mr. Jones
• If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel is dead)
• American Girls
• Rain King/Raining in Baltimore
• Hard Candy
• Have You Seen Me Lately
• Hanginaround
• Mrs. Potter's Lullaby
  
• A Long December
• Miami

The absolute highlight was their cover of Madonna's "Borderline" sounding not too much unlike Neil Young. I laughed my way through nearly the whole song.

Diane enjoying the crowds at the Bluegrass Festival.


The stage from our spot. We were actually closer than it looks in this picture...


The mountains behind the sound board as dusk settles in.


Counting Crows as they play through their set toward the end of the evening.

Bluegrass Festival underway...

It's been a couple of days since we last posted. The boys are settling in to camp. In fact, they are coming back from their first overnight adventure today. We can't wait to hear how it went and if they survived the night okay. I'm sure we'll have a full report for everyone tomorrow.

People are streaming into town this morning as the Bluegrass Festival gets under way today. The town is likely to be packed over the next few days, so it's a good thing we secured our parking rights while we could!

It's been fairly warm this week out here. The afternoons have been topping out around the high-70s. Today has been cool as we have a chance for rain and some good cloud cover. Di and I have been spending our mornings with little mini-hikes/walks. Yesterday we got a little adventurous and made our way down the Telluride Trail from Mt. Sophia after riding the gondola up to the station there. Poor little Molly was good about enduring the descent in her jog-stroller. (We likely don't do that trek again with her!) The picture below is from the top of the mountain looking out over Mountain Village.

Settling in

Well we haven't written in a few days because we are just settling in and relaxing. The boys started camp this week and are involved in adventures at the nature center and canoeing so far. Our adventures included a 1 1/2 hour drive to the nearest major grocery store yesterday. Andy and I disagree on whether it is worth it to drive so far for good prices, I don't think I'll be going back there soon!

Today, Andy, Molly and I went on a walk along the San Miguel River, played in the town playground and played ball in the backyard - a quiet relaxing day. The boys had a canoeing trip on Trout Lake and generally had a great time boating, throwing rocks in the lake, seeing a beaver dam and later having a pirate themed water balloon fight. They have an overnight trip tomorrow so we won't see them again until Thursday afternoon!

I can't believe that they have any energy after camp, but as you can see they were up for riding scooters into town for ice cream after dinner.

Day of Fun

Well, Drew decided that today would be his "day of fun." He really deserved one after being in the car for three days. The day began with a morning trip up the mountain and back down the other side on the gondola. It was a fun ride but when we got to Mountain Village, the climbing rock was closed (more about this later). No problem though, we just rode the gondola back down and set off with the scooters (and stroller) to the town park. (and yes - they are both wearing glasses!)

The town park was about 8 blocks away and we kept the boys entertained with scooter practice and pretend scooter "Drivers licenses." Alex, predictably, has turned this into an extensive game of pretend with multiple levels! At the park we played on the play ground and made some new friends. The park was a great size for Molly who wanted to practice on the stairs over and over again.

After lunch, we went back to Mountain village and tackled the climbing boulder. It was hard! Of the three of us (Di, Alex and Drew), Alex was the most successful. There was also a Family Fiesta in the main town square and the boys got to hit the pinata and get some candy (which of course they loved).

As if this wasn't enough, after a short rest, we took the boys to a little skate park and they practiced some moves on the ramps with their scooters.

Maybe not what you'd think of as a perfect Colorado vacation day but it was definitely Drew (and Alex's) day of fun.

We made it!

After three days and over 1,700 miles, we finally made the drive from Atlanta to Telluride. Our first day took us to Little Rock where Aunt Miriam and Uncle Leonard graciously hosted the five of us. The night was perfect and the boys and Molly got to play in the sprinkler until they dropped. We also cooked out for dinner and it really hit the spot.

Day 2 was our long day: Little Rock to Santa Rosa, New Mexico. We made it in just about twelve hours. We stopped off in Oklahoma City and ate lunch at the Coaches Corner which overlooked the outfield of AT&T Park. We have pictures of the view below. (Sorry co-workers, but the view was pretty cool.) We learned that Oklahoma is a VERY long state. West of Amarillo, the terrain changes dramatically as you head toward New Mexico and as dusk was settling in, it was a perfect setting. Also, another perfect night. Our hotel had an indoor pool and the boys were able to burn off some energy before they crashed. Molly slept perfectly as an added bonus.

Day 3: Santa Rosa to Telluride. Again the New Mexico terrain proved to be dramatic as we climbed in altitude. You definitely felt like you were in the southwest at that point. We stopped for lunch in Aztec, NM at a nice little cafe and then we headed off toward Durango. I think this was our shortest day clocking in at just about eight hours. The drive from Durango to Telluride was absolutely stunning - the mountain ranges still had some snow on it. The house here in Telluride was better than advertised.

On the whole, the kids were near-perfect on the trip. No one melted down and everyone settled in just fine for the rides. We haven't had a chance to really explore the town yet. We did grab dinner and I learned that Fat Tire on draft is indeed a two block walk from the house. Not sure I need much more at this point.

Here's a few pictures from the drive. They don't do it justice, but we thought they were worth sharing.

This first one was from OKC. They seem to be promoting the famous natives by renaming all the streets in the downtown Brickwalk area. This intersection in particular seems to cross a couple of mismatched icons.


Here are Drew and Alex at Coaches Corner. We ate outside and had a great view.


This is from Day Three just outside Ophir on the road to Telluride. Spectacular views.


..and the house in Telluride....


...and the view out our front door.


That's all for now. More to come...