I was more excited for this trip to Telluride than I have been for other trips in the past. While I am always really excited to get back, I was super duper over-the-moon excited for our trip this time around. I suspect it has something to do with working all of the time now with little time off. I am still trying to adjust to the decrease in flexibility in my schedule. I hadn't taken a day off since we went to Telluride for Christmas, which was six months ago. Six months is a long time for me to go with no time off. Go ahead and call me a wimp. So, anyway, I was excited.
Of course, the trip went by entirely too fast and before we knew it, it was time to come home. But, we had an awesome time.
We left Friday after work and drove into the night. Saturday, we drove the rest of the way and rolled in at around 9:30 that night. Indy was a trooper and didn't complain to us too loudly. It also helped that we gave her a beef knuckle to keep her entertained in the car, except that she was constantly more interested in burying it in her seat cover than she was eating it. Every hour or so, she'd dig it back up to check on it and make sure it was okay and then she'd re-bury it. Such a peculiar little dog she can be. And, yes, this beef knuckle really is gross and stinky.
Once in Telluride, our trip was filled with sunning, mountain biking, motorcycle riding (on Matt's part, not mine), four wheeling, concert going, kayaking, eating and celebrating. Our friend Jayme also came down for a few days to spend some time with us. He moved to Denver a little over a year ago and we hadn't seen him since, so it was nice to see him and his dog, Roxy.
The second day we were there, we went out on a mountain bike ride with my mom, brother, Indy and Timber. It was a beautiful day and the ride was great. It was a good easy loop around Trout Lake.
I won't lie, though, some of the uphills were tough at that altitude. My parents' house is at about 9,300 feet above sea level, which is nothing to bat an eye at. Especially if you're coming from Milwaukee. It didn't seem to bother Indy much, though. She ran around so much and absolutely LOVED it.
We celebrated
our anniversary in Telluride. Neither of us wanted to do much for it and it was very low-key, but fun. Matt took me to dinner at the
New Sheridan Chop House, which was DELICIOUS. It was so good and prompted us to rank it somewhere in our top five meals ever. It is such a neat space as well. There is so much history in that building. After dinner, we rode the gondola up to
Allred's at the top of the mountain for a drink. We lucked out and got a table right next to the window this time, which was great. While it wasn't anything elaborate, I loved how we chose to celebrate. It was perfect.
A few days later, while in the
Telluride Truffle store, I did end up buying a slice of cake for us for our anniversary. I hadn't really planned on getting anything, but I was there at the store and there were slices of cake. The chocolate slice caught my eye and I asked the saleslady what the filling was. When she replied with "raspberry buttercream and Grand Marnier", I had to have it, explaining to her that "Patty made this exact cake for us for our wedding two years ago!". It was just as delicious as I've always remembered it to be.
Matt went on several motorcycle rides, both with my brother and by himself. He had debated taking his bike this year, just because taking the trailer is kind of a hassle. But, I reminded him that at New Year's, when asked what the best part of 2008 was for him, he listed riding his bike in Colorado as one of the top things he did. I would hate for him to miss out on that and encouraged him to take it. I think he's glad that he did and I know that my brother enjoys riding with him.
Once Jayme showed up, we went on another mountain bike ride. This time, on the Galloping Goose trail that goes right from right near my parents' house. It's mostly downhill, which was nice, but it's a single track and was a little difficult in some parts. But, we made it out alive.
Mom and dad live on a river that flows into a pond. We enjoy spending time down by the pond and have some benches, a table and a firepit set up down there. They also have a kayak and a raft to tool around in if one were to feel so inclined. Jayme took the kayak out one day and decided to shoot the rapids. I made him wear a helmet, but he did okay. Strangely, though, he still ended up all wet when he was done. Something about a log across the river and the boat taking on water that no one else witnessed.
I was a little nervous about what I would do about triathlon training while I was on vacation. I went over and over in my mind what I should do. I ended up deciding that I would run a few days and swim one and that would have to do it. It did not go as planned. I tried running and I couldn't breathe to save my life. It was a total running FAIL. I had also planned a day to go to the
Ouray Hot Springs to swim. The pool is also conveniently located near one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. We rarely go because it's a little out of the way to go from Telluride. But, since we'd be coming home from Ouray, we could stop and eat. We went over a four-wheel-drive pass to get to Ouray and then sat and soaked. Once I sat in the warm water for a while, I had absolutely no desire to swim laps. I am disappointed in how things turned out, but there's not much I can do about it now. The Mexican food was just as good as I remembered it though and considering that I've been craving it for a few years now, I was pleased with the trip to the pool.
On another day, Matt, Jayme and I went partially up
Imogene Pass to the old Ghost Town of Tomboy. The last time I went up there was probably six or seven years ago with Matt in his old Ford Bronco. The thing was a beast and it was a little hairy. The 4Runner is much better suited for such a thing and Matt did just fine.
This is a good shot of the road we came up (and then went back down).
We celebrated the Fourth of July, which also happens to be my dad's birthday, as we usually do. We got up and went to watch the parade. I love the Telluride parade. It is so much fun. There are always the usual motorcycles, cars, floats and walking groups. My favorite group this year was the "Party like it's 2006!" group. They carried signs that read "In Madoff we Trust", "Bubbles Never Burst" and the like. They threw money around, passed out Subprime Mortgages, danced and threw confetti. It was great fun. I even managed to get a mortgage out of it.
After the parade, we went back home to get ready for our party. We have a group of people come over and it's always fun with lots of good food and drink. We have people come who I only ever get to see this one time a year, so it's always fun to catch up on the last year.
As it gets darker, we all go inside and put on our warm clothes (seriously, it gets COLD there at night) to get ready for fireworks. We always sit in the same place each year and Telluride fireworks are by far the best I've experienced. Sure, they're not a professional show by any means (they still light them all by hand), but it's just incredible. We sit right under them and between the shake of the earth, the echo around the canyon and the big, in-your-face of being right under the bursts is just awesome. Unfortunately, this year, it started raining just as we stepped out of the car. And, by raining, I really mean POURING. Luckily, it stopped just before the guys with the Fire Department lit up the sky and stayed dry until we were back in the car on the way home.
Again, we had a great time on our trip. Indy had a blast running and playing outside all day every day. In addition to my parents' dog, Timber, and Jayme's dog, Roxy, my aunt's dog, Zoe, was also staying with us. She is a 1-year old Chocolate Lab that was always ready to play. While Indy has never seemed to run out of energy when she's playing with Nellie here at home, she was absolutely EXHAUSTED at the end of each day. Any chance she had to come inside and nap, she happily jumped at. I enjoyed seeing my family again and it reminded me how much I really miss them and being in Telluride in general. I took a lot of pictures--a lot more than are here. For my Facebook friends, I've posted some there and they can all be found on my picture site (link in the top bar).
Unfortunately, in true Matt and Sierra fashion, getting back was an ordeal. The mountain pass we cross the state of Colorado on was closed for about seven hours while we tried to get back. We ended up having to go around, which added several hours onto our trip. We also ran into some pretty awful traffic around the Denver area, which only added insult to injury at that point. The usual eight hours that it takes us to get across the state turned into almost 13. When we finally pulled off the road in Nebraska for the night, I saw this sign. It just seemed fitting to the way the day had gone.
Despite the hassle of getting back, I'm glad we went and am a little sad to be back. It looks like summer has finally showed up here in Wisconsin. We also will be in a whirlwind now that we're back and I think I may have a full day to spend at home at the end of October! But, that's summer, right?
