On our second day in Telluride, we knew we wanted to spend every waking minute outdoors enjoying the incredible San Juan views and cool, late spring mountain air. Originally, we had a 10+ mile hike planned to Blue Lake, a secluded alpine lake with, you guessed it - bright turquoise blue waters. Due to an unstable forecast though, we decided to do just the first portion of the hike which started from where we had taken pictures the night before and ended at the top of Bridal Veil Falls. Despite the shorter distance, just over 3.5 miles roundtrip, and having lived at higher altitude for the last year, it was anything but easy hiking to the tallest (365 ft.) free falling waterfall in Colorado. A front moved in as we neared the top of the falls pelting us with tiny snow pellets. Thankful we had decided to forego the longer hike, we made a quick stop at the falls and promptly turned to head back down the steep, gravel path and headed back into town. Once back on the valley floor, the clouds cleared out and made way for a glorious, blue sky afternoon. After wandering around town to simply marvel at the incredible views and homes, many of which were for sale and dissapointingly cost well over $1 million (!), we decided to once again take the gondola up and over the mountain to Mountain Village. Mountain Village turned out to be the place to be that afternoon. As I waited out on the patio for Johnny to grab us some coffee, Sophia Bush, who was in town for the Mountainfilm Festival, stopped by to giggle at Winslow as he hid under a chair. Not long after she ran into Johnny (literally) in the coffee shop, said "hi" and hurried off. Aaron Paul, from Breaking Bad, also scurried by as we sat enjoying our coffee as did several other big names in the film and music world. When we had finished our people watching in Mountain Village, we headed one stop down the mountain to the San Sophia Overlook. This dreamy, popular wedding and elopement venue was surprisingly vacant and so we spent several hours watching the light change as the sun set behind us. Johnny happily explored the empty ski lifts and various control centers for Lift #7 while Winslow and I basked in the waning sun with the tiny town of Telluride at our feet. Once the sun set and the cold became unbearable, we retreated back down the mountain in arguably the most amazing form of transportation ever invented. On our last ride we shared our gondola with a recent resident of Telluride who had previously been living in Bozeman - his "gateway to the West and ski country." An easy going, stereotypical 20-something ski bum, he and Johnny reminisced over Big Sky and Bridger Bowl while Winslow inched his way closer and closer to his new friend, finally settling down in his lap for the last half of the ride. He told us he believes dogs can read energies and I don't doubt it because after the long day Winslow seemed more than happy to fall asleep in some stranger's lap, even if just for 5 minutes. And for us, we were more than happy to just grab Thai takeout and catch up on some cable in our hotel room on our last night in Telluride.
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Years ago I saw a picture on the internet of a coffee shop along a road which was abruptly dead ended by mountains that seemed to rise straight up out of the ground just feet from where people sat and enjoyed their lattes. That picture, and its locale, have stuck with me ever since so when I learned last summer that Telluride was a mere 5 and a half hours away, the choice of where to spend our first wedding anniversary over Memorial Day weekend seemed obvious. The first 4 hours of the drive from Flagstaff were almost unbearable, with nothing to distract us from the barren, native land besides the long line of cars at Four Corners. After passing through Cortez though, it was as if the skies opened and offered us snowcapped peaks in gratitude for persevering through the first 250 miles. Upon our arrival, Telluride did not disappoint and with every moment we spent there, we fell more and more in love with this unique, mountain oasis. After settling into our comfortable (read: "economy") room, we quickly set off for the free, pet-friendly gondola that carries passengers, both two legged and four, from Telluride over the mountain to Mountain Village. We spent a short time walking around the mostly empty village before returning to Telluride where all the action was at due to the summer kickoff festival, MountainFilm. We ended our first day with a view of Bridal Veil Falls, pristine alpine waters, and the historic Pandora Mill. Despite having only 3 short days to celebrate in Telluride, they were filled to the brim - so much so that I've decided to share them in multiple blog posts. We couldn't have imagined a better place to spend our anniversary and I have no doubt that we'll be back in the near-ish future. Check back soon to see more from day 2 and 3 in this magical place!
It's been a busy last month for Johnny and myself between long work hours and lots of travel. In between it all, though, we can't complain because we've been falling in love with this place that we've called home for almost a year now. After 12 months, we finally feel like we're finding our very own Flagstaff. Several things come to mind when looking for adventure in Flagstaff: Snowbowl, Sunset Crater, the lava tube caves. While we've had the opportunity to check out of a few of those well-known places, being "locals" we sometimes want more out of this amazing little city. Lucky for us, there is so much more to Flagstaff than Rt. 66 and being a short drive from Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Through Instagram, we've been able to find a handful of lesser known Flagstaff gems (remember Picture Canyon?) and in May we finally had the chance to check out a couple more. On a rainy Saturday afternoon, we took a drive up Schultz Pass in search of a giant log pile, something I've been dying to find since our move to the largest ponderosa pine forest in the country. We had never driven this pass before and despite a year here, it still surprised me when Schultz Pass turned out to be a winding, dirt forest road instead of the rambling highways we're used to being from the Midwest. We navigated the well-maintained road in our trusty Honda Accord and were mesmerized as we wound around the side of the mountain, paralleling a trail sandwiched by the greenest grass we've seen since summers back home in Minnesota and South Dakota. After a couple miles, we finally spotted what we had come looking for and of course stopped to take some pictures with our new camera (a Canon 6D - we're in love!). When the rain picked up, we begrudgingly packed up and returned down the mountain. Between all our travels and a busy season at work for me, we haven't had the chance to head back up Schultz Pass but it's next on our list for a local hike. We've also heard it's a wonderful, scenic drive in fall with the changing aspens so it's also found its way onto our short list for fall adventures when friends and family come to visit this October. As if the fresh cut pines and a mountain backdrop weren't enough, on the other side of the mountain, we spent an afternoon exploring Hart Prairie and an awe-inspiring abandoned cabin. Taking shelter from the 45 mph winds, we strung up our hammocks in the aspen grove surrounding this treasure and both agree that it was our best hammocking spot yet! Despite the glorious springtime sun, we had the place all to ourselves for the couple hours we spent there. As we relaxed into our hammocks beneath the aspen, we wondered of the people that once called this their home. Lucky they were to be cradled by tall white giants on three sides and defended by the San Fransisco peaks on the other. Lucky we were to enjoy it even if just for a couple hours. Ask either Johnny or myself and I think we'd both agree that this magical place is now one of our favorite places around town. Even before we met each other, we've both had a love for old homes. An abandoned home in the middle of an aspen grove - even better! This place, like Schultz Pass will likely be somewhere we take refuge from "the real world" as long as we're living in Flagstaff. It may sound silly, but I'm thankful to Instagram and the way it's allowed us to find our own Flagstaff - the one we were dreaming of starting our new, adventurous lives together in just over a year ago.
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