27 March 2021 Telluride, CO

 The weather cleared and the high passes were open, so we packed up the dog and the truck and headed out on a road trip. Our first stop was the old mining town of Telluride. We had to cross over Lizard Head Pass to get there. The drive was beautiful with snow covered mountains all around and dry roads. The road grades climbing from the west were pretty easy with only 2-4% grades, but once over the top, the down slope grades on the east side were 6-8%. Not too bad if we ever want to pull the Wanderer this way. This was Leslie’s first trip to Telluride. The old Victorian downtown, snuggled in a box end canyon, surrounded by towering snow capped mountains defines the Rockies. The town was a bustling mining town from the late 1880s through 1979. There are several hundred miles of mining tunnels through the mountains surrounding the town. The town has reinvented itself with the opening of the ski resort as the new Aspen. The old restored Victorian houses in town can run several million dollars. The skiing costs have risen as well. David and his friends used to come skiing here frequently but the cost of a single day ticket is now over $180. We walked the main street, looking in the shops. The town is very dog friendly and Etta was enjoying being with us. We stopped at the New Sheridan hotel and had lunch on their sidewalk café, enjoying the bright and warm sun while watching the folks walking by and enjoying the views of the mountains. We were surprised to see that there were almost no skiers on the slopes and the snow conditions looked pretty good after the recent snows. After lunch we drove over to Montrose where we had a hotel reserved. The roads were in great shape so we made great time. As we drove through the downtown area of Montrose, we saw a Brewery and Pizzeria that we decided would checkout. After getting checked in at the Super 8 motel, we had flashbacks to the Schitt’s Creek cable show we had watched the night before. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the motel in the show, we could not help but laugh and make comparisons. We then went back to the Colorado Boy Brewery and Pizzeria. They had a great selection of beers and the pizza was excellent, so if we ever get back this direction again, we must stop in and get pizza again.  Today was Olivia’s 3^rdBirthday.  We stayed in touch as best we could via texts and pictures. Looked like she had quite the birthday experience at a trampoline park.

Downtown Telluride

Ahhh, the good life!