Telluride Adventures Day 8: flora, fauna, and a waterfall

went on one last big hike this afternoon. well actually a combination of hikes, but sticking to the green. 3 miles later we arrived at the base of the waterfall...which was actually a disappointment since the base of the falls is really on private property which you cant go on, and we really didnt want to hike the additional 3 miles up to the top of the falls 1500 feet above.

along the way we saw a variety of flora and fauna...making the journey better than the result.

we saw:

a chipmunk

a marmot (actually several including one that was chirping over and over)

lots of trees (and look mom new shorts!)

bridal veil falls (yes this was as close as you could get without walking the extra 3 miles uphill)

lots of flowers


and a RAINBOW...actually 2


and then off to one last dinner at our favorite place (where we got the locals' discount! Burgers, sweet potato fries! and a wheat beer)


trip pictures to date here.

Telluride Adventures Day 7: do nothing day

after a week of go-go-go a day of doing nothing was much needed.

took a walk in the morning through town, swung by the farmer's market for some browsing and giant cookie eating, then back home for some reading till nick got back.


then back to the farmer's market for some lunch, and back to the condo for reading and nap time.


quick dinner from the local market


night time of tv and book reading, in preparation for a full day on the flipside.

Telluride Adventures Day 6: sunset on a mountain

over dinner last night nick suggested taking the gondola to the top of the mountain to see the sunset. the day before he told me he would never get on the gondola again, but apparently he can't resist taking me to pretty places.

we rode the gondola up...this time being brave enough to sit on the same side.


took some mountain top pictures.


turned me into pipi longstocking, nicks favorite thing to do while I am in pigtails



watched the sunset,


then took an attempted self portrait...which I really like, despite that only one of my eyes made the picture


took some more pictures,


and frolicked in the flowers on the way down the mountain back to the gondola.


more pictures here!

Telluride Adventures Day 5: fly attacks and trail fails

this afternoon we got brave. decided that hey we'd been here for 5 days now, we should be acclimated to the altitude....we can so do a moderate trail. 3 miles...so shorter than the first telluride trail, same elevation gain...so a little steeper...but totally doable right?

WRONG.

nick: happy as a clam. me: DYING. legs ok, but can't breath. damn you 9000 ft altitude.

oh and there were flies. tons of flies. flies that chased after you when you hiked. flies that swarmed when you stopped. and I had to do a lot of stopping. so...about a mile in, while the flies were swarming. we decided to turn back.

we'd hike the quarter mile to the waterfall. found the waterfall...hiked the trail, before a quarter mile trail turned to sheer cliff. umm...I can see the waterfall from here. done and done.


and then I fell. (nothing major, just a slip down the hill) so glad we didnt hike that sheer cliff.

it is green, EASY, hikes for us from here on out. why? because I am weak sauce.

more pictures here!

Telluride Adventures Day 4: reading, rain, and gondolas

spent the morning reading pool side, until a mom brought her 5 and 7 year olds and proceeded to leave them alone in the pool while she went and got various things, and the 5 year old threw a temper tantrum.


back to the condo for lunch...and then the rain came. the 10% chance of rain...and it rained, and rained, and rained..so no afternoon hiking adventures. :( though perhaps our aching bodies needed this day off.

went then to the market to get postcards and bread, and COOKIE DOUGH! for dinner.

then up and over the mountain in the free gondola. we are wimps...see our scared faces.


well nick's scared face and my I'm not sure what this is face.


and our upside down self portrait...since I forgot the memory card from my camera and had to rely on phone photos.

more photos here

Telluride Adventures Day 3: baby hike day

today we decided to go on a baby hike after yeterday's adventures. this hike was described as

"Miguel River Trail-Take the kids on this.
Easy - This is a refreshing, easy ride, perfect for those who want to acclimatize to the altitude. "

acclimate to the altitude...why yes I need that. Miguel River Trail here I come.

boots on ready to go...


we got rained on, AGAIN


and sought shelter under the trees (perhaps not the smartest idea in a thunderstorm..)


we continued on our hike, and finally found a trail map...halfway through the trail, a theme that I am finding here.


and then found some wildlife,


and Christmas.


see all photos from trip here

Telluride Adventures Day 2: the day i hiked down a mountain with only one eye

today started with sleeping in, then a trip to the local market to buy some provisions, home for lunch, then out for a short 2.5 mile hike to a waterfall just up the mountain.

the trail was described as "easy to moderate" and the lady at the visitors center assured us that despite the 1000 foot elevation climb, it was totally doable, gradual climb over the 2.5 miles.

EASY???? well apparently the flatness at 600 ft that is chicago is no preparation for the 1000 ft climb from the 8750 ft elevation that is telluride, co. apparently we're going to die on the trails that are only moderate.

trail started by nick pulling a nail out of his shoe.


we should have known at this point....nearly died on our way up, then it started raining right as we were at the top, and then managed to blink my contact out of place...so got to climb down the mountain one eyed.



I proceded to lay on the couch and do nothing for the rest of the day...well nothing but watch abc family movies, then gimp back to the market and buy food for dinner. Tomorrow we try the baby trail. the one that says that its perfect for people trying to acclimate to the altitude.

Telluride Adventures Day 1: a series of near disasters

4:00 am: cabbie throw-down. apparently I did not know the way of the world and when ordered a cab, brought an innocent cabbie into conflict, since tim's buidling was the turf of others.

7:30 am: flight good. car retrieval check. even a complimentary upgrade to brand new car with 104 miles, power windows, and satellite radio. SCORE!

wrong. kia forte more like kia farte, as in old fart that cant pull hills or accelerate for the life of it. this will be fun on the mountain driving.

9:30: garden of the gods. nick cheats on me with a camel.


we try and take some self portrates. then ask some old ladies to take our pic.



11:30: SONIC LUNCH!

and then we drive. and drive. and drive.

5:00: stop for gas, the farte gets nearly 40 mpg thats cool.

5:45: the hunt for 58P (aka last dollar road). google maps you should not direct people to drive on the same roads that local tourism suggests for off roading fun. ESPECIALLY when going only three miles farther lets you enjoy a route on nice paved state highways.

6:40: arrival at telluride lodge. after wearing the same clothes for 27 hours, being awake for 16, and not peeing for 11, and where our reservations are not until the next night despite what our confirmation says. fortunatly no one is in our place so we can have a place to sleep, and at this point more importantly pee.

7:15: realize the toilet wont flush, so wait for maintanience to come fix.

8:00: stumble into pizza bar place for food. eat delicious pizza, excuse my appearance because Ive been up since 2:45 colorado time.

9:15: home and in bed.


day 1 recap:

highlights:
free car upgrade
colorado's 75 mph interstate speed limit
farte's 40 mpg
being in colorado

lowlights:
farte in general
highway 58-P

all pictures from the trip can be found here

birthday week

so my birthday was a week ago...but didnt post birthday after comments till now, since the birthday this year took on epic proportions and well lasted for a week. or at least we claimed everything that we did for the week was bday related so here's the recap. (and it still not over since I've yet to have family celebrations) the pics are here...since there are WAY too many to load onto blogger

thursday...the actual bday. presents with nick...including mary poppins tickets and fancy dinner reservations. it was delightful. baby cow was delicious. my bday cocktai was tasty. bert danced on the top of the stage upside down. though there were no penguins. dancing statues in the park are no substitue for dancing penguins.


friday...aka birthday beach day. we well went to the beach. burt our feet playing frisbee because we arent good enough to stand in our one cooled off spot ad still be able to catch the frisbee. then played some tennis ball toss...realizing we need the velcro catch paddle game....since we are good at swatting, not so good at catching.


friday part 2....a raw comes over for drinks. since my bday shares the weekend with the 4th...NO ONE is EVER in town. but had the pleasure of sharing with a fellow sufferer who whined that he never gets to come over. we drank camping beer..played some dominos played some jenga, ate some pengunny crumble cake. (I have this penguin cake pan...that we were going to turn into a bunny...but that wouldnt give up the cake...so we had crumbles that I scooped out)




saturday...TASTE in the rain. we tasted...ate some turkey legs, some hot diggity dogs, some gigantic pile of chips, some frozen cheesecake dipped in chocolate, and some popcorn ball dipped in liquid nitrogen...aka the popcornsicle. delish. played some mean go fish..then we watched some guster in the rain. and then we decided to go home. and then the sun came out. TYPS. then went to evanston fireworks...which little knwn fact are actually all for me.


sunday...ok so not bday festivities...but GIGANTIC cinnamin rolls at ann sathers.

monday...beach day with claires, and nick's mommy, and cousin. then pizza shenangins where we order separately, to use two different coups...and claires stands outside the pizza hut holding her pizza for five min while mine finshed. and nick's mommy gave me my birthday rug.


tuesday...crispy honey chipotle chicken crispers then jersey boys! whoo hoo! for the second time...and I'd still go back again.

birthday splurge

I was killing time at the mall so I could park my car on the street after street cleaning had ended for the day, I done barnes and nobel, scoped out kohls (until I saw some of our students, and didnt want them to find me shopping in the juniors department...however, the tank tops were $5 there and $6.50 in the big girls section), and scanned NY&Co, only to find there was nothing on the $10 rack and I didnt want to jump to $29.00 rack, and then walked into the Gap.

upon entering the gap, went straight to the sale rack, found nothing and wandered around the store, picking up perhaps the only thing that was not on sale in the entire store. and of course loved it. and tried not to love it

but I did. and 5 min later still locked in the dressing room I still did. and 10 min later still in the dressing room I still did.

and so I splurged. bday tomorrow. its allowed.