It has certainly been one adventure after another (did I mention the frig is still a bit nuts? The good news is I am now quite certain it is haunted).
After our last update, we've done several things. We seem to be four people who refuse to acknowledge anything called age limitations or more tranquil activities for the most part. Last night was spent watching the sun disappear behind a cloud in Gunnision National Park. Of course the idea was to watch and photograph the sun setting but we settled for a beautiful scene and a cook out when the sun dashed behind a cloud and stayed there. Mike grilled chicken while the rest of the world around us was eating Lipton soup or sandwhiches. I am pretty sure I could have sold dinner. The park itself is dramatic as the sheer cliffs and rugged terrain make this a different kind of beauty.
Today was another one of our "easy" days. Sue had arranged for the four of us to "float" for a couple of hours on the Umcompaghe (spelling is wrong I am sure but the meaning is red or dirty ) River. We started the day with a bike ride to a local coffee house which was delightful and headed for what turned out to be a half day of rafting. It was really a good choice in the heat. The river itself is like the rest of the country here; it's rugged, full of ancient cars, long-forgotten train tracks and of course the general sharp rock collection. Nine miles into our 12 mile trip we had a bit of a challenge, where the day went from simply paying attention to a bit of an adventure. Our raft was gouged by a huge, sharp rock which resulted in major damage to the back end of the raft and the guide being thrown from the raft. Ian (the guide) managed quite well though as he continued to shout directions at us from the water. Ultimately we were required to move two of our group (not any of us) to another raft and fold ours over for the balance of the trip. None of us ended up in the water, and it actually added just the edge to the day we were looking for.
We finished the evening with dinner at Garlic Mike's and an early evening (except for us crazies keeping up the on-line journal).
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
As of Saturday- Looking up
Steve and Sue arrived early on Thursday and we've been on the move ever since. We got our "homestead" arranged and headed out to explore. We managed to explore Ouray and the ridge road above Ouray (and a biergarten called Billy Goat's Gruff, a bit of shopping) and then rented a jeep for some serious off-roading. We had a quick Mexican bite to eat (complete with shooting a dollar bill on the roof of the restaurant with a quarter and a thumb tack) and rented a jeep. Being the "weenie" in the group, the next few hours were a bit of a cliff-hanger to me. We headed to what we were told was "EASY", Yankee Boy Basin. Based on the cliffs, ruts and the fact that it took us two hours to traverse 18 miles, the definition is not something I could get my head around. I did not scream though and took some really nice photos. We ended the day's journey outside at the homestead and NO WALMART.
After some very fine French press coffee (thank you Mike), we headed out to do the backroads to Telluride on Friday with our newly purchased jeep (once you rent it apparently it's yours to wreck - and pay for- luckily we ended up fine here). The ride was 21 miles and took about two hours. A couple of unusual tidbits on this journey though - don't ever think it's "SAFE" to just pull over and take care of nature's call. This is when a deserted and isolated road suddenly turns into 465. Secondly, it's quite odd to look behind you and see a Mayflower moving van traversing these mountain roads, tailgating you down the slopes. The view was gorgeous and the road was considered "easy"; while this depends on your definition, it was beautiful and not so scary. Nothing but cows and sheep for wildlife but beautiful meadows and trees that are stunning.
We ended up in Telluride; a town that I need to win the lottery to shop in. We visited a local farmer's market (they are thinking of outlawing any type of paper sacks - go figure), had a wonderful lunch in Rustico and took the only free ski gondola in America up the mountains and back. The town is lovely but definitely on the high end of the scale. You could get used to it.
Now to turn in the jeep. Quite the ordeal as we had to have it CLEAN (seriously, I still have dust in places I cannot describe) and re-fueled and there is exactly ONE place in town where this is possible. Mike had to give the guy in front of us money just to get things going and it was quite a mob scene. Luckily, we made it out unscathed and headed back into Montrose for a lovely cook-out and just relaxing evening. It's hotter than a firecracker here during the day but the evenings are awesome and there has yet to be a day we did not leave the windows open to sleep.
Again, another day without Walmart. What will we do?
I guess it's the weekend now and here we are. The day started with a naked man (actually he was wearing a hand towel) and a dog fight but we'll save that for later. We took a bike ride this morning as far as the bike path took us. We explored a Ute museum on the way which was something I had wanted to do since arriving. The preservation of history was really nice and they did a lovely job in this museum with true artifacts, pictures and historical representation.
Admittedly, it was tough going part of the time on the bike as it was hot and high and we were thankful to have a lovely lunch at a local bakery and head back to the comfort of air conditioning. My gasping for air was not too audible. Tonight, we are heading back to the park for dinner and sunset. Tomorrow, we plan an afternoon of river floating as it's to be somewhere around one million degrees again. We've settled in as regulars around the place now with the major decisions on scenery, mode of transportation and eats as our only real stresses.
There are beautiful places here. It is however rugged, tough and unforgiving and it gives you a true perspective on how the beauty did come with a cost.
And yes, we have for THREE DAYS avoided a Wally World. YEA!!!!!
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