[Slight programming note before we get into the trip details. So . . . I didn't reach my goal of catching up the blog before summer ended. (Obviously.) I've just not been motivated to get on the computer when I have down time. I'd rather curl up and read something instead. But I'm feeling a bit of umph this week, so here I am. Only, you'll notice that I left a big gap from my last post (which happened in early July and was posted in early September). I figured I better post what I am feeling most excited about, or it'll never get done, so I jumped ahead to nearly present time (although it's already three weeks since we've been back - stinkin' time! slow down!). I plan to get caught up with October and (hopefully) stay caught up moving forward, while also filling in the back story of our summer as I go. We'll see how long the motivation keeps up. The bigger the "pile" of photos gets, the harder it is to dig out from the bottom of. But I'm still not giving up. Anyway. Onward!]
Instead of a big month-long trip back east this fall, we opted for something a little shorter and a little closer to home, but still jam-packed with places and things we've wanted to see for a long time. We came up with a route and booked hotels and everything went so smoothly it was like a dream. (Except for that one night in Page . . . which we'll get to eventually.)
Here's our route for days one and two. From home to Price (for a quick Wendy's drive-thru dinner) to Montrose on Day 1 (Thursday, 29 September). Montrose to Telluride and back to Montrose for Day 2 (Friday, 30 September).
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| Yes, we are those weird homeschooler people who bring a pet chrysalis on a ten-day and thousands of miles road trip through the southwest, safely "buckled in" the back in its not-so-little net cage. But we couldn't leave Yoney home when it was supposed to emerge sometime on our journey. So here we are. |
What should have been "just" a 6 1/2 ish hour drive to Montrose the first day turned into a lot longer than that when we got stopped twice for construction traffic in Spanish Fork Canyon for well over an hour total. We had no idea it was coming, but we made the most of it by wandering along the side of the road and watching the rainbows (hence that part of the name of our trip).
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| They were so bright that we could see them in front of the mountain. I swear the pot of gold is just right around the bend! |
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| Stop number two. Gregg wandered way down the road to check on progress. |
We eventually started moving, snagged our burgers and nuggets and chicken sandwiches from Wendy's in Price and were back on the road toward Montrose for the night. It was not a super great hotel (the pool was a bit too green-slimy for us), but it did have have warm, dry beds waiting for us when we pulled in late that night, and a breakfast room the next morning.
Day 2 was much more exciting. We hit the road for the hour drive to Telluride right after breakfast. We found Carhenge, the free parking in town, and walked a few blocks on the trail by the river to the free gondola that would take us up and over the mountain into Mountain Village. We didn't really have a destination in mind in Mountain Village. The gondola ride was really the point. But it was fun to wander around and show the kids where we stayed way back when Cal was a tiny tot on our first visit to Telluride. We rode the gondola again to the end of the line (the grocery store) and then hopped back on and headed all the way back down to where we started, in downtown Telluride. There was a farmer's market happening right across the street from the gondola station, so we wandered through it and walked along some of the streets back to the car for lunch in the grassy area next to the parking lot.
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| Yes! We see the gondola! |
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| Can't beat those yellow aspens and blue sky! |
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| "We're on a gondola!" |
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| At Mountain Village there were lots of gondola cars set up for resting and eating in. |
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| They had lights and heaters and tables and were totally private and adorable. |
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| Onward down to the end of the village. |
bonus video!
the gondola goes up one side of a mountain and then across the ridge at the top, and then
down over the other side, so it's kind of exciting at times!
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| Back down on the Telluride town side. |
We ate, checked on Yoney, and then drove through town to the end of the box canyon to a parking area for a hike to a waterfall. The kids were extremely un-thrilled to be on this hike, but we just kept hiking and made it to the base of the falls. (Apparently there were more falls further on, but this was good enough for our crew that day.) It was beautiful and the views back down the canyon from high up were spectacular.
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| We watched some workers at the base of a lift while we ate our lunch. |
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| Yoney's hanging in there! |
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| Driving through town to the end of the box canyon to the trailhead. |
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| An old mine of some kind looks creepy and cool. |
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| We made it to the waterfall! |
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| I loved these red berries on trees on the hike. |
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| Looking back now, I can see so much green, but while we were there all I could see was the yellow! haha Also, do you see that little blue-green stripe on the left? Some sort of waterfall - but I can't tell if it's naturally that color or what is going on! |
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| The pools at the parking lot are the same color as that little stream up high, so maybe it's real?! |
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| While everyone used the porta potties, I soaked in the views from the parking lot. |
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| Not bad at all! |
After the hike we headed back up the gondola to Mountain Village. Because why not? Free rides with fantastic views? That's why we were there! We found some rocking chairs in the half sun-half shade to rest in while the kids (and Gregg) attempted to solve some bouldering problems next to the pond. While we were sitting there a guy who works in one of the buildings nearby came out with some dog food in a cup and told us the best spot to feed the giant fish. "This is kind of random, but I work over there and I feed the fish every day. Do you and your kids want to try it today?" Yes, please! We popped our heads in a few shops and made it back to the gondola for our last ride down. Back in Montrose we ate leftover soup for dinner and attempted some pool time but opted for hot showers instead. A beautiful day in the mountains - it was a great start to our adventure!
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| Boulder playground. |
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| This view just never gets old! |
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