To-hell-u-ride

Family. Friends. The theory that "Telluride" is a contraction of "To Hell You Ride" is no joke. As legend has it, the town was named for the famous send-off given to fortune-seekers headed into the harsh mining conditions of the southern San Juans. Getting to this beautiful resort town felt a bit like traveling to hell and back.

When Jeff and I originally booked our flights, we were thrilled at the prospect of flying directly into Telluride (Side note: each of the times I’d been before, we’d driven in from other parts of Colorado). A connecting flight that could take us to our final destination without long hours in the car? Yeeeee-hawww! Sign us up!

Enter the reality: Telluride Regional Airport is the highest altitude commercial airport in the United States. The airport is considered “extremely challenging” by pilots because of frequent (and I mean FREQUENT) adverse weather conditions, high altitude, and the rugged mountain terrain which surrounds the airport on all sides. Even better? The runway begins at the edge of a plateau with a thousand-foot drop to the San Miguel river below. If that doesn’t sound like fun, I don’t know what does. To make a long and dramatic story short, we had a heck of a landing and all but kissed the ground when we finally got out. There’s nothing like an adrenaline-filled adventure to begin your adrenaline-filled adventure, right?

All joking aside, Telluride gave us one of the best weeks of our lives. Words can’t possibly do its beauty justice. The town itself is nestled in a box canyon (surrounded on three sides by 14,000-foot peeks) and is home to the greatest concentration of “fourteeners” in North America. I tried to describe what it was like to Jeff while we were in the early planning stages of the trip, but driving into town from the airport left us both speechless. No memory or photograph can adequately prepare you for the insane beauty that awaits.

Everything about the trip was perfect – the accommodations at our hotel were excellent, the food in town was divine, and the hiking was breathtaking (literally…it’s hard to breathe at 12,500 feet). I could go on for days, but I’ll stop with this one request: Go to Telluride. Experience its charm. Take in its views. It will challenge you and change you. It changed us.

We are eagerly planning our next trip back.

Telluride Regional Airport in all her glory. 

The view from Bridal Veil Falls looking back toward town. 

Blue Lake. It really was that blue!

The Wilsons from Highway 145. 

A beautiful morning on Bear Creek Trail.

Miss this town!

Mining remnants. 

Afternoon tea :)

Seriously!?!?

Puppy parking.

Our first view each morning.

Photos by Jeff Newman. Telluride, Colorado. July 12-17, 2012.