Pine Meadows Townhomes Telluride

... zilla all weekend. And she was. But it was all in good fun! The hike up to the lake was STEEP and strenuous, and there wasn't a lot of oxygen at 12,000 feet, but it was worth the pain. The upper and lower Ice Lake basins were incredible! There were so many vivid colors... rolling hills carpeted in green, red, and yellow... lichen covered boulders... silver creeks... jagged gray peaks... and the bluest lake I have ever seen ...

So I just get back from Colorado where I hung out with old friends for a buddy's bachelor party.

It was an amazing trip. We were very blessed to have a free condo to stay in which was plenty big enough for the 7 of us. A special thanks to the Jays for letting us stay there.

We did a ...

... and made the
native americans move away from the San Juan mountains because they
were mining for precious metals. The museum is on the site of Chief
Ourays property. Both he and his wonderful wife Chipeta are both
buried here.

That afternoon we ended our day in
Gunnison, Colorado where they were having a very cool car show. It is
an annual event where all and sundry turn out for a fun street party
as an opening to the weekend long fair.

... through a really beautiful area. The road passes the town of Dunton- apparently it's actually a privately owned ghost town, so I don't think you can walk around it or anything. But the whole stretch of road was really nice, Silas and I were sort of hating the people who live there! (Okay, I'll admit it- we were jealous of them!) But we saw a couple campgrounds and several hiking trails, so I'm sure we're going to be going back there soon.

Family and Grandma Connie went to Ouray to drop of some tile work for art show. On the way, we stopped at a couple of abandoned mine sites and explored. Founds some cool rocks with imbedded crystals. Stayed at Box Canyon and soaked in spring fed hot tubs made from old wine barrels ...

... in the western part of the US and was a little bit skeptical.  Ever since I first saw fireworks in Japan I've kind of felt like I'm ruined for any fireworks I might see in the US.  Fireworks in Japan are AMAZING!  Before I watch fireworks in the US I always try to remind myself that THIS IS NOT JAPAN! and that they probably won't be as good.  But from the very beginning of the show in Telluride I had a feeling that it was going to be awesome, and it was!   Not only were the ...

... wanted to stay longer, but the weather was not cooperating and Kristi was feeling worse with sinus troubles, which the high altitude did not help.

We chose to drive to Ouray to try out the hot springs. We made it to the hot springs and jumped in for about two minutes before lightning was sighted and everyone was told to get out. We could either wait for twenty minutes after the last ...

... there were some very steep drops on that route! However, he turned out to be as capable as he was frendly, so we all arrived back in Durango safe and sound. We reclaimed our SUVs in the hotel parking lot in Durango, and drove west to Cortez, where we'll be staying at the Days Inn for the next four nights. It was truly a relief to be able to unpack and settle in for a few days!

... sports, slows to a crawl during the off-season, and other than a few walks down Main St. and stops for coffee, we hibernated at Box Canyon Lodge, soaking in their wooden, mineral springs hot tubs while mavelling at the view of the mountains and Box Canyon Falls, and utilizing their comprehensive movie library for in-room viewing.

... We stayed quite awhile enjoying the quiet and beauty all around us. We started our drive back to Albuquerque, NM. On the way we drove on some awesome twisty roads for Kevin to get his fix. I was just overcome by the majestic snow capped mountains. It was truly an awesome drive. We stopped at the chamber of commerce in Durango, CO. We wanted to hike to an old west ghost town. We picked up some brochures and ...