Yankee Boy Condo Telluride

... whole scene was so colorful and perfect it almost didn't seem real. It was the same feeling I had at Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon. It was like we were in a painting or something. Because of the color of the lake, and the fact that there were no trees around, I was reminded of pictures I've seen of Iceland (a place I have always wanted to visit). I have to say this hike is definitely one of my new favorites. I can't wait ...

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 ...

... s Gulch' in Atlas Shrugged. Ouray is completely
surrounded by mountains around 10,000 ft high. It has a real old
mining town feel and lots of character. Just to the north of town
there are hot mineral springs where you can swim, one of the pools is
almost as big as Caringbah pool. The water comes out of the ground
hot because of geothermal activity underground.

We then drove on to Montrose, Colorado
where we visited the Ute Indian Museum ...

... At the Douglas County fair the pig barn is HUGE! And each FFA chapter has it's own area.' or 'At the Douglas County fair the midway is paved' or 'At the Douglas County fair the exhibit buildings are huge!' Silas seems to think that I'm just remembering it as being huge since it was the fair we went to when I was growing up. But the 2 years that I raised pigs for FFA I stayed at the fair the whole week and the last time I was there I think ...

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 ...

... Ouray and Silverton- beautiful, but no guard rails!   No marmots this time though.  In Durango we got pulled pork, Texas sausage, and cheesy potatoes to go from Serious Texas BBQ and took it home to eat and relax after a weekend of adventure!
Allison

  Kayaking on the Colorado River was great! The 13 mile stretch we did is called the "Moab Daily". I must admit, I was a little nervous before we went. One of the river rangers I work with was telling me about a ...

We were hoping to camp a few nights in Silverton, however, when we arrived it was raining. It had been raining since late afternoon and hadn't stopped. We chose not to put up our tent and sleep in the car hoping it would clear up the next day. It didn’t clear up the next day so we took a mining tour. The mining tour was very cool. They took us about a quarter of a mile into the mountain ...

... 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.

... aside from a blown stereo amp. The first day I drove from Missoula down to northern Utah. I slept at a rest stop that was about an hour or so outside of Salt Lake City and waited until the early morning hours to drive through the city to avoid traffic. From there I gunned it all the way to Moab, where I arrived at sunrise. I parked at a tourist info booth and slept. It was so wonderful to wake up in the afternoon to the warm sun and red rock ...