December 1: Kayenta to Telluride. Starting mileage: 39,700.

We left from Kayenta, Arizona. Today, we’d stop to walk through four states (!) and then go on our way to Telluride, Colorado. After lunch at a diner in Dolores, our road wound up into the San Juan Mountains. Finally, we started to see trees again.

 

Peace in Telluride

I first came to Telluride in 1999, still mourning the recent loss of my grandmother. It was a work-related trip, and in between trying to learn to ski and spending time with colleagues, I found an incredible peace and comfort among those mountains. To this day, I return to Telluride for quiet, for contemplation, for solitude, for communion. Telluride is my version of heaven-on-earth.

 

The Dogs of Telluride

 
It’s fair to say that one reason I love Telluride so much is the gondola. It glides from Mountain Village, up and over San Sophia, and down into Telluride. Free, easy, convenient, and gorgeous. I could ride the gondola morning, noon, and night. Another reason I love Telluride, equally justified, is that there are so many dogs and dog-loving people. Combine these two, and you get Gondogola (you’re going to want to look that up)! Yes, dogs are allowed on the gondolas–Telluride is highly civilized after all. And oh my, there is no better ride than to share a gondola with a Telluride pup or two (or five). Once again, Telluride = Heaven.

This trip, we met Sparky, a red merle cattle dog/husky mix, who lives with his people at the Peaks. So handsome, and calm and delightful every time we saw him.

 

Pray for Snow

 
It was December, the opening weekend for skiers in fact. But snow had yet to reach Telluride’s slopes. It was causing anxiety. Everywhere we went, people talked about how this was the worst they’d seen in 30 years–a snow drought. Signs all over town said “Pray for Snow”. Machines ran night and day spraying ski runs with man-made powder.

It isn’t just skiers losing vacations when there is no snow. When the skiers don’t come, ski resorts, retail shops, and restaurants reduce hours and lay off employees. Working people lose their housing because they can’t work without snow. Every night, we watched the weather report with hope. Every morning, we checked the slopes for snow. And the entire time we were there, the snow-making machines ran, and ran, and ran.

 

Spa and Fireside

We spent a few glorious days in Telluride. During the days, we had spa treatments at The Peaks, sitting in the deserted kiva hot tub and sauna afterwards staring at the mountains. We rode the gondola–back and forth, sometimes just to ride. We petted every dog who smiled at us, stopped in most of the shops, and walked all around the back streets admiring the history and the architecture–especially the old, the tiny, and the colorful places. There were tasty, filling comfort food meals at Brown Dog Pizza, The Butcher and The Baker, and Altezza. We had coffee at Baked in Telluride and The Coffee Cowboy. And we sat for hours in front of the massive wood-burning fireplace in the lobby of the Peaks, reading, relaxing, and talking.

Our trip was soon coming to an end. This was our time to reflect, to relax, and to begin remembering all that we’d seen in our time on the road. As we took our final ride over the mountain the last night, I smiled at the moon and the lights of Telluride, nestled down there in its box canyon. I’ll be back again one of these days.

 

Thanks for reading!

Select photos will be available on Etsy.

Finally, if you like this post, please leave a comment! You can also….
THANK YOU!