Day 1 in Telluride, Colorado
The view from the plane as we approach the Colorado Rockies. It gets better.
Well, we've been home for four weeks now so it must be time for another trip. And it is. An old and dear friend is getting married in Telluride, Co. Gotta go. Then Bob has meetings in LA and Park City. On the road again.
Our flight leaves Manchester, NH at 10:00am and lands in Newark, New Jersey, where we have 36 minutes to make our connection from Newark directly to Montrose Regional Airport, 1.5 hours from Telluride. We will rent a car there. Solid plan. Except our flight out of Manchester is delayed, which is going to make our connection seriously tight if not impossible. There is one flight a day from Newark to Montrose, so if we miss it, we are going to need a plan B and maybe a C. We do make up time in the air, however, the flight attendant is SUPER helpful and facilitates everyone's gate info, then the pilot calles ahead and asks if the connecting flights can wait a few minutes for us all. There are (10) people with noontime flights to various destinations. The flight attendant asks that everyone else wait in their seats while we scurry to the jetway. I grab my bag and we run through the airport to the shuttle which will bring us to the proper terminal. I pretend I am on the Amazing Race, so it is almost exhilarating! We make it to the gate on time and settle in. Next stop: Telluride.
We have never been to Telluride before so this is exciting! Montrose Regional Airport is the smallest airport I've even seen (and I've seen a few). There are 4 gates but no jetways, you walk across the tarmack to the baggage claim. The bags come in 5 minutes or less, we get our rental car and we are off! The scenery is beautiful and I've attached a few pictures for you to enjoy.
Montrose Regional Airport in Montrose, CO., plus scenery from our drive to Telluride Mountain Village, CO.
We are staying at Lumière Hotel with Inspirato, a series of one, two and three bedroom residences with kitchens and living areas. Very family-friendly. Lumiere is in Mountain Village, at the base of the lifts. To get to the town of Telluride, one takes a gondola up and over a peak and down into town, which takes all of 12 minutes. We settle in, unpack a few things and I snap a few photos of the room and view from the two small balconies. Not too shabby.
A few snaps of the interior, plus some balcony shots of our unit at the Lumiere in Telluride Mountain Village. I know I took pictures of the kitchen and dining room, just can’t find them! It’s cute.
The bride and groom have requested the pleasure of our company at the Last Dollar Saloon in Telluride Town for 5:00pm cocktails. The whole group of attendees will be there so we walk through the Village to the gondola, then up and over the hill and walk a few blocks to the Last Dollar, or "The Buck", as the locals call it. Rumor has it that it used to be a bank back in the day and was one of Butch Cassidy's favorite targets. Meaning he took their last dollar. I can neither independently confirm nor refute this, but it is a great story and a fine ski-town watering hole. Drinks are cheap and the atmosphere is convivial. We head back to the village by 6:30, however, as we have dining reservations at Black Iron Kitchen and Bar, located in the Madeline Hotel in Mountain Village.
Scenes from Mountain Village, the town of Telluride and the Last Dollar Saloon, exterior photo courtesy of their web site.
The outside of Black Iron Kitchen and Bar is inviting! However the inside is a little less so, and Bob is worried about the wine list. He wants to try somewhere else but I propmtly shut that down. We have been traveling for 12 hours if not more, it has been a long day. I am having something to eat and then headed back to our room! The waiter brings me a beverage, Bob finds a bottle of wine up to his standards and we order. They have a Waygu rib-eye beef that one orders by the ounce, so a 6 oz. Waygu is happening for me. Bob orders a New York strip, and we get two sides to share. Yay. The steaks arrive and both of us are very happy, but the whipped butter and chive potatoes are cold and the harissa carrots are underdone. Bob sends the potatoes back and they return, much hotter, and the waiter takes them off the bill. He did not have to do that, but we don't protest much. We finish our dinner and head back through the village to our hotel. I enjoy the soaking tub in our room, and then soon after, we are both asleep. The altitude, by the way, is no joke here. 9,750 at the base of the mountain. I am feeling it. Gonna take 24 hours to acclimate, do a little exploring and save the skiing for Saturday. The village has a lot to look at, gonna keep it close to home base tomorrow. Be sure to check in.
Black Iron Kitchen and Grill exterior shot, plus my dinner. Steaks were great, sides not so much, but our waiter was a solid. Plus Bob got to watch Gonzaga basketball (they won) so he left relatively happy. Again, missing a few phots, gotta solve this mystery.