Leaving Telluride in Autumn

01 Oct Leaving Telluride in Autumn

Regular readers of Telluride Inside… and Out will find this a familiar theme: it is difficult for me to leave Telluride when the Fall colors are in riot. Susan and I had made plans to meet fellow Northwest Airlines retired pilots at a get-together in Albuquerque. That meant a stop at Ted Hoff's Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel to drop off Gina the Dog. Susan has written about our "short cut" over Hastings Mesa (one of my favorite places in the world), a spectacular beginning to our drive.

We visited with Ted, even stayed for lunch outside on a perfect late September afternoon. I couldn't accept returning through the construction zone going back to Delta and down what would be a gorgeous drive down the "Million Dollar Highway": there are just too many scenic ways to travel through Colorado in the Fall. So we took a little extra time and headed east from Crawford and over Keebler Pass, through Crested Butte, and on to Albuquerque.

The lunch in Crawford, the scenic tour through Keebler Pass, a late dinner in Santa Fe combined to make for a late arrival in Albuquerque, but it was all worth it. For those who believe the only place to view Autumn colors is in New England (admittedly beautiful), check out the vista from Keebler Pass in the photo above.