A FEW DAYS OF AUTUMN IN TELLURIDE

23 Sep A FEW DAYS OF AUTUMN IN TELLURIDE

A few years ago I swore I’d never miss another Telluride autumn. And I meant it. But life is what happens while you’re making plans and life dictated that we would be on the road a lot this fall.

We had just finished a two week stint on the West Coast, had returned to Telluride mostly to repack and empty the mailbox before heading for the East Coast. In between there was just enough time jam a Telluride autumn into two days.

The first morning dawned cool and sunny. With everything we had to accomplish in the short stay at home, we didn’t get outside until mid-afternoon, but the cool weather made our 1 1/2 hour jaunt into the hills very pleasant. The fall colors were coming on, and our valley looked beautiful from above. The smoke from regional fires made our area appear a bit different from the Colorado-blue skies we expect at this time of year, but served as a reminder that Telluride was blessed with weeks of rain in this drought year.

The next day was busy as well, but I took the time to ride to town on my bike to do the errands on the agenda, taking a route that ran along the San Miguel. It was cool and beautiful, necessitating a relaxed ride so I could hear and enjoy the sound of the river. Errands done, I headed home, intending to get back to my tasks.

Instead, I put a camera into my pocket, started the motorcycle, and took a joyous ride up to Lizard Head Pass. On the way home I stopped above Trout Lake for several minutes to fix that view into my memory. Then it was back down to the Valley, and back to the tasks that awaited. For us it was a short Telluride autumn, but we didn’t miss it entirely.

And now we are back on the road…