Doing Whatever I Want: Telluride

Telluride fell into the consideration set due to a suggestion by artist and friend Michael Gerpe. We ditched a previously arranged campsite 10 miles out of town and opted for an apartment so that we could shower and enjoy some nightlife. At one point we locked ourselves out of said apartment, so I went to the back of the building, climbed onto a dumpster, then up to our balcony, and broke in through a window. Apparently we aren't ready for doors/locks/civilized living just yet.

In order to optimize our afternoon and earn future bourbon, we took to the hills for a hike recommended by a local. Panoramic views were promised and delivered.

This is Telluride. All of it.

(click for larger image)

The following morning, Baked in Telluride served up some amazing breakfast stuffs. Nate and I hit the free town lift with some rented mountain bikes. Before we left for the trail, we caught up on some unfortunate national news. Last night some troubled and awful person had entered a movie theater in Colorado and shot and killed innocent people. Having just been shooting guns the day before the incident, in Colorado, we were quite a bit more affected than we probably would have been otherwise. On top of the obvious gun control issue at hand, I really wish were better, as a society, at identifying and treating mental disorders. We are conditioned to be ashamed... but these are not topics for this blog. Not to be insensitive, but back to biking and donuts...

The other guys went shopping. Shopping!

Some painful uphill climbing was rewarded with scary fast downhill riding through trees and down ski lifts... and this, the best bloody mary I've ever had. It's true. Tomboy Tavern. The shoppers found it while shopping.

The next day we woke up and had, arguably, the best day of the trip. We rented a Jeep from Farabee's Jeep Rentals and were unanimously shocked (and pleased) that they allow people to take these vehicles out and explore the mountains without a guide. We took the Wrangler up and over the Imogene Pass into Ouray. This drive was probably 1/5 the distance of taking the highway between the same two points, but took us nearly the entire day due to the technical and dangerous nature of the "road." We ran into a guy driving an old WWII era Jeep...