Thoughts on To-hell-you-ride
Posted by Erin on June 15, 2008
The more time I spend here, the more I realize that this really is one of the most beautiful, natural places in the United States. The fact that it is ridiculously hard to get to doesn’t hurt, either. The weather has been beautiful since we got here, and everything just seems to be a little magical.
Two days ago, we hiked down the mountain that separates Mountain Village (where our house is) to the town of Telluride. When we reached the bottom, we were greeted by the sight of a horse-drawn stage coach, which was part of Wild West Fest. Wild West Fest is put on by the New Sheridan and it’s a celebration for the boys and girls clubs – 50 kids from around the country get a free trip to Telluride and lots of stuff to do.
Past the stagecoach was what we had wandered into town for – the Farmer’s Market. Everything was there from jams and jellies to elk meats to jewelry to whatever you can imagine. I just had to buy something – so I bought a jar or spiced peach preserves (yum!) from a company in Durango (about 2 hours from Telluride) called High Desert Foods.
That night, we came home and I cooked dinner for us all, and mixed some of the peach preserves in with some balsamic vinaigrette. This dressing went with a salad of fresh herb lettuce, apples, and walnuts. Yum! The main dish was one of my old standbys: Rotini pasta with chicken, tomatoes, and goat cheese. However, since we were among vegetarians, I used seitan instead of chicken. We took advantage of the wonderful weather and sat outside on the porch.
That was our farewell dinner to Patrick and Stephanie, and life here in paradise has calmed down a bit. Matt’s nursing a blister on the bottom of his foot, so we can’t do any hiking together – but our next trail will be Bear Creek. I’ve been trying to master running at this ridiculous altitude (about 9500 feet) along the Mountain Village Blvd. Trail. I’m getting a little better each day – yesterday I only made it to the grocery store (about .75 miles) and today I almost made it the whole way, about 2 miles one way. I did not run the whole way though.
Until next time.
