Telluride, Colorado...Our New Colorado Favorite?

We've explored much of Colorado during our travels, but surprisingly, had never visited the town of Telluride, Colorado.  It's now one of our favorite places.  Telluride sits in a box canyon in the southwestern portion of the state. Steep forested mountains and cliffs surround it, with Bridal Veil Falls at the head of the canyon. 

The first gold mining claim was made in the mountains above Telluride in 1875 and early settlement of what is now Telluride followed. The town itself was founded in 1878 as "Columbia", but due to confusion with a California town of the same name, was renamed Telluride in 1887, for the gold telluride minerals found in other parts of Colorado. These telluride minerals were never located near Telluride, causing the town to be named for a mineral which was never mined there. However, the area's mines for some years provided zinc, lead, copper, silver, and other gold ores.  Numerous weathered ruins of old mining operations dot the hillsides.

A FREE gondola connects the town with its companion town, Mountain Village, Colorado, high above the town, but at the base of the ski area.  Telluride and the surrounding area have been featured prominently in pop culture and are the subject of several popular songs.  It is especially known for its ski resort and slopes during the winter as well as an extensive festival schedule during the summer.  And did we mention that the gondola is completely free AND even has special cabins for pets allowing us to take Chip along for the adventures.

We arrived just in time to catch the tail end of the Telluride Film Festival and stayed through the following weekend's Telluride Balloon Festival. 



Todd and Chip hiking part of the Alpine Loop Backcountry Byway during a lunch break stop while travelling US Highway 550 between Ouray and Silverton Colorado, often called the Million Dollar Highway.  Driving the Million Dollar Highway, is perhaps one of the most breathtaking journeys you can travel by car.

STEV squeezing thru the tunnel on the Million Dollar Highway between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado.

A herd of elk roaming the valley floor as we approached Telluride, Colorado.

A late Spring view of Black Bear Pass (the zig-zag road heading up the mountain) and Bridal Veil Falls (middle right) from Telluride, Colorado.  Black Bear Pass was still closed in May due to 2 remaining snow avalanches blocking the roadway.

Part of what makes Telluride so special is it's location in a box canyon.  The historic town is surrounded by incredible mountain views on 3 sides.



There are great hiking and biking trails in every direction that don't require driving to a trailhead.

The valley floor in Telluride is forever protected from future development, preserving the natural wonder and charm of the area.



Sunset over the valley meadow which was directly next to our camping spot in a free parking lot on the edge of town.  Formal camping is available for a fee in the town park.



Views of the mountains from Mountain Village, Colorado.




Chip and Todd enjoying a hike along the Idarado Legacy Trail starting at the east end of the town of Telluride.



Chip and Shonah enjoying a ride up the FREE gondola between the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village.  We were even able to take our bikes up the gondola for FREE and enjoyed several single track routes back down to the town.



Chip and Todd enjoying some relaxation time around the fire pit at the Hotel Madeline in Mountain Village, Colorado.



Canadian Geese with young goslings in the meadow next to our camping spot in Telluride, Colorado. 



Chip and Todd biking on one of the valley floor trails in Telliuride, Colorado.

 

A herd of Elk is resident in the meadow of Telluride valley.  We enjoyed watching them on an almost daily basis.



Sunset in the sky above the town of Telluride, Colorado.



Bridal Veil Falls and the power plant high above the town of Telluride, Colorado. 




Chip and Shonah enjoying a hike up Bear Creek Pass to the top of Bridal Veil Falls and the power plant near Telluride. Colorado.

The Telluride valley view from the top of Bridal Veil Falls.



We ran across this cute little Pika on our hike up to Bridal Veil Falls.



Chip and Shonah posing for a picture during our hike on the Jud Wiebe Trail.  Since we were visiting in late spring/early summer, the still melting snow produced waterfalls almost everywhere.  The trail was named in memory of Jud Wiebe, a Forest Service recreation manager who planned the trail but passed away of cancer in 1986 before the trail was completed.  Jud's philosophy was that trails had to be easily accessible from town and this trail hit that mark.

Ham-Let, just one of the hot air balloons flying above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.

The Wicked and Koshare the native Pueblo clown hot air balloons flying above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.

 

A closer view of Koshare flying above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.

 

A beautiful hot air balloon with views of the peaks above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.



A beautiful hot air balloon flying above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.



Beautiful hot air balloons with more views of the peaks above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.



A group of hot air balloons coming back to earth after the mass ascension at the Telluride Balloon Festival.

Not only do the beautiful hot air balloons take flight every morning of the festival, they also light up the town's main street on Saturday night during the Telluride Balloon Festival's balloon glow.

Ham-Let all aglow on Main Street during the Telluride Balloon Festival balloon glow. 

We don't think Chip was amused when we took advantage of the "Pet" Parking options available in Telluride.  We were surprised to see several of these stations in the town, village, next to bars and restaurants and in the town park.  They come with posted rules including a maximum allowed parking time.  Telluride is a very pet friendly town.

 

Todd, Chip, and Shonah attempting a jumping photo on our hike to Bear Creek Falls near Telluride, CO.



Todd and Chip with Bear Creek Falls in the background near Telluride, CO.

 



This lucky EarthRoamer appears to be resident of Telluride since it has Colorado tags and a Telluride parking pass.  We passed by a few times, but never ran into the owners to say hello.



Travelling from Arizona to Southwest Colorado...

Following the Overland Expo, we continued our route through Arizona and New Mexico heading toward Colorado.  Our route included an unexpected junction with another section of Route 66 before stopping to enjoy the Petrified Forest National Park and some great mountain biking along the way to our first visit to the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, CO (next post).



While passing through Holbrook, AZ on a portion of the original Route 66, we came across the historic Wigwam Motel.  Built in 1950, the motel is arranged as a square, with 15 concrete and steel wigwams on three sides and the main office on the fourth; there was also originally a gas station on the complex.  The base diameter is 14 feet (4.3 m), with each unit 32 feet (9.8 m) in height. Behind the main room of each unit is a small bathroom with sink, toilet and shower. Current rooms contain the original restored hickory furniture, two double beds, cable TV and a window-mounted air conditioner. In keeping with the authenticity of the restoration, there are no telephones, Internet access or ice machine. Vintage restored automobiles from the 1960s and earlier are located throughout the parking area



Petrified Forest National Park in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona is known for its large deposits of petrified wood.  Downed trees accumulating in river channels about 225 million years ago were buried periodically by sediment containing volcanic ash.  Groundwater dissolved silica from the ash and carried it into the logs, where it formed quartz crystals that gradually replaced the organic matter. 



Beginning about 60 million years ago, the Colorado Plateau, of which the park is part, was pushed upward by tectonic forces and exposed to increased erosion.  In addition to petrified logs, fossils found in the park have included ferns, and many other plants as well as fauna including giant reptiles, large amphibians, and early dinosaurs.

As the ground around it erodes away, petrified trees once buried deep become exposed to the elements and often break into smaller pieces.



Todd and Chip hiking down into the "Blue Badlands" area of the Petrified Forest National Park.  Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water.



"Newspaper Rock" in the Petrified Forest National Park contains more than 650 petroglyph images pecked, carved or etched into the rock by ancestral Puebloan people between 650 and 2000 years ago.



Chip and Todd getting in some mountain biking at "Phil's World" near Cortez, CO.  Our friends Scott and Heather had recently biked there and raved about the "smooth and fast" trails on their blog.  These trails were so sweet, we spent an extra day there just to get in more fun!



Phil's World doesn't have large changes in elevation, but does a great job of making really fun trails through a desert type landscape.




Shonah enjoying the trails at Phil's world.




As Shonah was rounding a corner on the trail, he was met by this guy who didn't want to give way.  There wasn't a good alternative route around him, so a few rocks tossed in his direction and he finally moved off the trail..

After getting our fill of trail riding at Phil's World, we moved on to Durango, CO for the weekend.  Prior visits to Durango did not include enough time to explore their famous river and biking trails, so we made sure to explore them during this visit.  Chip, Todd and Shonah biking the Telegraph, Anasazi, and Sidewinder trails, part of the Horse Gulch Trails System in Durango, CO.





Attending the 2016 Overland Expo (West)

Our route to the 2016 Overland Expo (West) in Lake Mormon, Arizona near Flagstaff included a drive thru the beautiful Sedona, Arizona area.  We were excited to attend the Overland Expo again to take in some of the educational courses and roundtables, to mingle with other EarthRoamer owners, and to see what new products are on the market for overlanders.  One of the highlights for Shonah this time was to drive a new Land Rover LR4 on the Land Rover sponsored Overland Driving Skills Course.  Especially since we had recently acquired an LR3 and have been curious about the capabilities of the vehicle.  The capabilities of the LR4 were absolutely amazing, but we were even happier to hear the instructor say that the capability of the LR3 is even better due to a more rigid suspension on the older models.




A view of people enjoying the water and natural waterslides in Slide Rock State Park off Highway 98A just north of Sedona, AZ



South facing views from the Sedona-Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Road



A view of the switchbacks from the Sedona-Oak Creek Canyon Scenic Road

A Land Rover Range Rover taking on the Land Rover Overland Skills Driving Course at the 2016 Overland Expo (West)

A Land Rover LR4 taking on the Land Rover Overland Skills Driving Course at the 2016 Overland Expo (West)

A Land Rover LR4 taking on the Land Rover Overland Skills Driving Course at the 2016 Overland Expo (West)



A Land Rover LR4 taking on the Land Rover Overland Skills Driving Course at the 2016 Overland Expo (West)

A Land Rover LR4 taking on the Land Rover Overland Skills Driving Course at the 2016 Overland Expo (West).  This is the spot on the course where the instructor told Shonah to take his foot off the brake and keep it off.  After the 3rd request, the instructor just reached over and pulled Shonah's leg to take his foot off the brake.  The LR4 slowly and oh so gracefully descended the hill and didn't even come close to driving into the lake.

A Land Rover LR4 taking on the Land Rover Overland Skills Driving Course at the 2016 Overland Expo (West)

EarthRoamer is usually represented as a vendor at the Overland Expo (West) and this year was no exception, but with a minor twist.  EarthRoamer and LifeProof sponsored a contest offering an unforgettable summer for two adventurous people which includes the use of an EarthRoamer.  Learn more about the contest here and follow the adventures of the contest winners Matt and Hillary on Twitter.  Learn more about Matt & Hillary.



While introducing ourselves to Matt & Hillary and catching up with EarthRoamer team members, we got to meet Brady from LifeProof.  After learning more about LifeProof and the Unleashed Summer Road Trip contest, Brady was so gracious to offer us vouchers for cases for our iPhones.  LifeProof Fre cases are waterproof, dirtproof, snowproof, and dropproof so the cases are perfect for us and our adventures.  Thank you Brady and LifeProof!! 



The backsides of our LifeProof Fre cases.  Shonah's case has a quickmount adapter on the back for a sports armband.



One of the feature vehicles on display at the Overland Expo was this Tiger from Provan Industries.  We couldn't resist taking a photo for our friends Heather and Scott who also tour in a similar rig.  Judging from the sticker assortment, it looks like this Tiger is well-traveled.

EarthRoamer #73 owners Ruth and Jason decided to try their EarthRoamer out on the Land Rover Overland Driving Skills course.

The tri-mount that attaches the coach to the chassis was put to the test a few times on the course.

ER73 on the Land Rover Overland Driving Skills course.  Some might think that the ER could be top heavy due to the height and the equipment on the roof, but with the majority of the weight at the chassis level (think 90 gallons of fuel and 90 gallons of water), the ER performs very well when tilted.

ER73 on the Land Rover Overland Driving Skills course



ER73 on the Land Rover Overland Driving Skills course

A Course Marshall guiding ER73 up and over a hill on the Land Rover Overland Driving Skills course

ER73 on the Land Rover Overland Driving Skills course

ER73 on the Land Rover Overland Driving Skills course

ER73 on the Land Rover Overland Driving Skills course

It's a good thing ER73 has the air ride suspension to raise the backend up off this hill

ER73 on the Land Rover Overland Driving Skills course

It is amazing to watch the suspension contort in different directions under all that weight and still be fine.

ER73 on the Land Rover Overland Driving Skills course

And another slight rub of the backend.

I think there is an EarthRoamer hiding behind that hill...

Coming into the home stretch.  The EarthRoamer performed very well on the course.  Shonah's just very glad it was not our ER being put to the test.