This past weekend, I was incredibly blessed to spend a delightful weekend getaway with Whitney in Telluride, Colorado. We flew into Durango on Friday afternoon and drove the scenic, two & a half hour drive to Telluride. I was initially disappointed when we landed. As the plane loomed closer and closer towards the ground in Durango, I couldn’t help but notice that everything was green.. everything. I immediately felt a pit in my stomach, the disappointment rolling around in there. The changing colors of leaves during the fall season is a tiny window of time, that if lucky, one can glimpse the beauty of greens, yellows, oranges and reds. I instantly thought upon landing, “Great, we’re too early!” I still couldn’t complain because COME ON, I get to see the beautiful mountains of Colorado. I kept telling myself, don’t worry, one day you will truly experience fall. It is pathetic, but I had never seen true fall colors. The “fall” that I have seen in Texas is a few scattered and lonely trees that turn a slight yellowish-green before the leaves drift to the ground. I had never seen anything like the aspens changing in Colorado. I had no idea what I was in for…
These are just some of the incredible views along the drive. I was in complete and utter shock! It was everything that I had hoped for and more. Whitney just kept laughing at me because my mouth was pasted into a permanent smile. I couldn’t stop smiling.. I just was so freaking excited! It took us four hours to get to Telluride because I kept making Whitney veer off the road so I could snap a few shots.
One of the most magical things about fall, especially with aspen trees, is the glittering of the leaves in the wind. The colors literally glimmer as the wind blows through the tall trunks of the trees.. (or as Whitney likes to call them, stems of the trees because they are so thin). And when their time comes, the little specks of glitter dance to the ground. There is no other way to describe it. It’s pure magic. I may or may not have gotten so emotional about this splendid season, that I nearly cried on multiple occasions.
The first picture is taken from the porch of the coffee shop we meandered into on our first morning. It was part of the Between the Covers bookshop. Awesome name for a bookstore, I know. It was stacked with hundreds of fabulous books. We couldn’t help ourselves and ended up exchanging some bucks for three fabulous books. The rest of the pictures are taken along the main street of Telluride, looking up towards Bridal Veils Falls. The town is filled with cute antique shops, outdoor gear stores, and local restaurants.
Below are pictures from Last Dollar Road. It is a non-paved trail just big enough for a car to drive the scenic route. It is a short distance outside of Telluride, taking you into the San Juan Mountains.
This last picture was taken on the morning that we drove back to Durango to fly home. Overnight, the temperatures dropped and we woke up with snowcapped mountains. I couldn’t have asked for a better end to an overwhelmingly beautiful weekend. I am so ecstatic for a time that I can live amongst the beauty of nature in all its colors – fall. And someday soon, we will definitely being heading back to Telluride for some snowboarding. I’m sure Telluride is just as beautiful in winter.
Happy Fall Ya’ll!