Telluride's Neighbor, Mountain Village~Colorado Part 3

Hi folks! Today, we go to Telluride which is a delightful 45-minute drive from the RV park in Ouray. Onboard for today's adventure is Joe & Linda, George & Donna (me), as well as YOU!  

In Colorado, pretty drives are everywhere,
 and Telluride is no exception!

We can only imagine how stunning  

this place is when it's blanketed with 

a thick layer of wintry-fresh snow!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Upon arrival in Telluride (elevation 8750 ft.), we were intrigued by an unexpected discovery--a free gondola ride up to a town named Mountain Village. It sits at 9500 ft. elevation, houses a population of 1,415 as of 2006, and it's 3.3 square miles in size. How quaint! Click here for Wikipedia info.   

The three words that captivated us were: 

FREE

and

MOUNTAIN

and

VILLAGE

LET'S GO!

A cozy view of Telluride from
the gondola as we slowly ascend.

We have the gondola to ourselves!

Joe & Linda, enjoying the ride.

Up we climb loving the 360 views!

Can you see the bikes attached to 

the far side of the oncoming gondola?

It's a demonstration of their 
bicycle friendliness.  

Mountain Village is also 
pet friendly, 

eco friendly 
and 
pedestrian friendly!

Lo and behold, there's Mountain Village below!

The reason we're headed down now is because 

we were first transported to San Sophia 

station, which we crossed through, before 

moving on down to Mountain Village.

It was a 13 minute ride. 

Turns out, this is a public transportation system, and the only one of its kind in the country. It's also used to transport skiers and snowboarders. The gondolas operate ALMOST year round from 6:30 a.m until midnight and 2:00 a.m. on weekends. That's so cool!

Click on the "COOL GONDOLAS" 

link below to read all about them!

THIS IS THE COOL GONDOLAS LINK BELOW

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alas, we're in Mountain Village!

That's a bungee jumping 

doohickey behind the chairs above.

And three smiling, standing doohickies below!

The first thing we need to do 

is grab a bite to eat.

We're hungry!

A lovely gondola ride will do that to you!

How about eating at

Tracks Cafe & Bar?

Sorry, no pics, but it was very good!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Time to explore.

There's shops!

And signs!

We love these type of signs so 

we thought they warranted a pic.

⇧ Notice the fun trampolines 

  behind the signs on the left.

This interesting restaurant is in the 

middle of the BOULDER BREEZEWAY 

referenced on the sign above.

(At least, we think it's that breezeway!)

Sure wish we'd have 

gotten the restaurant's name!

Linda's sharply-honed Starbucks radar  

 is operating at break-neck speed.
Beep, beep, beep, beep.
Is that what radar sounds like?
Or perhaps that's a 
trash truck backing up.
We are easily confused! 

In any event, Linda spots a Starbucks!

Good job Linda! 

⇓

 It's very cool that Linda can detect 
a Starbucks from miles away!

Or, in this case, about 40 yards 

as the football flies!

(No crow flying here.)

Ah yes, it was tasty as usual 
and hit the spot in this cooler weather.
It's a perfect compliment to this wonderful day!

It looks like Joe & Geo are bellied up to
the counter, engrossed in conversation.

Giant checkers on the green!

We wonder if those folks brought 

the checkers with them or if they're

 a Mountain Village amenity.

Look at these comfy characters 

enjoying their moment in the sun.

No, really! 

The sun came out for moments.

Okay, I confess, it may 
have been a tad bit longer.

That's it for now.

We're back on the gondola to Telluride.

Bye Mountain Village!
We love you!

We only spent a couple of hours here although it probably felt like a mere few minutes to some of you!

When we headed to Telluride, we certainly did not expect to find this charming, and stylish little village. From looking at this map which we just now found, there is more to explore in Mountain Village. In that case, we look forward to touring more of it's 3.3 miles in the future as well as the town of Telluride! 

Did you enjoy your virtual trip? 

We hope so! 

Rest up folks because we'll be 

exploring more of Colorado soon.

See ya then!

Smiles, Blessings & Hugs,

D~~~~

Hooray for Ouray~Colorado Part 2

After leaving Grape Creek RV Camp in Westcliffe, Colorado, we moved on over to the KOA Campground in Ouray. (If you missed the first post about Grape Creek, you can click HERE to read it.) 

As usual, I'm inviting you 

to come along on our trip.

It's a 3-weeker this time. 

"Weeker" 
I made that word up.  

Two of our three weeks will be 

spent at this KOA Campground in 

Ouray, and then we'll move down 

to Durango for the final week. 

We think these KOA sites are a bit 

too close but the treed view outside our

back window (the living area) is pure delight!

Beneath the trees we find 
a lovely narrow stream.

(Sorry about the inside reflection here.)

I cherished the early mornings, 
drinking coffee, 
doing daily devotions, 
reading artsy magazines,
and all while enjoying the happy view!

Of course, I wasn't reading and looking out the window at the same time but please know that if I was capable of reading with one eye and looking out the window with the other, I would have done it!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now let's go into Ouray (population 1,000 as of 2010 and, as I mentioned in my previous post, it's pronounced Yoo-Ray). It's a short five mile drive so that's a good place to start out. 

Surrounded by the San Juan Mountains on three sides, Ouray is known as The Jeeping Capital of the World. In fact, the guys went jeeping twice but that's another post. 

After a bit of shopping, my friend 
Linda and I spotted the guys 

seated atop the Ouray Brewery.
(Rick was with them but left to go catch 
up with Carrie who was still shopping.)

  How about we go up and get a birds-eye view.

Look right.

Look directly across the street.

Now look to the left.

You've just seen Main Street, Ouray, Colorado.
Small and very cool!
Don't you love those mountains 
in the background?
I sure do!

Of course, there are side streets and a few backroads that run parallel to Main on both sides, some of which are not paved but add to the charm. That is, unless it's raining! In that case, I suspect it might lose some of it's appeal and we wouldn't enjoy it as much, would we?

A summer feature is the Hot Springs Pool & Park at the end of Main Street which you did not see when you looked to the right (above). 

Don't go back up there to look! 

"Why?, you ask.

Mainly because I'm concerned that 

if you stick your head out too far,
STRETCHING,
STRETCHING,
trying to see the pool, 

you might 

smash it,

smack-dab 

into your computer screen! 

Ouch! 

Instead, click here 

and you'll find an 

excellent aerial photo of the 

pool, park and Main street, 

along with some info. 

It's much gentler on the old cranium!

Below is Ouray from the
Million Dollar Highway 
(U.S. 550). 

This pic was taken in 2010 and 
from the opposite end of where
we traverse in and out of Ouray 
to and from our current campsite.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Meanwhile, 
back at the Brewery...

Here's Geo and Joe enjoying the view.

And Linda smiling as always!
She's fun!

I'm sitting with Geo & Joe now.
Somebody's gotta do it!
LOL!

We grabbed a bite to eat at
O'Brien's Pub and Grill 
where we sat outside
to relish in the warm weather.

For the moment it was warm.
It changed all the time 
throughout the day, 
almost every day
while we were in Colorado.
We loved the cool temps!

No pics of O'Brien's but it was very tasty.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

About a week later, the four of us explored a couple of Ouray's side roads during a stroll to check out an RV park. Passing some colorful, spots along the way, we found it necessary to take advantage of the photo op.

Joe & Linda affectionately carrying their 

sweet owners--Tootie left and Harley, right.

Harley on a bridge over busy water.

Definitely not troubled water!

Just busy.

The wild flowers and rock-lined 
bank makes for a nice view!
The pic really doesn't do it justice.

My, my but aren't we colorful!

I hope you're not blinded by it!

We didn't see any chain restaurants or shops in Ouray. They all seemed to be friendly, down-home entrepreneurs -- very nice! It's a lovely little town in which to shop, eat, roam, and hang out a bit. 

That's it for now.

I hope you enjoyed it!

We'll do more of Colorado very soon.

Smiles & Hugs,

D~~~~

Colorado Time! ~ Part 1

We spent our first night in Westcliffe, Colorado at Grape Creek RV Park, a very small and cozy little park with a gorgeous view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We met up with our friends, Joe & Linda and Rick & Carrie there so we could all enjoy Colorado together.

Early morning view out 
the back of our RV (the living room).

Left

Right

Panoramic view.

The Grape Creek Park stop was merely an overnight stay. It's off the beaten path, and the town of Westcliffe is very small but it looks like a fun place to do a little bit of exploring in the future. 

The next morning, we all headed to camp about 5 miles outside of Ouray (the locals pronounce it Yoo-Ray). 

This purple barn quilt was a cute 

goodbye as we pulled out of Grape Creek.

Outside of Salida, CO.

A pretty photo taken near Gunnison

but, of course, everywhere is pretty here.

Elmer with his butt plopped on  

George's chest the first night.

See ya soon.

Smiles & Hugs from Ouray,

D~~~~

2016~Picnic in the Smokies & A Drive to Clingman's Dome

We always enjoy a picnic in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and this year was no different! This post is to share some pictures from picnic day, as well as views from a drive up to Clingman's Dome, the highest point (6,643 feet) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It's also the highest point in the beautiful state of Tennessee.

Our dogs, 
Elmer and Chewy, 
always enjoy picnic day!
Chewy with George

Elmer rests his chin 
everywhere 

and it is cute!

Our picnic locale.

We ventured out on the rocks in the stream.

We gotta check them out.

On the spur of the moment, we decided 

to drive up to Clingman's Dome.
Chewy is ready.

Elmer, laid back as usual, 
and ready to go.

It's a pretty drive indeed.

The colors gradually changed as 
we climbed our way to the top.

Incredible!

When we reached the top, we didn't hike up the remainder of the way for several reasons. Since it was a spur of the moment decision to go, we weren't dressed for the much cooler temps and we didn't want to take the dogs. Maybe next time. Nevertheless, the drive was a total delight!

At the end of our trip, we discovered this place,
Harpoon Harry's Crab House.
Oh YUM!

Not only is the food fantastic 
but so is the atmosphere.

Amazing wood sculptures 
surround the bar area.
Here's some dolphins!

This Eagle was really cool! 

We sat on that second level.
All the sides were open to the perfect weather.
We will be sure to return!

That's all for
 Pigeon Forge
Gatlinburg & 
the Great Smoky Mountains
FOR NOW.

We'll be going back soon.

To see the first post about the campground, 
click here.
To see the second post about a Cades Cove trip, 
click here.


Abundant Smiles,
D~~~~