Back when we were still dating and living in Colorado, Jamie swept me away for a long weekend in the mountains at peak leaf-changing time to celebrate our “anniversary of meeting.” We sipped coffee on the chilly mornings, went on a gorgeous hike, had dinner on a mountaintop, relaxed in a hot tub overlooking the mountains, and saw the most unexpected wildlife! It was an unforgettable trip and very romantic during the fall season, and I thought it would be fun to share:
It was about a 6-hour drive from Denver, and the views along the drive were incredible. Some major airlines fly into the Montrose Regional Airport (about 75 minutes from Telluride) and the Telluride Regional Airport (about 15 minutes from Telluride), so those would be the best options for people who don’t live within driving distance.
We stayed at an Airbnb just a short walk from the town. Our favorite part was the hot tub with a view of the mountains! It was the perfect place to relax after a long hike.
Jamie picked out a beautiful hike, Bear Creek Trail, for us to do on Friday morning – it was moderate intensity, 4.5 miles and a little over 1,000 feet elevation gain. Enough to get a workout but nothing too strenuous! I couldn’t get over the rich colors of the trees and the snow-covered peaks. The aspen trees with their bright white bark, tall skinny trunks, and bright yellow-gold silver dollar leaves are one of a kind.
This photo is blurry, but we happened to catch sight of a pine marten in a tree on the hike. It looked a bit like a kitten at first, but when we saw how long its body was, we thought it was maybe a ferret or weasel. We tried googling it and eventually were able to figure out that it was a pine marten thanks to a coworker whose husband sure knows his animals! I had never seen one before, and it was really cute and very cool.
We’re big proponents of hikes with waterfalls! And our hiking tradition is to bring a beer to enjoy at the top.
After the hike, we had pizza at Brown Dog, and I swear it was the best pizza I’ve had in my life. I got the Brooklyn Bridge, which took first place at the 2014 International Pizza Challenge – it was mozzarella and brick cheeses, pizza sauce, creamy NY ricotta, natural casing pepperoni, Italian sausage, chopped garlic, Sicilian oregano, and Pecorino Romano cheese. Jamie had the Sweety Pie, which he loved too – pineapple rings, applewood smoked bacon, jalapeño, and creamy NY ricotta.
The town of Telluride has lots of cute shops and restaurants to explore.
For dinner, we took the free gondola up the mountain to Allred’s, a lovely restaurant with panoramic views of the mountains.
On Saturday, we made the 1 hour, 40 minute drive to Mesa Verde National Park, where the Ancestral Pueblo people carved their homes in the hillside and lived from the 6th to the 12th century.
Seeing how the cliff dwellers lived and imagining what it must have been like was fascinating.
Everywhere we went on this trip, we experienced remarkable wildlife. This was a “small” tarantula that we saw meandering across our path while exploring the cliff villages.
That night, while walking to town for dinner, we literally came face-to-face with this black bear! We were probably only 6-8 feet away, and because it was dark, it took us by such surprise that we didn’t even have time to be scared. Luckily, it seemed to be on a mission and walked right past us, and we certainly got out of its way. I snapped a quick picture as it headed through the yards of some homes – it looked SO big in real life. I’ll never forget sitting in front of the fire at dinner that night just laughing and completely in shock that we had just come face-to-face with a bear!
The next morning, we had coffee and breakfast at The Butcher & The Baker. It was the perfect ending to our long weekend, and after that, we headed back to Denver.
Thanks for the amazing adventure, Telluride! We will be back.
P.S. An awesome place for breakfast and coffee in Denver, and a hotel at the top of a waterfall.
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