In Between

We're back from our road-trip out West and getting ready for our road-trip to the ATL. Our travels took us through Utah, Idaho, a quick stop in Walla, Walla, Washington, with most of our time exploring Oregon. We just loved Portland and could actually see ourselves living there if it wasn't for the grey skies and frequent drizzle factor. Oh, and we like Telluride too much anyway. There are too many favorites about Portland to list, but for Jim, one of them was his daily visit to the legendary Voodoo Doughnuts. www.voodoodoughnuts.com

Powell's Book Store was also definitely a favorite. Stretching several city blocks and housing more than one million books, Jim was in heaven (and purchased more than two dozen used books). The microbrews were especially good, and we had the most unusual and delicious Thai food ever. We also found the people to be super nice. Great city.
One of the least favorite things we did was visiting the laundromat (hey, it was a long road-trip), but Jim was happy with his book!

We did a lot of hiking and even more eating through Oregon. After Portland we travelled through the Willamette Valley, down the coast, spent an overnight in Eugene and finally Bend. Beautiful state. Came home with some hard to find Pinots, and we've dedicated a corner of our basement to be a make-shift wine cellar since a) we don't have a wine cellar, and b) we have NO other room to put it!
So back in Telluride we are, at least for a few days. It's "mud season" here, and we had a major dust storm yesterday that you could feel even inside. This morning, our Jeep was covered in dirt.

Leaving this week to drive to Atlanta to visit our families. While we are not looking forward to being in the car for another 1,900 miles, we are very excited to visit with our loved ones.

Windy, Snowy, and a Boat-load of Beer

So this evening's annual KOTO end of season party was a blast. A complete WINDY blast. With tenting blowing all over (on people, kegs and basically everything), and some snow here and there, it made our night as volunteer bartenders interesting at the very least. Jim and I saw a lot of friends and acquaintances and earned lots of tips for our community radio station, all while listening to two awesome bands. We served New Belgium beer and got to drink some while we served, which is a good thing. Otherwise you are just cold and working.

So if you are wondering how it went not dressing in pink for the themed Pink Flamingo party, it was fine. The folks that did it up stood out, and for good reason. Can't offer my own photos since we knew it was going to be snowy/rainy/windy/ I didn't take our camera. But I'm sure if you check telluridenews.com you can see a bit of our fun street party.

In Transition

Jim and I are getting ready for a big transition. We are leaving the comforts of our winter routine for a largely unplanned road trip next week. This is a welcomed change for both of us, but it is also strange. We both want to travel and explore, and we have a wonderful pet-sitter here for Boomer and Riley, so we're just going to pack up our Jeep and go. Goodbye home-cooked meals and hello Hampton Inns and road food. But really, we are looking forward to it. We are just two home-bodies getting ready to leave our comfort zone. We are heading to Oregon via Idaho and will likely spend time in Portland, Willamette Valley, Eugene, and Bend. We will take lots of photos and perhaps some (dated camera) video.

We've tried to ski some these last few days given that the mountain is closing Sunday. Today was a beautiful day, and with the local kids in school and folks working, the runs were practically empty (less the small handful of Spring break family tourists). Friday we are volunteering for our community radio station (KOTO-FM) as bartenders at the annual end of season street party. The town closes all of Main Street, brings in some great band, a bunch of food, and a few zillion kegs and just rocks. This year the theme is pink flamingos, and there are prizes for best costumes. So a couple of things. First, it's likely going to be snowing, so for Jim and me, costumes will consist of down jackets, wool hats and serious gloves (nothing pink) so we can be as comfortable as we can outside serving beer and wine to our dear friends. But secondly, and certainly more puzzingly, where are people finding the elements to put together a pink flamingo costume here in Telluride where the nearest city is about 90 minutes away?

I think I need to take my camera so I can try to capture what kind of fantastic party animals we have here in our little box canyon.