When I made a decision this was going to be A Year of Vision, I also made a random list of things I wanted to devote time to. One of those things on my list was skiing. In conversation with a client and friend Nate, I told him of my plans. He then suggested I come out west to his family home. This is how I ended up in lovely Telluride, CO. (You don’t have to ask me twice.)

How to get to Telluride?
Telluride, unlike much of the region, has seen snowfall this winter. The downside is that it is not easy to get to. You can fly directly into the local airport but flights are limited. The alternative is to fly into a nearby commercial airport and drive/shuttle over. We flew into Montrose, CO then a shuttle van met us and drove us approx. 90 minutes through the mountains into town. I slept the entire way over. However, the return trip was in the daytime and incredibly scenic.

Home Sweet Mansion
A day of planes, trains and automobiles will wear you out and we were beat. It was after midnight when we arrived in the actual town itself. I exited the car and found myself standing in the darkness on the side of a mountain road. I stared at the the stars in the cold Colorado sky. What a gift. However, that feeling didn’t last long. The realization it was now 2℉ set in. Nature can wait, I needed some warmth.

Upon entering the house, the burglar alarm went off. Nate couldn’t find the alarm panel to disarm it. Then the phone began to ring. It was the alarm company inspecting the situation, quickly followed by a call from the caretaker. This went on for about 10 minutes.

I thought to myself, “go stand back on the road because if the po-po show up they’re gonna shoot the Puerto Rican first and ask questions later.” However, getting shot with a stun gun seemed more appealing than hypothermia. In due time, we got the situation underhand. From the mud room, I looked down upon the living room, dining room and kitchen. Suddenly, my inner rain man began to perform mathematical computations. I computed, in terms of square footage, my entire apartment could fit into this one space with room to spare. I love the kind and generous 99%.

The next morning I awoke to one of nature’s most incredible views.

After breakfast, Nate took me on the grand tour of the family home, a conservative 8,000 square foot eight bedroom house sitting on the side mountain overlooking the valley. At some point Nate’s voice morphed, in my head, to that of Robin Leech. I flash backed to my teenage self and thought, “so this is how the Carringtons lived.” Cue the Dynasty theme song.

There was part of me that wanted to sleep in every room of the house. For the record, I did not. However, I did fall asleep by the fireplace in the living room one night. Yes, for a brief moment I was Dex Dexter. Dreams do come true!

Few Notes On Telluride
Telluride is an affluent town with a very bohemian vibe. The town maintains much of its gold rush rustic appeal. You won’t experience lots of car or pedestrian traffic. I am sorry to inform you there is no Prada, Gucci, or Cartier store to be found. There are multiple ski shops though and a Patagonia store, where I scored a deal. To be fair, the Mountain Village at the top of the ski lift does offer a bit more of that commercial culture. The gondola to and from town to the Mountain Village is free to ride.

Post-skiing, I dragged Nate on a bit of a walkabout. (If you have ever spent a day in ski boots, walking in shoes on solid ground is cause for celebration.) I stumbled upon The Free Box. The Free Box is where one donates items they no longer need. Essentially, you take something and/or you leave something. It is managed by the town and cleaned out weekly. Had I known, I would have brought the pile of crap sitting on my bedroom floor in NYC waiting to be donated to the Good Will.

Food Recommendations
If you want GREAT pizza, you must go The Brown Dog Pizza located at 110 E Colorado Ave. It is very casual dining and very popular. There is upstairs seating a large bar. There are TV’s playing sports so don’t worry for bringing the kids or walking in off the slopes.

The service is fine. The wait staff is very knowledgable about the menu and they need be because there is a lot to choose from.  I will say the wait staff has a bit of an edge to them that could bear softening. For example, I ordered Southwestern BBQ Chicken Detroit Square Pizza which was DELICIOUS. Nate had Boone’s Meaty D.S.P. and neither of us could possibly eat it all. I asked the waitress if I could take it with me to go. She came back with a cardboard box, and dropped it on the table so I could wrap it up myself. All we could was laugh because it was just too ridiculous to quarrel about.

My other recommendation is 221 South Oak. Set discreetly on a quiet street, this quaint restaurant is on the opposite end of the spectrum of The Brown Dog. It is relaxed yet fine dining. The staff couldn’t have been more accommodating and the food exquisite. Seeing as this is not a food blog I won’t get into detail about my meal. I will however say, if you visit Telluride be sure to make a reservation. You will NOT regret time spent here.

In every city you have a crap restaurant…
On our last day, we were tired and it was cold outside. We didn’t want to eat out so we ordered take out and drove into town to pick it up. We ordered from La Cocina de La Luz serving regional Mexican and Southwestern cuisine. If this is what “regional” Mexican food tastes like, choose deportation. How do you mess up a burrito? This was overpriced crap. It wasn’t that it tasted bad. It just tasted like nothing. The food had no flavor. The guacamole could have been store bought. There was clearly no love in the kitchen. Mexico should be suing for slander. I can only imagine the bland joint stays in business because it’s a tourist town and tourists are forgiving, except this tourist. There is nothing worse than eating for nutrition sake. Talk about your empty calories.

Skiing
I will inform more about my ski adventure in part two but here’s the video to give you an insight.