On Top of the World

Today Jeremy and I went on a hike with Kirsten and Rex. We started just outside of town by driving Kirsten's 4 wheel drive vehicle up several switch backs which begin several hundred feet below the bottom of this waterfall at the east end of town. We then parked near the top of the waterfall, and hiked for the next five hours!



From where we parked, you could just barely see the edge of town, not to mention the beautiful view of our valley.



From there we began to climb up and up, way past the point where Jeremy and I were ready to turn back, and yes up above the tree line. We parked at an elevation of 10,000 feet and over 5.25 miles gained another 2000 feet during our hike. We journeyed on in hopes of making it to Blue Lake, which we finally accomplished 3 hours after setting out from the car. It was absolutely beautiful of course!

School is Almost Here!

After taking one final trip of the summer up to the Denver area (we visited friends and camped in Rocky Mountain National Park), Jeremy and I returned to Telluride on Sunday evening. Since then I have caught up on most of my errands and begun the process of sorting out my classroom at school. After four hours today, I'm feeling like things are coming together nicely. Inservice days begin this coming Tuesday and kids the next Monday!

By the way... my wonderful boyfriend installed a ceiling fan when we got back the other night. Not only were we tired due to travel and the late hour of our arrival, but it was also dark. So he had to connect all the wires with only a flashlight beam to guide him while the light circuits were turned off for safety purposes. We didn't even have any directions, having received the fan from a friend who no longer needed it! It's so nice not to have to maneuver around an upright fan all the time!

Just for Jen & Ty

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Today Jeremy and I took a short day trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, one of numerous National Parks visits for the summer. And it was so close... only 10 minutes outside of Montrose! It is an extremely jagged canyon carved out of hard rock and is so deep it receives very little sunlight at the bottom (thus the "black" in its name). It wasn't even discovered until the 1830s... and there is no evidence of any humans prior to that! It was a bit dreary today, so my pictures are lacking a bit of color, but the views were vibrant as well as breathtaking!