Tour de Telluride, part 1

We are members of a car club, the Porsche Club of America. In fact, my husband is the president of the local region based out of Colorado Springs. One thing this club does really well is coordinate driving tours. Each year there is one 'premiere' tour that usually sells out in a day! This year the trip is to Telluride, and boy is it a trip!

We meet, about 45 cars, almost all of them Porsches, at The Hub car wash in west Colorado Springs. Tim and I arrive at about 7:15 and several cars are already there. We hit the registration table to get our driving instructions and goodie bag, and then have a leisurly breakfast. the rest of the group arrives, Ron, the coordinator of the event holds a brief meeting, and at 9am we were on the road. The Colorado Springs police were on hand to direct traffic so all the cars could get on the road at once and not have to sit at a light! Off we went through Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs and then onto Hwy 24 west-bound.

Up and over we went, including Wilkerson Pass. Turning south on 285 then west on highway 50, we made it up to Monarch Pass, where we stopped for a brief pit stop and group photo. Continuing on the unbelieveably green mountain roads, we made it to Gunnison shortly after 1pm for lunch and the Palisades Restaurant. When it came time to leave, we got another police escort/traffic direct from the Gunnison PD so we could again all get on the road together! I've been on several tours with the club this was the first time we've had police escorts!

More driving and it was getting pretty hot outside. 90 in the mountains is considerably warmer than usual. The roads were getting more scenic as we headed west and south. The afternoon pit stop was at a park in Ridgeway, where we stopped at a park to eat ice cream bars. Really wish we could have stayed for the concert in the park, and I would have entered the raffle for this cruiser bike! But we were on the road again shortly and drove the final stretch into Telluride.

Before I continue, I should tell you that these trips are extremely well coordinated and planned out well in advance. The premiere tour of the year usually sells out within a day, sometimes a few hours of registratino opening. We all look forward to these trips. To keep us from getting too "bored" on the drive there is always a contest with a music CD. Fill in the blanks for some lyrics to the songs, then those words go into a crossword. It's not too hard, and prizes are for everyone who puts their name on a page. But for the tie breaker, we had to name the artists of 20 awful songs. Who remembers who sang "having my baby," "the barbie song," "Macarena," "muskrat love?" Lots of one-hit wonders on this CD!

As we headed into Telluride, we stopped to get gas so we would be ready in the morning, as the gas station is a few miles down the hill from where we are staying.  I found these funky dinosaur sculptures!

We are in the town Mountain Village and are staying at a new resort called Capaella. This hotel is pretty high class. A personal escort to our room, actually complimentary bottles of water and juice in the fridge, free wi-fi. And I can't forget the white robe and slippers! There is a small balcony with a nice view.

Once we got to our room, we quickly got cleaned up and took the Gondola down to Telluride. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant called Rustico. The food was fabulous, but the service a tad slow since we were a party of about 80. and if I'm not mistaken, italian meals tend to be slow and drawn-out anyway! Was a great way to finish up a long day! We hopped on the Gondola back to the Capella and it was time for bed!