Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Telluride, CO

 

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Cayton Campground is about 20 miles from Telluride, so since it was another rainy day we went for a ride. Plus it was a good excuse to find an internet connection. Telluride is an old mining town, but is now known for it’s ski resort. It’s a pretty nice summer destination as well, with lots of opportunities for hiking and mountain biking. Some interesting history, In June 1889, Butch Cassidy robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride. This was his first major recorded crime. He exited the bank with $24,580, and later became famous as a bank robber.

We drove to the end of town to look at Bridal Veil Falls. I’ve lost count of how many falls named Bridal Veil we’ve seen over the years. This was a big one, 365 feet, the highest cascade waterfalls in Colorado. What made it even more interesting is the private house/power plant that sits beside it. Quite an extreme home. You can hike a 4 mile trail or drive a rocky dirt road to get there.

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Debbie and I also took a ride on the free gondola from the ski village down into town. Since it was enclosed I figured I could handle it. Other than the initial speed and coming to a complete stop for a couple minutes while we were in the air, it wasn’t too bad.  And what views. Too bad it was drizzling.

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We found another nice microbrewery, lunch and WiFi at Smuggler Joes. And on the way home the sun actually came out! It was a good day.

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6 comments:

  1. There's quite a story attached to the powerhouse. We first saw it in 1999 after I read about it on the web. I have quite a few pictures of it. Looks like we may have been standing in the same place at different times!

    I've also read that Telluride got it's name from it's famous visitor, Butch, when he yelled "To Hell You Ride". I have no idea whether that's a myth or not.

    You may still be able to read about the history of the powerhouse on the web--when we were there, there was a young couple with a baby living there.

    I asked a local if he knew where it was, and he didn't know that it's where the town, or most of it, gets its electricity from the refurbished power plant.

    Thanks for the pictures and memories.

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  2. My first comment disappeared. I may have forgotten to hit publish. In the meantime, I looked up whether the name Telluride actually got its name from To Hell You Ride--"The short-lived but legendary early 1990s hard rock group T-Ride took their name from a commonly used contraction of Telluride. They seem to have chosen this name at least in part because of the theory that "Telluride" is itself a contraction of "To Hell You Ride". The song "Ride" from their album T-Ride includes the lyric "Te-hell-ya Ride"."
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telluride,_Colorado

    There are a lot of sites to read about the history of the power plant. I found it on the web in 1999 which is when we visited.

    Thanks for the pictures and the memories.

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  3. Oh, this is exciting! We are going to visit Telluride when we are there Monday or Tues. I am so glad to know about the waterfalls and the gondola. My grandsons will love it! Great photos. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Those last two photographs are stunning! We were in Telluride some years ago for an environmental workshop with Delores LaChapelle who lived there at the time. Just a lovely area.

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  5. We have lost count of the number of Bridal Veil Falls we have seen too.

    We were at Telluride 31 yrs ago. They had a BIG mud slide and the one and only road out was blocked. Thank goodness they could clear it or we would have had to spend the night there.

    Enclosed or not...I don't think I could do that ride!

    That area is beautiful.

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  6. Glad to see that you made it to Telluride. I took that ski lift many times. Thanks for reminding me of some great times.

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