Golden Aspens and Golden Brews

Last Wednesday, amidst storm clouds and rain showers, Mom and Dad flew out to Colorado for a visit.  We packed a lot into four days - a winery, three breweries, seven mountain towns, explorations of the Great Sage Plain (where I live) - and Mom and Dad even made it out to see the red rocks of southwestern Utah.

 

San Juan Mountains outside of Telluride

The mountains:  It's a beautiful time of year up north in the mountains of Colorado.  The aspen trees turn to gold and shed their leaves onto fir trees, creating an almost Christmaslike spectacle.  We drove along the San Juan Skyway - north first through Dolores, then passed Rico on the way to Telluride, where we spent the night.  Telluride is a pretty snazzy, yuppie ski town - plenty of neat restaurants and expensive-like-woah real estate.  It was a fun place to stay.  We took the gondola more than two thousand feet up the mountain (we were very proud of Mom, but that didn't keep us from teasing her mercilessly) and ate a delicious dinner at a little Italian bistro on the main drag.  On Saturday we drove northeast through Ridgway, Ouray, Silverton, and Durango on our way back to Cortez.  The drive between Ouray and Silverton (known as the "Million Dollar Highway") was a breathtaking drive.  The road is cut into the mountain, so you're right there in the wilderness.

Million Dollar Highway

The brews: When I arrived in Colorado several months ago, I found out that the region is well known for its brewpubs.  Pretty much every town of at least moderate size (even with populations less than a thousand) has a thriving pub that brews its own beer - I believe the philosophy is "drink locally," not just "eat locally."  Most of the places have great atmosphere, and a lot of awesome beer to taste.  Mom, Dad, and I visited Cortez's Main Street Brewery, the Dolores River Brewery, and the Silverton Brewery, and also Guy Drew Vineyards during our long weekend.  Silverton hands down had the best beer (I had the delicious Red Mountain Ale), and Guy Drew's wine was excellent - I especially liked all the dry whites.

Mom and Dad on the gondola in Telluride

It's hard to believe that Mom and Dad's visit went so quickly - and that my days out west are quickly drawing to an end.  I only have three more days in the field - finishing up documentation on two 1x1 meter units, and getting to work on a nearby kiva.  I can't say I'll miss the hot sun, but it has certainly been awesome to get hands-on experience doing southwest archaeology.  The wilderness has been giving me some lovely goodbye presents lately - yesterday we heard coyotes calling nearby, and today we saw a big bull snake in the path!  I'm going to miss spending so much of my time out-of-doors.