{the view flying up over the san juans}
Even though our anniversary technically happened a week ago, I’ve never been one to try and rush through life’s little celebrations, and I was giddy with excitement after being instructed by James to pack a bag for a ‘surprise weekend getaway’ to fete our one-whole-year milestone together. Since no man in his right mind would tell a girl to pack ‘a bag’ without first mentioning that aforementioned bag must conform to the airlines current draconian space and size rules, I assumed that we would be packing up and heading somewhere close; perhaps to a nearby mountain town, or even (excitedly) back to Aspen, where we celebrated our ‘minimoon’ exactly one year ago. So you can imagine my surprise when we turned off I-70 and hurtled towards Denver International Airport; not only was I mentally tallying through the narrow scope of places where I would need a ‘swimsuit, a pair of shorts, a down jacket, and comfy shoes,’ but also having visions of the TSA agents tossing my most definitely over-three-ounce bottles of perfume and tinted moisturizer. (Isn’t that just the worst?)
James hurriedly whispered a few words to the agent before I reached the podium, and wearing a huge grin on his face, he watched as she handed me a boarding pass with the code TEX emblazoned on the front. Telluride. My favorite place in Colorado, and, quite possibly, on the planet. (I first fell in love here.) He told me that even though I knew where we were going, I didn’t quite yet know — and that was the truth. After landing on a precariously balanced mountaintop landing strip we strolled through the idyllic town and had lunch – but that was it. Back into the car we went, and drove through meandering miles of golden aspen trees and dirt roads until we hit a little town called Dunton.
We almost breezed right past the tiny old mining town, but instead jerked off the dirt road and down a barely manicured path. As we pulled into what had looked like a desolate group of old Western shacks, I realized that we were, in fact, somewhere very special. An old ghost town that has been purchased and renovated into a luxury ‘camp’ complete with it’s own natural hot springs, Dunton Hot Springs is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. We spent two nights and three full days basking in the warm morning sunshine, soaking in the mineral laden tubs, reading books in a fire-light library, and gathering round the dinner table with new friends. It was an incredible experience at a Colorado resort that I cannot stress how much I recommend – and I’ve got plenty of photos and notes to share with you later. For now, here are a few glimpses into what was definitely one of my most memorable weekends in Colorado, to date.
{the landing strip at telluride airport – perched on a cliff}
{the best surprise boarding pass}
{laces for the road}
{back in my favorite place, gazing east towards bridal veil falls in telluride}
{stopping in for a quick pint of hoppy suds at a friends brewery}
{arriving at dunton hot springs}
{a true ghost town}
