Four Wheelin on the Grand Mesa

Happy New Week Friends!

A new week is like a whole new chance to be anything you want to be.

People get so excited about a New Year & make these grand resolutions,

but for me...it's just toooo much pressure!

I'd rather get excited about the possibilities of a brand new week & if I fail to be all that I can be,

I only have maybe 5 more days to try all over again, isn't that so much less stressful!  ;)

I'm finishing up my GRAND Adventure, in Grand Junction, CO on The Grand Mesa,

that seems pretty fitting to me!

One of the things I wanted to do before I left beautiful Colorado was to go 4 wheeling with
my sister, she has 2 machines & 1 is an automatic. So being this kinda fearless old lady,
I just wanted to go for it.

We packed a nice lunch, sodas, margaritas, lol...a blanket to sit on, our jackets & headed out on an

adventure of a lifetime. We left at 11am & got back at 5pm, 6 hours in the backwoods of

Colorado & I LOVED every minute of it!!

I followed my sister to a trail off their little main road, that took us on a journey miles back into the wilderness. This house was such a surprise when we came upon it, it's literally in the middle of nowhere.

I was so excited to see this vintage Airstream & to find out that this family was living in it as they

built their dream home board by board. The view they have is SPECTACULAR!

The sky was amazing that day, with the clouds over head sometimes looking ominious

& other times opening up to display the very bluest of blues.

Really, on this ride there were times when the scenery just took my breath AWAY.

This is a place you don't get to in a car, a place I could never have seen

if I hadn't have been brave enough to just 'Go For It'...

a place where I could imagine Indians riding their horses across the open plains looking for buffalo

& could almost see the smoke rising from a far off fire.

Initially, I was very cautious & a little scared, but as time went by my confidence grew until

I actually got excited when we'd come to a big ravine & I got a chance to gun it to get up & over it.

My little sister's little phrase, helped me a lot & was so true on these 4 wheelers...

"When in doubt, gun it out."

Cuz when you hit a scary section of trail your instinct is to slow way down,

but the slower you go, the less control you have over the machine.

By gassing it, it gives you the power to get up & over almost anything,

by the end of the day I felt like a pro! lol

We ate our lunch under a tree, watching the clouds.

There was no one & nothing around us...

until on our ride back & I saw some Free Range cows.

I couldn't help but think of the movie 'Open Range' where personal battles occurred over the

different philosophies of pastures & fencing & free range...

there is nothin like the Wild, Wild West my friends...NOTHIN!

Can you tell I had so much FUN in Colorado?? It was just what I needed.

I Loved ALL of our adventures & my sister is the sweetest thing on earth,

she helped me find my joy again & I'm forever grateful!!!

XOXO

vintagesusie

On to Silverton, Colorado

TGIF Sweeties...

do you know one of the reasons I like Fridays so much???

Because on Saturdays Kai plays soccer & I LOVE watching him play.

Why do you like Fridays so much??

{bet I know that answer, lol}

On to Silverton, Colorado...

a historic mining town, high in the San Juan Mountains...I mean REALLY HIGH!

Silverton is one of the highest towns in the United States,

at 9,305 feet above sea level.

It was settled in 1874 when gold & silver were discovered in the area & has a very

colorful history of drinkin, gamblin, fightin & prostitution...oh my!

In 1884, in a 3 block area, Silverton had 2 Banks, 5 Laundries & 39 Saloons...my kind of town! lol

Gambling men like Bat Masterson & Wyatt Earp roamed these

streets lookin for a faro game, so cool right?

My Darlin Sister booked us a room at The Teller House Hotel

built in 1896 & such a wonderful surprise.

Our amazing room...

looking right out onto the main street

& those beautiful golden mountains.

I loved this room down the hall, it didn't have it's own bathroom but might be worth it just for fun!

The rooms were all on the 2nd floor, with the hotel's restaurant located on the 1st.

The Teller Hotel was such a treat, a trip back in time.

Another thing Silverton is famous for, is for having one of the last

Narrow Gauge Trains in the US...

that still makes regular runs back & forth from Durango to Silverton.

Back in my Wild Gypsy days, I lived in Durango, Colorado for a couple years. I worked as a maid at

The Strater Hotel, I worked at Purgatory Ski Resort & was there when the movie 'Avalance',

starring Rock Hudson & Mia Farrow, was being filmed. My boyfriend at the time & I

got parts as extras in the film, as did most of the Durango residents, lol.

Watching it, is like watching an old family movie for me...so many faces I know.

I have some great memories of that experience & here a couple of my favorites...

We did a lot of filming at the Tamarron Lodge where my boyfriend worked & most of the cast

was staying. On one particular day, everyone was sitting outside waiting for a scene to finish. I was

talking to Jeanette MacDonald & having a wonderful conversation, as I saw Rock making his

way over to us. I had told myself that on this particular day I was going to try & TALK to Rock!

He sat down in the chair next to me & said "Hello."

I smiled, nodded my head & fled from sight...silly girl, afraid to say hi to Rock Hudson. LOL

Then there was a day when I wasn't working, but my boyfriend was. They were filming up at

the ski area, so I thought I'd go up there with him & ski awhile & watch them film some scenes.

I did a couple runs, I remember it was freezing & after my last run I took off my skis & headed

towards the crew. I wanted to sit high up on a nearby mountain so I could be out of the way

& still see everything. The snow was pristine, untouched & beautiful. I climbed to the top &

turned back around to look down at my great view. Just about then the director & Rock were

scanning their location, when the director saw me & SCREAMED at me to get out of there.

Come to find out, they had needed the pristine snow for a scene & I had climbed in it with

my ski boots leaving huge footprints everywhere, I was SOOOO Embrassed!!

My BAD...  ;)  How funny, I haven't thought about any of this in years. lol

Well, I hope you enjoyed our little tour of Silverton & my trip down memory lane...

thanks for coming along with me, it was a BLAST!!!

XOXO

vintagesusie

Ouray & Fall in Colorado

Happy Sunday Sweet Hearts!

Fall is in the air here on my mountaintop in So Cali.

The sky is blue, the sun is bright & it's crisp & cool outside,

PERFECT sweater weather & I do LOVE a GREAT sweater, don't you??  ;)

{in Ouray, this house is built right into the rock & has an elevator to get you in the door}

But fall in California & fall in Colorado are two totally different things...

fall in Colorado turns your world to GOLD!

An abandoned mine in Ouray...

I have the most WONDERFUL sister, who always plans amazing trips when I come to visit...

on this day we were heading to Silverton, but making a stop at the historic mining town

of Ouray & the Box Canyon Falls!

Put together a Canyon Creek & some limestone rock...

give them a little time, like a few hundred millenniums or so...

& then stand back in awe of the pounding water

& rock formations like you've never seen before.

The falls drop thousands of gallons of water a minute into this boxed canyon...

it's hard to even fathom! {& loud too}

I am absolutely afraid of heights & these old metal stairs that take you to the falls,

made my legs weak. I mean really weak, just like noodles.

The higher I got, the less my legs felt like they had any bones in them at all. lol

But the older I get, the more I believe that in order to see AMAZING things,

you have to be brave, come out of your comfort level & just DO IT!

And so I do & look what I get to gaze upon...

Ouray's spectacular, natural Amphitheater created by an ancient volcanic eruption...

I LOVE this tiny mining town in the Colorado mountains,

it's quint & charming & breathtaking!

When my sister booked this unplanned, spur of the moment trip for me, I can honestly say

it didn't occur to me that I would be traveling right at the height of Colorado's glorious FALL.

It didn't occur to me until the mountains in every direction, turned to GOLD!

And due to some of the surrounding mountains being filled with rich minerals & ore...

even the rivers turned to GOLD!

For all of you friends who live in beautiful places that have their own wondrous FALLS,

you may wonder, "What's the big deal? They're only leaves."

But to a born & breed, southern California girl like me...

a fall like this is SPECTACULAR!!!

I am BLESSED!!!

XOXO
vintagesusie