Pantry Upgrade

Before: wire shelving

After:

We lost some pantry space, but we made up for it in looks.  And it couldn't fit better.

Trying to Put Humpty Together Again

We left for vacation and the house was a wreck.  The drywall work had just been completed.

We got to work yesterday painting.

Ready for the refrigerator:

Master bedroom closet painted and new shelving put in:

Upstairs bath was painted (this is a before pic):

We also painted the wall and trim behind the stove and, the pantry is ready for paint.

Gondola

We're back home, we drove all day yesterday and got in late in the afternoon.  But we still have vacation pics!

Telluride has a free gondola that runs 7am-12am. It takes you to the top of the mountain and then continues to Mountain Village which has restaurants, shops, and lodging.  They say it is the only free mass transportation of its kind in the world.

Sunset in Telluride

A Toast

It's customary to follow a successful flight with a champagne toast.

Zoey did not go up in the balloon.  

Landing

Chris lent a hand on the landing.  The basket needed to be pulled back and out of the way of cactus so the balloon could be put down.

Tipping the basket

The Views

Ridgway.  Love the shadow of the balloon.

You can barely see Ouray nestled at the bottom of the mountains

Ready for Take Off

Up Up Up

San Juan Balloon Ride

We left Ouray yesterday and drove to Telluride.  On the way, we stopped for a hot air balloon ride.  It was so cool.

The balloon is filled with cold air first.  Then the air is heated and the balloon stands up.

Ouray Alchemist Museum

We spent the morning at the Ouray Alchemist Museum.  It was a really neat look back at the evolution of the Pharmaceutical industry as told by the museum owner.  The collection of pharmacy relics was impressive as well.

Ouray Brewing Rooftop

We hung out on the rooftop patio at Ouray Brewing this afternoon.  Our seats overlooked Main Street and it was fun to watch the hustle and bustle.  One thing we didn't realize was the incredible number of Jeeps in this town.

The Hikers

Perimeter Trail Part 2

Zoey hiked 99% of the trail.  There were some steep rocky descents that she wouldn't move forward on.  So we carried her for a short bit.  We didn't even need her new pouch.

Views of Ouray from the South side of town.

Suspended bridge over Cañon Creek gorge into the old water tunnel.

Ouray's old water tunnel.

The trail ended back in town and passed historic Victorian homes from the late 1800's.  

Perimeter Trail Part 1

We hiked the Perimeter Trail Today.  It is a 4.5 mile hike around the perimeter of town.

We discovered Zoey is a Mountain Goat.  She hiked like a champ.

About .3 miles into the hike, we saw this view.

Cascade Falls

Final Destination: Ouray

Ouray is the Switzerland of America.  It is surrounded on three sides by mountains.  We are staying here for 3 nights and then moving on to Telluride through Friday.  

We are staying at the San Juan Chalet and it is very nice.

Pit Stop in Salida

We ate at The Ploughboy  a cute market/grocery/deli that sells all local or Colorado made goods.  We picked up a few Colorado cheeses, summer sausage, and fresh bread for a picnic this week.

Heading for the Hills

Zoey is a good little rider.  We're keeping our destination a surprise for now.  Stay tuned :)

2 Peas & a Dog Pouch

We're planning on some hikes soon.  We want to bring Zoey and suspect we will need to carry her at some point along the way.  And when we do, we have this:

New Corners

The drywall work is complete.  In addition to the kitchen doorway, we had work done in both bathrooms, master bedroom closet, and down the stairs.

On to clean-up & paint.

Hummingbird

We have hummingbirds!  Or at least one hummingbird.  This is the first year we have ever seen one at the house.

Besides the feeder, we have seen a hummer feed from our Scarlet Bugler & Red Birds in a Tree.