To Hell With the Ride... I'm Staying in Telluride

Carly and her two roommates all had work today so by 12 o'clock, I was alone in there beautiful house nestled up on one of the mountains. I found a note upstairs on the kitchen table from Carly that told me to make myself at home. I smiled. Even thousands of miles from home, I was home. I walked out onto the balcony and gazed out upon one of the most beautiful scenes I've ever viewed. Colorado is incredible.

For a comparison in elevation, I decided to check out my other two "homes'" elevation. Cape May Court House stands at a whopping 14 ft. above sea level. Wow. Pittsburgh comes in at around 1500-1700 feet above sea level. Lastly, Telluride is at 8,750 feet above sea level. I've climbed quite a bit. There should be a pretty incredible downhill coming soon to San Francisco.

After I consumed the ginormous CalZone pizza that Carly had hand-crafted in her awesome restaraunt, I prepared to venture into town. Firstly, I had to deliver a package to one of the MS members, Laura.

The morning before I had woken up from a slumber that very well could have been eternal had I not left the company of Mike. Exiting my tent, I found myself alone at the KOA Campground. Apparently, during my sleep, all of the MS cyclists had carefully and quietly evacuated the area. As I got my stuff together, the campground staff came up telling me of a package that had just arrived for Laura. Feeling like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, I slipped it into my sleeping bag and hatched a plot to deliver the box to Laura that evening. Mission failure resulted in a delay until today.

Laura was ecstatic about the fact I biked the package all the way to her despite the delay. I got a contact high and it made me happy that she was happy. I started wandering around the town. I went to the local museum, got ice cream, and bought a $2 bracelet to "replace" the irreplacable one Joe had given me in the mail. I still hurt knowing I lost that thing. My wrist has felt naked ever since.

I ran into Duncan on the street and we sat outside an ice cream parlour on Main Street chatting and laughing loudly for about an hour. He had seen (moreso heard) a bear the day before and had the video for proof. Our humor meshes extremely well and our little social time was the highlight of the day.

So anyway, I've decided to hang out in this beautiful paradise for the day. I'll have a night out with Carly, the girls, and the MS cyclists. All is well here.

Tomorrow is Christmas in Rico. Can't wait!

The note from Carly that I greatfully awoke to.

     The view from the girls' front porch.

               The edge of Telluride.

At the museum, I found a peculiar quote from someone about The Great Depression. This is one of the only positive things I've ever read about this period of time.