Caroline Turns 40

Lordy, Lordy, Look Who's 40!

6/10/09 - San Juan Skyway Scenic Loop - Ouray & Telluride, CO

Celebrating Caroline's 40th birthday in style with some top-notch Colorado soaking, hiking, eating and drinking

Since Caroline's birthday happened to fall right on the heels of our recent trip to Mexico, we decided to do a driving trip this time, in celebration of her milestone birthday. We had been wanting to explore southwestern Colorado's most highly regarded scenic byway known as the San Juan Skyway since moving to New Mexico and decided that now was the perfect time! The initial portion of the scenic loop, beginning in Durango, CO, was full of stunning mountain scenery - tall snow-capped peaks in the distance surrounded by deep green evergreens and newly leaved aspens, and waterfalls everywhere we looked! - as we traversed the numerous tight switchbacks of Red Mountain Pass. Wow, simply wow! Upon arriving at our first destination, the old-mining-now-tourist town of Ouray, CO, we began our celebration in earnest and in style by spending the first night of our tour at the charming Wiesbaden Hotel. A bit on the pricey side, the Wiesbaden is one of the only resorts in Ouray to boast its own natural hot springs pool (which the town is known for) and the only one to house a Vapor Cave, which was worth checking out if only for the kitsch value (imagine a dark, dank cave with a small, shallow, rectangular cement pool filled with water so hot you feel as if you are being cooked alive and can barely breathe - it was fun!). We arrived in town on the early side and commenced our visit in Ouray with a strenuous (even living at 6,000 feet, the elevation took some getting used to!) but beautiful hike on the waterfall-laden local trail system. The winding trails took us past the picturesque pink limestone pools sculpted smooth by the constantly trickling water, known as the Baby Bathtubs, as well as other numerous areas of rushing water and finally up steep, wooded paths. We definitely earned the relaxing soak that followed in the natural hot springs pool back at the hotel...aaahhhhh! That evening, we kicked off the gluttonous dining portion of the trip with a pre-dinner Cosmo for her and Martini for him followed by a truly delicious meal (Colorado rack of lamb for her, local Colorado steak for him) at the Tundra Restaurant, located in the gorgeously restored, historic Beaumont Hotel. In the morning, we enjoyed a final soak and continued on our journey, but only after checking out the very cool Box Canyon Falls, which even the Brookses deemed worthy of the admission charge.

Back on the road, the scenic mountain wonders continued as we headed over Dallas Divide, home to the expansive lands of the Double RL Ranch (Ralph Lauren's pad), and around the loop towards Telluride, famed for its stunning scenery, black diamond slopes and area residents Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. In honor of Caroline's birthday, we checked into the posh Columbia Hotel, with its scenic mountain-view location right in town and located nearly on top of the San Miguel River, for our remaining 2 nights. Concluding our celebratory glutton-fest, we enjoyed champagne, a bottle of wine and a decadent meal at the hotel's Cosmopolitan Restaurant (which we highly recommend for anyone who happens to be in the area) on the Big Day (June 8). During our stay in Telluride, we took advantage of the gorgeous hiking trails located right in town, hiking to the top of the waterfall (where we got soaked in the mist!) on the Bear Creek Canyon Trail and to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls (also very damp and misty, as waterfalls tend to be). The blessedly flat, but still beautiful and peaceful trail that follows the river all the way through town gave us a needed break from the steep hills without compromising on the scenery. Ultimately, the hotel was beautiful and stylish, the food excellent, the service exceptional, the company superb and, last but certainly not least, the scenery was truly spectacular - it was everything this Birthday Girl could hope for...until next year, anyway!