Mountain Biking??

We spent a couple of days this week in Telluride, which is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful places on earth!

 "This is as close to mountain biking as I'll probably ever get," I happily said to my husband as we began on a trail that looked like this.  Note the smile on my face?  I was not smiling at the end of the ride, because as the trail got narrower and narrower, more rocky, and full of tree roots my tires kept slipping out from under me!  I ended up walking part of it.  But I could not complain too much because the scenery was gorgeous, the weather was a perfect 68 degrees and we didn't meet any bears!  Who could ask for more?

We rode the Gondola back and forth between Telluride and Mountain Village.  Here we are eating dinner at Poacher's Pub in Mountain Village.  I'm even wearing a jacket!  It was beautiful.

We took a couple of hikes the next morning. This is on top of the mountain looking down at the city of Telluride nestled in a little valley in the mountains. Gorgeous or what??

Here is a quote from this week's
Music and The Spoken Word:

"It was 100 years ago that the National Park Service was established to preserve some of America's precious areas of natural beauty.  And now research is starting to prove scientifically what we have long known intuitively. Studies show that spending time in nature calms our nerves, improves our brain function, and boosts our mood.  Just a few minutes outdoors to literally "stop and smell the roses" can lower our heart rates, clear our minds, and even redirect our brain activity away from negative emotions.  Simply put, we feel better when we are outside."

"When we interact with the natural world, we feel less stressed, more focused, more contented and happy.  There's something invigorating about the subtle, yet pleasing stimulation of nature - the sound of a trickling brook, the sight of a bird taking flight, the fresh smell of earth right after a rainstorm.  Nature has an undeniable uplifting effect on us that's hard to define but easy to feel."

And I would add that it helps us feel more creative!

We of course had to visit the Farmer's Market on the way out of town :)

And thanks to my kind, understanding hubby we stopped at several quilt stores along the way to pick up the Row by Row patterns and license plates.  Just two more stops and I will have all of the Western Slope kits.


I hope you have a nice, creative day, hopefully spending some time outdoors enjoying nature!