We woke up early Tuesday. We were heading to Telluride Colorado and the mountains are best flown during the still morning hours. I had planned a scenic route through the Rockies to Telluride. Nature had other ideas though.
The wildfires around Kremmling and others further West had made for some pretty thick smoke in places. Also we had to be out of Telluride on Saturday latest and the weather forecast was looking like it might not be a good day to depart.
While I really wanted to land at TEX, (Telluride), the second highest airport in the USA, I felt that with a new plane and many unknowns I needed a safer plan. Plan B was Durango. Durango is 50 miles South but sits on a plain at only 6689 feet. I also changed our route to fly South along the front range, cut over Hayden Pass and then Fly South around the last of the really high terrain into Durango, CO.
It was a great flight, we started at 10,500 and stepped up to 12,500 for the pass and some terrain to the West. We got flight following and easily flew our route. The views were only marginal though with the smoke and haze. I had called ahead to Durango on Monday and they were expecting us, we had great service, were marshalled into a good spot and they brought the rental car to the plane.
Mountain fuel is expensive but if you bought 20 gallons they waved all fees. The fees without buying gas were $100 so it’s a no brainer to get gas. I have found that in most places they really incentivize you to get some gas over paying the fees. Figuring parking was worth at least $15/night parking, it was some of the cheapest fuel we bought.
All of our stops have had nice FBOs and Durango was no exception. The facility is nice, the people are friendly, the service is good, and they even sent us off with cold waters and snacks.
Landing at Durango meant we had to drive up to Telluride, or I should say we got to drive up as it is a beautiful trip and just 2 hours. You start on the plain and then ascend the Rockies to reach Telluride. As we were driving the weather was changing though. By the time we arrived there were dark clouds. This is another reason why you fly early in the mountains.
Our first afternoon was a bit rainy but we dropped by to see some friends and had a great time chatting and snacking. Our friends put out a spontaneous feast of cheese, fruit, sweets, and other goodies. After the rain we head out to explore the town.
Telluride the town is about 1 mile by .25 miles but the northern part of town is mostly houses so it is basically a mile of shops 3 blocks wide. Everything is walkable which makes it convenient to get around. We walked to the park and the down Main Street. The place was pretty busy.
Telluride also has some satellite areas up the mountain. There is a free gondola that takes you up to Mountain Village so we decided to take a joy ride. The gondola was put in to reduce vehicle traffic and facilitate tourism. We went up and down and enjoyed the views. We didn’t have time to sightsee because we were getting hungry. When we got down we ordered some food and called it a night.
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