Days 20 - 24 - 2/8/10 - 2/12/10 - Telluride, CO

"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built." - Eleanor Roosevelt

I'm here in Telluride and I am not sure I mentioned this, but Telluride has been my final destination since the outset of this adventure. For most of my journey and while getting used to new settings in Telluride, it can be difficult to stay current with my write-ups. In an effort to get caught up, I am going to cover this first full week (2/8/10 through 2/12/10) in this one post. I write the bits and pieces every day so the memory bank is in check (sometimes it is not) and then I sit to organize, edit, make video and send to you. Thus the delayed days. So before we get into it, check out this cool video of my very first drive into Telluride. Couple things to note. First, is that this is a long winding road...the only one that leads into Telluride and the only one that can get you out. The town is as remote as I have ever seen and it literally sits in the mountains. Second, the first real view of Telluride Mountain is at the 1:16 mark of the video. Look off in the distance. It's a dominant view when you first see it. When I first get into town you can see the High School off to the left (big brick structure) in the near distance. Last thing. Probably the most historic buildings in Telluride are the San Miguel Courthouse and the New Sheridan Hotel. Both are next to each other and both are around the 3:05 (Courthouse....with the clock tower) and 3:14 (Hotel) marks of the video. I end the video with a scenic view of the entire town of Telluride (from a Gondola). Music is "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay and I like how it fits the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoGjI4JpEtw

Day 20 - 2/8/10 - Today is Monday and where I might normally feel gross from Superbowl Sunday unhealthiness, here in Telluride I feel ok. The establishment where I viewed the game is here http://www.browndogpizza.net/ and fortunately I was able to control my eating and drinking. What I could not control were the somewhat crazy New Orleans Saints fans that were in attendance. Here they are, after a Saints touchdown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oclSMrJr1hA. Brown Dog Pizza has a New England flare to it. It's owned by one Boston guy and another guy who was roommates with Tom Brady at one point while attending Michigan. Pretty cool. They have some Brady signed jerseys and other New England paraphernalia. Makes me feel right at home. Until I walk outside and see enormous mountains!

Day 21 - 2/9/10 - It is Tuesday in Telluride and unfortunately upon my arrival to town I came across a scene that has the entire town in shock. Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKoWk-xvDUM. I have only been here for a few days and it did not take me long to understand the impact of this event. Baked in Telluride (BIT) was one of the more popular establishments in the town. I have included pictures above and I am sorry that this town lost a piece of its character. It still has plenty left.

Day 22 - 2/10/10 - By Wednesday of this week I felt comfortable about having my feet on the ground here. Part of my issue is that I do not like the "throw yourself out there" attitude. In one respect that makes it hard for me to meet people. In another respect I am not the new guy in town that is too loud. And I have seen it before already; someone walks into a bar and makes too much an appearance. People are so nice here and they likely would not tell the guy he is a jackass, but they eventually pay no attention to him. Basically, I am not that type, nor do I care to be that type. I've taken a slow approach. Today I met a woman who is the President of Telluride Youth Soccer. I told her my background in coaching and she was immediately interested in seeing if I would coach. This was great because I definitely miss that part of my life back in Boston. She also opened the door to several other individuals who I met today. Mick is the owner of The Steaming Bean and that is a coffee shop on Main St. He is English, loves soccer and immediately invites me to indoor soccer tomorrow (Thursday) night. The day just keeps getting better. I make my way up the Gondola to go into Mountain Village. This is what I see when I step off the Gondola http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoZNG3yJ9so. If you can't tell it is tiny kids learning to ski on a tiny slope. The have a pseudo conveyor belt (the black strip between the snow areas) that takes the kids up the hill, then they ski down. They ski about 30-40 yards down the hill and without missing a beat they hop on the conveyor belt and get back up the hill. It cracked me up to watch it, but I could not help but think that these tiny kids will be the next best thing on the mountain in a few years. Kids are fearless and most of them that I see on the mountain are fast and near flawless.

Day 23 - 2/11/10 - Today is Thursday and I've had a busy day. I started off in Telluride dropping my resume off to a few places. When you work for certain outfits in the town and on the mountain you get a season pass for free (or a significant discount). Given the price tag of $1,800 I figured I would try. And it is also a great way to meet people so there is no harm in that. Trouble is I am coming in mid season and there is not much available. I'll give it a shot and see what happens. After I dropped off the resumes I went to the public library and got the lay of the land there. The place is amazing. I know I use that word a lot, but it really is. The people are very nice and they have a ton of books, videos and everything. It's all free. Basically I can check out as many movies as I want for a week. I was signed up with library card in hand after ten minutes there. Sara worked the magic and she got a kick out of me and my reaction to how generous the library is in their approach. Are other libraries like this? I then made my way into Montrose, the closest dwelling to Telluride that has larger retail stores. I basically made a grocery run.....50 miles there and 5o miles back. The way it works here; you go to Montrose, you spend a 30-40% less on food. Remember my factoid from a previous post? That Telluride has no main stream chains and retail shops at all? That can sometimes equal out to a higher price tag. I also stopped at the Sports Authority in Montrose to pick up indoor soccer shoes for my debut tonight.

I met Mick (coffee shop owner) at the High School gym for indoor soccer tonight. He introduced me to Justin and Anthony. It was a good time although the 8,750 altitude had me struggling a little! I was grateful Mick invited me. Justin is from NH. Not only are Mick and Justin associated with Telluride Youth Soccer (both coach), but Justin works on the mountain and asked me if I would be interested in volunteer work....in exchange for free lift tickets. Two per each time I volunteer. How cool is that? Anthony is from Dublin and unfortunately he flies home tomorrow. Very nice guy and the four of us enjoyed playing on the same team and then hitting a bar after for food and a drink. Good news is they asked me to play again. Bad news is I hope my lungs recover by then!

Day 24 - 2/12/10 - Today is Friday and I have energy. So I am a little embarrassed. I've been here for a week and I have not been on the mountain yet. Truth is, I am not too worried about it. I am taking my time to get acquainted with the town and the people. The mountain and I will have lots of time together in the near future. So I found this help wanted ad in the daily newspaper. It's a company called Elevation Imaging and they are looking for an on mountain photographer. I jumped out of my chair. Many of you may not know this, but I enjoy photography a lot. I have a camera (it was a generous gift) and ever since I received it in June 2009, I have taken approximately 2,000 pictures with it. I suppose that is not a ton, but it's a good amount. Anyway the camera is with me, it has been the source of many of the pictures (not videos) that I post to this blog and I enjoy it. Like I said, I jumped out of my chair, hopped on the Gondola and went over to Mountain Village to the location of Elevation Imaging. I had a resume in hand. When I got there, here was the extent of the conversation. Keep in mind it took me one hour to 1) go to my car and get camera, 2) walk back to the Gondola and 3) take the Gondola from Telluride to Mountain Village:

Me - Energetically - "Hi, I am interested in the position I saw advertised in the daily news."

Elevation Imaging - "Great, what's your name?"

Me - Eagerly - "I'm Nick Richio. I submitted a resume on line and I figured I would drop a hard copy off as well as put a name to the face"

Elevation Imaging "Great. Can you come back tomorrow morning at 9:30am?"

Me - Not like I had a choice - "See you then. Thank you."

Anyway, I meet with them tomorrow morning. I am excited about it as it involves something I am truly passionate about. Oh, I spoke with my sister today and she received a package that I had sent for her, her husband, my nephew and niece. I am glad they received it and it is always good to hear her voice. Remember she and her husband lived in Telluride for five years. I know they love me, but I think they temporarily dislike me because I am here and they are not. They live in Eugene, Oregon. Sorry family. Telluride misses you.

Well, there it is. One week in one post. It was an eventful week. Through things I have done and people I've talked to, I feel like I have been here for a month. Some people (locals here) say it takes years to break into a place like this. I am not close, but I believe if you do things in an effective and subtle manner, then people will respect you up front and maybe, just maybe, have a genuine interest in getting to know who you are.