Post 4 "My Escape Into Nature"

So as I was trying to figure out where to go or what to appreciate for my nature experiment.. I found myself frustrated. So I blew it off until this weekend. It came to me... and although I'm not perfectly completing the assignment the way it was supposed to be done, MY nature escape is as real as it gets. To this text's left you will see me... Accompanied by the glorious Wilson Range mountains in Telluride Colorado. The elevation of this picture is at about 12,000 feet and I indubitably felt (literally...) ON TOP OF THE WORLD! Here's some background; My dad is a stressed maniac. No other way to describe is. Actually, as is my mother. Their escape became mine. The first time we went to Telluride was way before I can form coherent memories. It was love at first sight my father claimed. He immediately got to work on constructing his dream haven, his own personal "Utopia". This materialized in 2005, and since we have gone as a family to Telluride as often as we can. I love it there. Living in La Jolla is amazing, don't get me wrong. But cities are noisy and sometimes complete quiet just cannot be found. In Telly, quiet is the norm and it's absolutely breathtaking. To just stand on top of a ski mountain and hear NOTHING is an amazing thing that people would definitely underestimate unless they've experienced it themselves. To the right you can kind of imagine how vast this really is. As I sit here writing this, I'm thinking about the way it smells there (like fresh pine trees), the way the air feels (thin and dry), and the way it sounds there (like nothing). The quiet is beautiful really, because it gives me a chance to completely appreciate one of mother nature's most indescribable treasures; mountains. In a mountainous forest essentially, you can feel so small. That feeling, and the lands vastness comforts me in a strange way. I feel almost part of something that is so immense and divine it's hard to describe. There is no better excitement for me than descending down the mountain on my trusty k2 skis. It's quiet and I'm truly LOVING nature. Another thing I just love about Telluride in general is how small and comfortable it is. Our house is up on the Village but a 15 minute Gondola ride down into the actual town is astonishing as well. To the left you can see a picture I took of the view coming down from the Gondola. The town is so colorful and full of life, it's amazing. Small yet safe Telluride welcomes anyone and everyone. It's located in a sort of valley in between a circular wall of mountains. Just imagine that for a second, because it's honestly amazing. If you're standing in town and you look 360 degrees around you, you'll see mountains everywhere. There is a waterfall to the far right of this picture that you can't see because it got cut off, but it's just another addition to this place that makes it all the more beautiful. (Speaking of waterfalls.. I cannot exclude a reference to Iguazu in Argentina...) So anywho, at the end of the day, this place speaks to me and makes me more in touch with nature than I ever thought I could be.