All Wrapped Up in a Big Box Canyon

Telluride, Colorado is a beautiful tiny little Victorian mining town in a box canyon with quaint shops and not one Walmart, McDonalds or, well, Goddamn American Conglomerate in sight. It's where Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank... oh and it's freaking expensive! Real estate and groceries are not for the faint walleted here (supposedly Oprah's got a place up here... nuff said). It also happens to offer up some of the loveliest skiing in America.

We spent a lovely Christmas holiday here, where it was cold, yet sunny - so not much snowfall on the slopes... According to the book "1000 Places to See Before You Die" the town's free Gondola up to Mountain Village, is one of the best freebies in The States.



We were spoiled enough to enjoy four days of skiing, stuffing our faces with yum Christmas food and playing Scrabble. One cannot complain at that can they? (Can ya see my mom & dad in the photo???)

In the end, I had to end my SouthWestern adventures by heading to the teeny tiny Telluride Airport (oogling all the tiny private jets while waiting to board) and flying off the cliff and into the sunset. And back to Dublin I went. *sigh*

I Heart Phoenix Park

For those unfamiliar, Phoenix Park in Dublin is a sprawling 1,760 acres of parkland (fields/garden/zoo/swamp) and is the largest urban enclosed park in Europe. And it has deer.

Deer!

It's my favorite place in Dublin to go for a run, in fact, it's probably my favorite place in the world to go for a run - and that's sayin something for a person who grew up in Santa Barbara.

I just love the way it allows you to be immersed in complete nature, while still in the middle of a capital city. My favorite area is the grassy paths of the deer field - soft and winding, magically picturesque and yep, literally full of deer.

As an aside, announced via twitter this morning, Lance Armstrong has invited the public to join him on a cycle through the place - suh-weet! I'm hoping the fella leaves work early to join the party as he's getting well into bicycling with his fancy Specialized Allez 2009. Schmancy. If you want to join Lance, he's meeting at the roundabout next to the big obelisk pillar at 5:30 pm. I sure wish I could go myself! Say hi to my deer friends Lance!

Here's some recent photos of my favorite run spot: