I'd been told that the stretch of highway from Montrose to Telluride was the "dead zone"-not because of its popularity with murderers, at least I hoped, but because it could be a tough place to hitch a ride. Not so, I found out. At the outskirts of Montrose, my thumb was in the air for less than 30 seconds when Maggie pulled over. Another shocker, another woman. Maggie, with her border collie in the backseat, was driving a big Jeep SUV, and she quickly made it clear that it was a rental. Her Subaru was in the shop, and she was astounded when the insurance agency considered the Jeep a "small" vehicle. Another product of ski culture, Maggie had moved to Telluride in the late 1980s with the intention of leaving after one season. That was a long time ago, and now she's married with a child living in nearby Rico. She said if she were to do it all over again, she wasn't sure she'd move to Telluride. She doesn't believe ski town people are that "into" the mountains anymore, and instead are bent on changing it to fit their city lifestyles. "Everyboy's got slick glasses and thsoe hip-hugger jeans," she said. "I can't understand why anyone would move to such an isolated place and not be into the mountains."
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