The Bluer The Grasser!
We spent the longest day of the year-summer solstice-in what must be one of the most beautiful cities in the country: Telluride. Telluride is set in a box canyon that dead ends into a towering, snow-capped mountain with a snow-melt waterfall plummeting down its side. From the tiny, funky downtown (which basically is the whole town), you are surrounded by mountains on three sides. And because parking in town is limited, people are shuttled into town from miles away on a free, wind-powered gondola that takes you over the top of the mountains and drops you down into the canyon in the middle of downtown. On the streets downtown, impromptu groups of people played bluegrass on nearly every corner.
Coming into town, we’d turned off into the national forest and found a campsite at 13,000 feet. Snow was still on the ground, and the crumbling remains of a 19th century mining town littered the rough gravel road. It was freezing cold up there (in June, mind you!) but exactly what we’d pictured when we thought “COLORADO.”
The reason we’re in Telluride this weekend actually goes back to our last weekend in Asheville. James and I sat with our two closest friends and the Daniels’ back porch, eating grilled food, sipping margaritas, and bidding goodbye to our lives in WNC. After I put Sheneen and Danny’s baby, Ford, to bed for the last time, I sat on the porch and cried...and drank more margaritas, and Sheneen and I exchanged gifts. For Ford, I’d put together a book of lullabies I’d re-written for him and a “Where The Wild Things Are” growth chart for the kid who is bound to be six foot something in no time. Sheneen, whose company had already given me a week’s worth of gift certificates for Moab, surprised me with one final parting gift-two tickets to Telluride Bluegrass!
So we spent Sunday on a green field at this surprisingly low-key and not surprisingly talent-packed festival, glancing up at the towering mountains and taking in the endless talent on stage, from Emmylou Harris to Sam Bush to Béla Fleck. At the end of the day the sun set behind the stage and all of the best musicians from the weekend played together. We sat with people we’d just met from whoknowswhere, sipping on their contraband rum, dancing, and keeping warm as the temperature dropped to freezing. Jerry Douglas was playing his 25th year at Telluride, and towards the end of the evening he was gifted with a sheep onstage as an anniversary present (apparently Sam Bush received a chicken last year, but it has since died). We got back onto the gondola and soared into the pitch black night with bluegrass still ringing in our ears. Basically, Telluride Bluegrass was totally unbelievable, so thank you Sheneen!!
Telluride pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119717&id=503860738&l=c80926cc0a
Some new farm pictures (at the end of the album): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114092&id=503860738&l=8cc02b30e3
I'm going to work on posting a video of some of the Telluride Bluegrass performances later this week or the coming weekend!
Coming into town, we’d turned off into the national forest and found a campsite at 13,000 feet. Snow was still on the ground, and the crumbling remains of a 19th century mining town littered the rough gravel road. It was freezing cold up there (in June, mind you!) but exactly what we’d pictured when we thought “COLORADO.”
The reason we’re in Telluride this weekend actually goes back to our last weekend in Asheville. James and I sat with our two closest friends and the Daniels’ back porch, eating grilled food, sipping margaritas, and bidding goodbye to our lives in WNC. After I put Sheneen and Danny’s baby, Ford, to bed for the last time, I sat on the porch and cried...and drank more margaritas, and Sheneen and I exchanged gifts. For Ford, I’d put together a book of lullabies I’d re-written for him and a “Where The Wild Things Are” growth chart for the kid who is bound to be six foot something in no time. Sheneen, whose company had already given me a week’s worth of gift certificates for Moab, surprised me with one final parting gift-two tickets to Telluride Bluegrass!
So we spent Sunday on a green field at this surprisingly low-key and not surprisingly talent-packed festival, glancing up at the towering mountains and taking in the endless talent on stage, from Emmylou Harris to Sam Bush to Béla Fleck. At the end of the day the sun set behind the stage and all of the best musicians from the weekend played together. We sat with people we’d just met from whoknowswhere, sipping on their contraband rum, dancing, and keeping warm as the temperature dropped to freezing. Jerry Douglas was playing his 25th year at Telluride, and towards the end of the evening he was gifted with a sheep onstage as an anniversary present (apparently Sam Bush received a chicken last year, but it has since died). We got back onto the gondola and soared into the pitch black night with bluegrass still ringing in our ears. Basically, Telluride Bluegrass was totally unbelievable, so thank you Sheneen!!
Telluride pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119717&id=503860738&l=c80926cc0a
Some new farm pictures (at the end of the album): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114092&id=503860738&l=8cc02b30e3
I'm going to work on posting a video of some of the Telluride Bluegrass performances later this week or the coming weekend!