I'm not sure if it's the regular and abundant moisture in the area or maybe I'm simply more aware, but it seems that mushrooms in the area have generally been bountiful in numbers this late summer. Here's a photo of what I believe is an Amanita Muscaria found while hiking on a trail near Ophir, CO:
I wonder when the Heritage Festival will start showcasing Telluride's "real estate boom" as a significant part of the town's historical record? Perhaps in addition to demonstrations on mining, stage coach rides, livestock, etc., one day there'll be booths with old realtors telling their tales of how it was just one giant unspoken relay race which had an effect on many aspects of life in and around town. "We used to be on all the governing boards, had columns or regular commentaries running in the papers, of course the dark smokey rooms where winks and nods with our favored politicians ruled the day." Of course it wasn't all serious business, "Most of us had given each other fun nicknames - the tourists really fell for some of those". Getting back to the present…
Do not stop for a slice of pizza at the Crazy Elk in the Telluride Mountain Village, it is grossly overpriced in my opinion. A slice of cheese will set you back $4.50 and a veggie or meat slice will be a cool six bucks! I can't remember the language used on the menu, but they called the slices "crazy big". I haven't been to NYC in a number of years, but not long enough to forget what an "average sized NYC slice" is proportioned & the Crazy Elk pizza slice is probably at least 20% less in size. It's actually not bad pizza, but it was infuriating to see that they'd raised the price to $6 for a slice. I had a strange feeling that I should ask how much it costs…
I saw Pretty Lights at the Telluride Mountain Village Conference Center this weekend. It wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but it was still fun. Mostly a younger crowd, many of whom were visiting from out of town, I barely saw any of the usual locals suspects who see live music on a regular basis around town. Speaking of which, there really hasn't been a lot of live music lately ... which is a shame given that many bands will visit Colorado mountain towns yet Telluride seems to get skipped a lot. I believe Pretty Lights is the only show which was booked at the conference center between now and the recently announced Leftover Salmon show on February 25, 2011 ... which you can still get tickets at: http://leftovertickets.jambasetickets.com/evlist.php
The annual Ophir Hill Climb took place this past Sunday morning at 10am on a beautiful fall day which felt more like summer and typically bodes well for those who ride their bikes. The race begins in Old Ophir in front of the town hall and proceeds up to the top of Ophir Pass and back down to the finish line. The race is open to mountain bikers, runners, and of course dogs. Traditionally, when the weather is bad or there is snow on the course, the advantage goes to the runners; however, when there's a dry course, bikers tend to have the advantage. In addition to a dry course this year, much of the dirt road has been graded by the National Forest Service who have been doing a lot of…
Phish took the stage in Telluride Town Park on August 9th and 10th for what was a very memorable set of shows. The band seemed to be in excellent form and was one of the more sought after tickets on the summer tour. Tickets were being scalped on the street for upwards of a few hundred dollars per ticket; however, there was not the major crowds of ticketless phans which people had feared might show up and overwhelm the town. Given that the past few weeks have been VERY rainy, it was amazing to see the weather as almost perfect with clear skies and zero precipitation. The highlights for me were the covers: Quinn The Eskimo, Light Up Or Leave Me Alone, A Day In The Life, and Walk Away, but also liked…
Below is a photo taken in macro mode of an Osha plant in Waterfall Canyon near Ophir, Colorado which has flowered recently. It seems we're pretty much in the peak season with respect to mountain wild flowers in the high country. The roots of the Osha plant are often harvested for medicinal purposes; in particular treating upper respiratory cold and flu symptoms. Osha is the term used for "bear root" by the Ute's who apparently witnessed bears seeking out and consuming Osha root after hibernation or when sick or wounded. Cow parsnip flower looks very similar to that of Osha, but normally has much broader leaves.
The 2010 Telluride Wine Festival is the first year they put on a music segment on the big stage in Town Park. Jackie Greene headlined on Friday and I forgot the name of the headliner on Saturday (something like Kavorka), although the 2nd to last act (voitzen drizen or something like that) received good reviews. On the heels of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, music could be heard throughout the valley for a second weekend in a row. While I am a BIG fan of music in general, I have to admit that I was kind of annoyed at having to hike an hour on the Sneffels Highline trail to escape the booming sound of the bass and simply hear the sounds of birds and other wildlife. I did not officially attend the festival,…
There might be an actual official name for it, but it's what I refer to simply having a decent compact point in shoot camera with you (which can easily fit in your pocket) at all times. Having a camera always with you can lend itself to being in the right place at the right time for either a natural event (i.e. sunset, rainbow, great lighting, etc.) or some other human / group activity which converges at once. Below are a series of photos take simply because I stopped my car on the way out of Ophir (on the Way to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival) and took a few shots of the mountainside during the sunset hours. I guess I'm going to have to figure out the precise names of the slide path picture…
Here's another video clip of Peter Rowan and Crucial Country (with Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Edgar Meyer) at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 2010. I believe this is a Bob Marley song (Every Little Thing), although I can't seem to recall them playing the whole song & this clip is very short and essentially captures a jam segment without any lyrics.