Valley High

That was my first morning back in Telluride. Just to orient those of you who have not been here, the actual town is nestled in the bottom of that canyon, hidden by snowclouds. The land stretching all the way to the town is the Valley Floor, which is currently populated with a herd of elk and active little coyotes. The right side of the valley is the ski area, the peak in the back is Ajax, which gets bombed most winters to create controlled avalanches, and the left side is the "sunny side".

Despite snow that first morning, the rest of the week was typical, glorious late Indian Summer, hot enough for shorts and tank tops in the sun, absolutely cloudless and with barely a puff of breeze. Because the winter was so epic last season, the summer got a later start than usual, and most folks here felt the summer was just too short, so this weather was very very welcome.

I had a nice long hike up Tomboy Road on the sunny side with Bill and his new dog, Chester, as you can see. Bill and I worked in the Powderhouse (ironic, isn't it?) Restaurant forever ago and always fit a hike or a concert in when I visit. Bill is an official live music nut (especially for Widespread Panic) and he actually used these words to describe his infatuation with them: "It's all your fault." Can you believe it?! He had not experienced them live prior to our time working together and he has since spent countless hours and dollars traveling pretty much everywhere to see them. Rather than being the one who is to blame for his endeavors, I asked that I be the one who gets the credit for turning him on to such a fun band and fan base. Anyway, we had a great hike, caught up on each others lives and some of the local politics--there are some big issues for this small town in the coming election.

Because it is the start of the fall off-season, most shops and restaurants are either closed, open for limited hours, or offering some great specials. And lots of folks are headed out on off-season vacations, mostly desert trips for camping, climbing, hiking and rafting, or surf trips to Costa Rica, Panama or Mexico. It's a nice time to be here, just because there are virtually no tourists and little traffic, and lots of people just hanging around waiting to get a cup of coffee with ME and chat about nothing in particular. Except the local politics. You know how with people it seems that a personality trait has both a light and a shadow side? Same with Telluride. One of the greatest aspects of this town is that people care. And one of the most challenging aspects of this town is that people care. Everyone has an opinion about the future of Telluride, the identity of Telluride and the issues of Telluride. Small town, big issues. I like it and I like learning about what is important to the people here right now, same as in Hawaii, where water, development and the harmony of historical culture with moving into the future are the pressing issues. Telluride's population has practically doubled with the arrival of so many new babies. The current issues? Child care, school expansion and medical center expansion. Voters are being asked to invest their money in children and doctors.

That is the house where I will be this winter. Corina has offered me one of her 3 bedrooms, and I will be right on the bus route, just a few doors down from the cemetary (quiet and nice to stroll through) and we are on the sunny side! Hard to beat, plus great views up Bear Creek. It all worked out quite nicely. We hiked up Bear Creek with her miniature Australian shepherd/sheepy dogs, known as the Double D's (Corina shares that nickname!), for Dallas and Dakota.

Also hiked up to Lake Hope, which hovers above Trout Lake and as you can see from the pictures was more snowy than we had anticipated. Dawn and I used to live together and she now has two kids, Charlotte and Kayden, and she and her husband Jeremy live a few doors down from where I am staying with KJ and Homer on this trip. I actually lost my camera on this hike but managed to get it back effortlessly--there was a hiker behind us who climbed Vermillion Peak that came upon it and left it at the trailhead for me to pick up the next morning--we left my number with his family and it saved me doing that same hike on Sunday morning again! It's pretty steep. And I was tired.

There's Dawn breaking trail ahead of me. The lake was not yet frozen over and actually looked like a million glittering diamonds when the breeze picked up and rippled the surface towards us.

I also hiked up to one of my favorite spots ON EARTH, which I call the Sacred Homestead. You can see the old chimney and the site where a house stood, and the view of Silver Bowl, a crescent-shaped range of peaks that tower over a lake that is just hidden from view by the trees. This is up at Alta Lakes, and is one of the most peaceful places I have been.
Believe it or not, it was warm enough to lie down without much on and listen to the fluttering of the camp robbers' wings as they flew over me, for the better part of an hour. Of course this photo does not begin to capture the sensation of that range towering over and the clarity of the air and the intense warmth of the sun, but you will have to take my word for how fabulous it all is!

And then here is the lake itself and if you look carefully in the bottom right-hand corner you can just make out a house, called the Observatory. It was built in the 70's by a couple who still live here and I lucked out and happened to date Swany, who was a caretaker for it for some years. We had parties like you would not believe. It is accessible in the witner only by snowmobiling in, or cross-country skiing, I think 6 or 8 miles. We would load up with food and drink and what seemed like hundreds of dogs, and find ourselves doing naked cannonballs into the hot tub at 4 am. Good times had by all.

Aside from all that hiking I have been sleeping late, drinking too many lattes and just strolling around spending too mcuh money on gear that I will need for my winter. I got fitted for ski boots (the guy spent TWO HOURS on my feet) and I am fairly certain they will forever feel like velveteen booties, considering the amount of time and money I invested in getting a good fit. Oh, and skis. And bindings. And ski pants. And a ski pass.

I have had some good yoga classes and it seems as though the time to start teaching may be, finally, upon me. The two women who teach Anusara here will be stopping right around the time I return. Which means I may take over some of their classes. I actually feel good about it. I always felt that I would teach at the optimal time, and perhaps this is it. I am excited to give it a go.