This is from an email I sent out previously:
I am back from Telluride, here are some pictures and a brief write-up. The summer of Mark marches on …
Wednesday morning left Denver around 7 to drive to Ridgway, which is South and West of Denver just over 300 miles. The
landscape is beautiful, especially this year with all the rain Colorado has had. Camped in Ridgway State Park with a
tent, and visited Ouray, which is a very cute Mountain town in a box canyon (think of a dead-end Mountain style, so
everywhere you look is a mountain face). Hiked Cascade Falls. Got up Thursday morning and ran around the park and then
it was off to Telluride.
Telluride is about 90 minutes away from Ridgway. Again the landscape is beautiful, I have never been to Telluride and
couldn’t believe how pretty it was. Through the generosity of friends we were able to pitch our tents in the backyard of
a gorgeous in-town house. We even scored some coveted barricade passes allowing our car into town. The festival is so
well run that despite thousands of “festivarians” the town maintains its quaint feel. The majority of attendees do not
stay or ever drive in the town of Telluride, most are a short gondola ride away in Mountain Village. We were able to
walk back and forth from the festival, about six blocks to the house whenever we wanted a nap, a snack, or a break.
I don’t love bluegrass, but David Byrne of the Talking Heads played, a fantastic Irish band (they were in the steerage
scene of Titanic) called Gaelic Storm, and a few other surprises were fun. I liked Sam Bush, Yonder Mountain String
Band, Railroad Earth, Elvis Costello and Todd Snider. I got a 4 day pass for $155, which was very reasonable. The
security was light, lots of families, not Bonnaroo like at all. You could practically carry a six pack of beer in as
long as it was aluminum. There was unlimited free water, and the food was mostly organic (not sure about the famous corn
dogs Johnny Cash said were the best he ever had, and I thought were gross) and very reasonable.
But the best thing was everything that could be enjoyed outside the festival (it was sunny everyday but Saturday and
there is 12 hours of music everyday, you can only bake in the sun and listen to music for so long).
Thursday I ran the Idarado Trail up into the Box Canyon that envelops Telluride. Friday I hiked up to Bridal veill Falls
(if you have seen the movie UP check out the pictures of that insane house at the top of the falls, look familiar?).
Saturday I ran up one of the ski slopes (Telluride Trail, 1400 vertical feet) up to a midway Gondola station and rode the
gondola back down, and Sunday I took bikes up the Gondola to Mountain Village and road them back down into the valley and
town. Picking a different street in this tiny charming town every time you walked anywhere was another nice treat. The
multimillion dollar houses are ridiculously cute.
Saturday our hosts threw a bbq and we got to play poker in the Billiards room where the Grateful Dead once hung out. For
those of you familiar with T-ride, we were at 527 W. Galena which is the Carradine’s place. The showers and bathrooms
sure made it a deluxe camping experience 
After four days of music, beers, hula hoops (they make big very fun hula hoops nowadays, I am serious) and lots of sun,
it was time to go back to Denver, and I think everyone was very sad to see the valley of Telluride in our rear view
mirror.
It is truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and I was shocked to find it within our borders, in the
good old USA.
Go visit Telluride, you won’t be dissapointed–especially if you go in mid-June when the weather can be perfect.
- Mark
PS I am obsessed with Marmots, I saw my first Marmot on a Frisco to Vail and back bike-ride / fly-fish biathlon early
last week and saw several more in Telluride. I hear they are as common as house cats, but to me they might as well be unicorns, only lazier.
