Telluride Bluegrass Festival is an incredible experience. The San Juan Mountains tower over the picturesque downtown, thousands of people sway in unison to the music, puffs of smoke punctuate the sky. Total peace, that is what it felt like all weekend long. The music was fantastic, including the Punch Brothers, Kacey Musgraves, and our favorite girl, Brandi Carlile. The festival itself was equally impressive with “sustainable festivation” metal cups for beer refills, water fountains instead of plastic water bottles, and local food options. On Saturday, the festival was temporarily on hold due to severe thunderstorms in the area. Snow dusted the peaks and hail fell in the valley on the day after the Summer Solstice. That is mountain livin’ for ya folks!
There are two campgrounds available for the festival. Luckily, we slept in the back of my Jeep which was definitely warmer than in a tent. We awoke on Sunday morning to ice lining the inner roof of the car. It was an adventure to say the least! Besides the festival, we spent time at Between the Covers book store and coffee shop, my favorite place in Telluride. We also drove the San Juan Scenic Byway from Ridgeway to Cortez, where we visited Mesa Verde National Park. The weekend was ethereal, magical, and utterly beautiful.
