Mountain Gazette: Fayhee & Frank at Telluride Library, 6/16

If you've ever read (or written for) the Mountain Gazette ("When in doubt, go higher." ) then you know it's a classic Mountain Time Zone rag. We are so fortunate to have both John and B in town on the eve of Bluegrass as they hit the road to launch their new books "Bottoms Up: Greatest Hits from the Mountain Gazette" and "Livin' the Dream: Testing the Ragged Edge of Machismo." They'll read, we'll listen, and then swap stories about this West we call home; what's right, what's wrong, what's to be done, and which regional microbrew rules. At the heart of it all are the surroundings we choose to live, work and play in, float through and fight for. Afterward, there'll be live music by Bay Area band Calaveras on the terrace. Storytelling from the gut, then music under the stars; ain't life grand?

From 1972-79, Mountain Gazette was considered to be "the best and most influential outdoor publication in the Known Universe" and it "paved the way for an entire generation of well-known outdoor writers, photographers, thinkers, philosophers and pundits to practice and hone their skills in a rough-and-ready environment before the glossy and sanitized coming of Outside and Backpacker." Then, it disappeared. Fast forward to 2000 and into the mind of Colorado journalist John Fayhee and a gaggle of new folks with something to say and voila, Issue 78 hit the press. Since, it has been honored by Utne Reader as the Best Regional Publication in the country. "We serve as the official unofficial voice of the mountains and the mountain culture" the MG website declares, and we can't wait to wrap that blanket around us this Wednesday night at 6pm at the library.