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Author: Clint Viebrock

[click "Play" to listen to Mickey Raphael's conversation with Clint]

 

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Willie (Danny Clinch photo)

Willie Nelson and Family are the Sunday night closer for the 18th Telluride Blues and Brews Festival (September 16-18, 2011). "Willie Nelson?" you ask. "At Blues and Brews?" Well, yes. Because Willie can do it all. Case in point: Have you listened to  Willie's "Stardust" album? I rest my case. And a key part of the Willie Nelson sound is the harmonica of Mickey Raphael.

Raphael has been part of Willie's band for some three decades, and unless you have paid attention you might not have noticed: he is the consumate side man. But take that harp out of the mix and guaranteed you would miss it.

06 September, 2011 /

Labor Day in Telluride means the end of the annual Telluride Film Festival. Elsewhere it's a four-day weekend that marks the end of Summer. Designated a holiday since 1884, Labor Day was instituted to celebrate the contributions of labor to the national welfare of...

05 September, 2011 /

 

Late Summer in the mountains. After weeks of rain any time of the day, we've got a forecast of brilliant sunny weather for a few days. What to do?

The answer for my friend Todd Hoffman and me: a motorcycle guy trip. First we thought we'd head for the Utah desert, but it looked like it might be a bit warm, so we elected to stay in the high country. Mostly familiar, but always changing and the roads were made for riding bikes.

The destinations were easy, and the ways to get there, endless. We spent three nights on the road in Aspen, Denver and Gunnison. But the rides- not the shortest way to get to any of them. I met Todd at his place 3 miles up a gravel road outside of Ridgway. A gravel road is just a warm-up for my BMW F650GS. Todd was riding his recently rebuilt 1972 Norton Commando, a beautiful bike (I offered to be the baggage car with my new Caribou hard cases), especially if you're riding light.

30 August, 2011 /

  Ted Hoff, owner and trainer at Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel, spends a lot of time with the dogs in his care, and he knows when it's a good time to have the camera ready. Check out this video of two young pups playing in...

26 August, 2011 /

Joe Kimm, my former father-in-law and a friend and mentor for over fifty years, will turn 100 years old on August 18, 2011. We learned yesterday that Joe's flying career, which spanned 42 years of Northwest Airlines early history, has earned him a place...

04 August, 2011 /

The plein air artists working around Telluride this week always bring me pleasure by showing their unique perspectives on this beautiful place we call home. This morning on our morning walk, we encountered painter Jim Wodark right outside our door, working in the...

30 June, 2011 /