Beyond Telluride

For those of you who enjoy "stargazing" and star watching, mark your calendars for a week of lovely stellar viewing. A graceful waning Moon cups the delicate Pleiades star cluster in the predawn sky the morning of July 8th. On the 9th,...

[Scott, Nancy and Elisabeth discuss the Dalai Lama's birthday party; click "Play"]

"For as long as space endures / And for as long as living beings remain / Until then may I too abide / To dispel the misery of the world," the Dalai Lama's daily prayer.

Newsletter 13 Telluride's five-star Wilkinson Public Library is throwing an all-day birthday party. The guest of honor is a man born Lhamo Dhondrub on July 6, 1935 to a humble farming family in the village of Takster in northeastern Tibet. At age two, this man was proclaimed the tulku or rebirth of the 13th Dalai Lama. He is now His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, living in India as the spiritual head of a government-in-exile along with the 80,000 exiles who followed him.

by Tracy Shaffer

What do you do when you discover royalty has just taken up residence in the neighborhood? Throw a party of course! It was all feathers and fringe as the Flappers and Pharaohs funder took hold of the Denver Art Museum Friday to honor the arrival of Tutankhamun.The band played The Duke, festive femmes, legs akimbo, danced the Charleston, (candy) cigarette girls and bare-chested Nubian slaves roamed while Roaring 20s clad guests raised a glass to the Boy King in Denver's own angular wonder, the Hamilton Building.

After a welcome by DAM Director, Christoph Heinrich,  world-renowned archeologist and Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities,  Zahi Hawass, engaged the crowd with tales of Tut and rhapsody on a life of constant discovery. Now, onward to the gallery as we 550 were the first to preview the pithy exhibit.

by Erik Dalton

Andy Bagnall Surfing The 3rd Annual Ridgway River Festival at Rollins Park in Ridgway, CO on Saturday, June 26, was a huge success and a great day of fun along the banks of the Uncompahgre River. Jagged Edge, as well as the Telluride Kayak School, event sponsors, were there with a fleet of demo kayaks and a series of free kayaking clinics to help introduce folks to the sport.

Junk of the Unc Race As midday approached and the temperature steadily climbed, it was time for a series of fun races open to all species of  river rats: down-river races for kayaks, racing kayaks, inflatables, and make-it-yourself contraptions to compete in the "Junk of the Unc" race. A kayak rodeo in the mid-afternoon rounded out the fun. Imagine whitewater kayakers competing on a set of waves for who could throw the best tricks and impress the judges the most.

 

By D. Dion

(editor's note: Telluride Kayak School and Jagged Edge are very much involved in the Ridgway River Festival this Saturday, June 26. There are opportunities to try out kayaks, or just enjoy being on the river. In addition, Telluride Kayak School is holding a 2-day beginner clinic this weekend. Check out the website for information.)

If you think the only things landlocked Colorado can thank Hawaiian culture for are loud floral dress shirts and the ukulele, think again: Stand Up Paddling has made the migration from the islands to our rivers, and there are already a lot of whitewater junkies on board the new trend.



Telluride Inside... and Out goes behind the scenes at Crow Canyon with Vice President of Programs Mark Varien, who has worked in the Crow Canyon research department since 1987.
 
Between 1987 and 1997, Varien directed Crow Canyon excavations at numerous archaeological sites. He earned a Ph.D. from Arizona State University, and won a Society for American Archaeology award for the best dissertation in archaeology in the United States for his investigations of regional settlement patterns. His paper later became a book:"Sedentism and Mobility in a Social Landscape: Mesa Verde and Beyond."