The first two questions asked at the Telluride Visitor Information Center are typically about restaurants and lodging. Once the necessities of life are covered, the discussion then heads toward what visitors might enjoy while in Telluride. The free gondola is popular, as are the...

What's it like to be one of the last? Were the final dodo birds lonely? Did the few remaining Caspian tigers know that the gig was almost up? It's tough, hanging on by a thread, teetering on the edge of passé. Ask anyone at KOTO, the community radio...

This morning, I awoke to 13 inches of fresh snow and a day unburdened by responsibility, which gave me pause as I stretched and savored my warm bed. Both powder and free time are such a treat that to discover the two colliding for an entire day was a moment...

I've been thinking about my fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Miskovitch, lately. She was a formidable woman with a soaring beehive hairdo and a suffocating bosom. She threw erasers at us if we spoke out...

Health care is a hot topic in today's national news, but it's always been a popular subject in ski towns. It doesn't take much to get a room full of skiers and snowboarders to talk about their injuries and subsequent treatments. Broken bones, dislocated shoulders and torn knee ligaments, in...

Around 1876, before the Town of Telluride was established, settlers made camp a few miles west on the Valley Floor at a homestead they called San Miguel City. Those hardy souls moved here to find their fortunes in the mines, and while that profession left little...

It's dumping Telluride. In other words, we're getting pounded. It's nuking, hammering and puking. (Ski town locals have almost as many terms for snow as the legendary Inuit.) Last night we received a foot of snow, and the fluff continues to pile up. I know that fresh snow in...

The nature of the tight box canyon that cradles Telluride, Colorado, means that it's only a few blocks to the edge of civilization. From my bedroom, I hear coyotes howl. Elk graze on the valley floor right next to the bike path. And black bears wander through town in...

At 8,750 feet above sea level, autumn in Telluride, Colorado, is characterized by wild swings in the weather. Last week, it snowed four inches in town, but over the weekend, I went mountain biking in shorts and a t-shirt. Today, it's sleeting. This schizophrenic season catches some trees still...

I live in the new West, a gentrified place where the streets are paved for the SUVs that roll down them. It's a region where we get decent cell reception and New York Times home delivery. The Telluride, Colorado, of today is a far cry from the original hardscrabble...

Small town living has its challenges: For example, it's tough to fly under the radar when you live in Telluride, a community no larger than an urban high school. Another disadvantage is that one individual can make a huge impact. On the surface, that might sound like an advantage...

This week, I've seen two pick-up trucks parked in town, each stacked with high with firewood. This may be a sure sign of the coming of winter in rural towns across the nation, but it's an uncommon sight in downtown Telluride these days.

When I moved to Telluride in...