Mountain Words Festival in Crested Butte, CO

Elena wanted to attend the Mountain Words Festival in Crested Butte, CO over the Memorial Day weekend, so we loaded up the camper van and planned a 10-day trip there.

The first day was a long drive day - our longest yet at 540 miles. It got us through Texas (just ahead of a some bad storms) and to the Sierra Grande rest stop in New Mexico. Sierra Grande is the tallest extinct volcano in New Mexico at 8,723 feet.

That left us with about 325 miles to drive the next day - mostly up and down mountains. It was a pretty day, and we enjoyed some beautiful scenery along the way. We had lunch along the Arkansas River. We stopped at Monarch Pass (11,312 feet) and Bebop found out that a deep snow pile would not support her weight. 

Elena and Paul near Westcliffe, CO

Our lunch spot along the Arkansas River

Monarch Pass - Bebop is playing king of the snow hill

We arrived in Crested Butte by mid-afternoon and settled into our campsite, less than three miles from downtown. 

Our camper van is dwarfed by the mountains

There was a free event the first night. Rebeca Boyle gave a talk about her book "Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are." I'm a science nerd and know a lot about the moon, but she opened up some new and interesting areas of thought about our orbital companion. Here's a review link. Book link.

That evening, a cold rain moved in, and it turned to snow overnight. Very light at our campground, but the hills above us had a fresh white coating the next morning. That morning, Elena had booked a geology Jeep tour. We were unable to go up into the mountains due to the overnight snow, so we headed a bit south and viewed and discussed the local geology from there.

Geology tour overlook

Elena attended the festival for the remainder of the day, while Bebop and I hiked around various local trails. Bebop found a few sticks to chew.

Stick transporter

Stick shredder - that's Crested Butte in the back

That evening, we attended another free talk by Kevin Fedarco, author of "The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon." Book Link.  He has a new book out called "A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon." Book link. His talk covered both books and featured some spectacular photos and video clips.

Kevin and his friend, National Geographic photographer Pete McBride, set out to hike the entire length of the Grand Canyon. It's 277 miles on the river, but due to the difficulty of finding your own hiking path in the heart of the canyon, it became a 750 mile, year long hike. This could have ended as one of those stories of how people died in the Grand Canyon. But instead, he returned with new wisdom and even more reverence for our wild, natural spaces. He met with members of native tribes who have lived in and around the canyon for 10,000 or more years. He saw signs of their minimal impact habitation. And he saw the threats - from the Hualapai skywalk and helicopter tours, to the proposed tourist tram to the confluence of the Little Colorado. He also heard the wisdom of the people who have been stewards of the canyon - and that we should listen to, and learn from, them.

Kevin said in the dark of night the river was below and the river of stars was overhead. One of the things he most remembered was the silence, and how we've lost that in our modern world. And probably the biggest lesson was that we shouldn't just protect the Grand Canyon, but all the natural wild and beautiful places that have somehow managed to evade our constant encroachment and development. The canyon can make people seem insignificant, yet people wield great power to destroy these amazing places.

On our final full day, Bebop and enjoyed an 8-mile hike and some great scenery. It was mostly flat - only about 500 feet of elevation gain.

Crested Butte

Bebop on the trail. The snowy mountains blend into the clouds.

Paul on the trail

- Paul