Summer giddiness

This morning a neighbor's golden retriever, Morley, was struck by a jolt of puppy-mania and reeled around an empty field in wild figure-eights of joy. I could relate.

Summer in Crested Butte is like young love, like caffeine without the jitters. My family’s business, the Old Town Inn, just hosted two young men from Norway, who after their first day asked: “Why is everybody so happy here?” I’d call it summer-giddiness.

The summer Crested Butte Magazine hit the stands three weeks ago, and I’ve been meaning to post a blog ever since. But each day has flown by with that task still on my list. Let me take a moment now to invite you to spend some time with this issue. I like this summer 2010 sampler of Crested Butte’s fascinations.

 As much as it brings glory, summer also brings work. I’ve invested much of my time lately at the Old Town Inn, planting the window boxes, sprucing up the gardens, working at the front desk and talking with guests beaming from their early-season hikes, bike rides and memorable meals. Not a bad job description. 

I also try to get out several times a week to hike, and every time I come back renewed and amazed at nature’s artistry. The wild geraniums, larkspur and lupine on the Upper Loop today were like vast bouquets.

It’s been a big week for wildlife, too. I saw a bear meandering down the hillside by Larkspur Lake when I walked my dog one recent evening. Those mountain bluebirds are showing up in flashes of turquoise, and I’ve never seen so many hawks as in the last couple of weeks. A porcupine has moved into a culvert near my house, and the foxes make regular appearances around here at the edges of the day.

Last weekend my son did the Cart to Cart Fun Run, slogging 11 muddy miles out Brush Creek Road, over Trail 409 and into Camp 4 Coffee in Crested Butte South (the hard-core ran 19 miles from the downtown Camp 4). I loved the energy of the day, watching kids and adults cheering their parents or spouses across the finish line. Long after the running was over, people lingered and socialized; summer’s like a party nobody wants to end.

 When I got back to the Old Town Inn that afternoon, the guys from Norway announced that they’d changed their travel plans to stay an extra few days in Crested Butte. They didn’t ask again why people are so happy around here. After a few days of bike rides, great meals, brews on sunny decks and hanging out with other people who couldn’t drag themselves inside, they figured it out on their own.