Publisher's Notes Winter 2003

Welcome

Telluride's beauty emerges each morning. The sun's heat draws the vapory clouds skyward out of the U-shaped valley's nooks and crannies-revealing our quaint Victorian town's Camelot qualities. Though the San Juan Mountains span over 10,000 square miles, you will find Telluride is particularly endowed with an astonishing assemblage of dramatic peaks, beautifully etched canyons and high country mesas that provide you with a bird's eye view of the some of the West's most sublime topography.

For 17 years, Jeff and I have worked and played in Telluride, Colorado. Our business, Bush & Associates, Inc., has thrived on turning people onto the beauty and bounty of Telluride and the region. For nearly two decades, we have indulged in the region's fantastic array of outdoor activities, which for us are mainly biking, horseback riding, hiking and skiing. We have had a long association with these sports and a particularly strong affinity for skiing. Jeff is a fully certified PSIA instructor and I instructed for several years as well. We have skied the vast and varied ramparts of the Rocky Mountain resorts and find we are still enamored with Telluride's qualities. The lift lines in Telluride are short or non-existent, the weather is pleasant-rarely ever too hot or too cold-the high-speed quads whisk you into spectacular scenic runs that ebb and flow with your mood. Whether you want gentle corduroy groomers or off-the-wall expert runs that funnel you through craggy chutes endowed with waist-deep moguls, Telluride beckons you.

What's more ... Telluride is multi-dimensional. It is a place that offers many dynamics aside from outdoor adventures. It's a charmed National Historic District filled with vivacious shopping and dining options garnered by rich personalities and talents. Guaranteed, Telluride's shops and restaurants are far from cookie-cutter formulas. They exude of individual essence or, if you will, have the owners' and chefs' DNA independently stamped on them. Telluride has quickly become southwestern Colorado's cultural hub, too. Performing artists, jewelers, furniture makers, writers, photographers, dancers, painters, interior designers-the list of discovered and undiscovered talents goes on and on. So many locals have found themselves and their reservoir of talents here. Please join us in celebrating the many treasures of Telluride's talent pool for these are the people who add to the flavors of Telluride's great cultural landscape.