Publisher's Notes Summer 1996

Fasten your seat belts as you're about to be whisked into one of the most incredible mountain towns around ~ lovely Telluride, Colorado. Telluride is a Rocky Mountain Shangri-la with a lot of perks and bennies. As you dive into TellurideStyle magazine, you'll find we've highlighted most all of them in our summer calendar, festival and recreational sections. Our departments unveil the area's finest sporting establishments, dining hot spots, shopping experiences, fine art colonnades, liquor stores and so much more. (Doubling as Telluride's In-Room Guest Directory, you can effortlessly turn to any of these sections by using the tabs.)

Our features bring forth the iatrical and often times provoking aspects of Telluride. Writer, Michelle Kodis, investigates the past and not-so-talked-about present influences of the area's Native American in The Blue Sky People. Kodis sheds light on the Ute Nation's current dogma, challenges and agenda in the San Juan Mountains. Daniel Rollinbear, a Lakota Tewa-Pueblo Indian, has developed a name for him here and says, "It's a time for all of us to get reacquainted with Nature and her many fine qualities." Kodis also writes about Norwood, Colorado, in The West Side Story and a true legend of the West, Bill Carstens, the "grand daddy of environmental real
estate." All her stories impart the quintessence of the Colorado spirit.

Morton Dagawitz, a still heart-broken Brooklyn Dodger fan and a shutterbug for the AP and UPI, contributes both photos and text in the article Auspicious Autumn. As the year's most glorious season, Dagawitz's tantalizing prose on the subject is sure to make you return to see its brilliancy. Who better than Mr. Dagawitz to write an article on one of this town's most fantastic couples, Howie and Lois Stern. (They are very good buddies.) TellurideStyle has written several other profiles on local personalities - Tootie McNair and Diana Fisher, owners of The Beauty Parlour, Julie McNair, owner of McNair Gallery and Jon Fisher, a local singer and songwriter. Through these personalities, you'll be able to discern the true, rich character of this quaint mountain community.

And then there's a quick essay on fly-fishing written by my older brother, Tom, who frequents Telluride. Tom has fished the waters of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Arizona and Colorado more avidly than any other human being we know. Though there's a bit of nepotism here, he has a fantastic wealth of information on the subject, plus we didn't have to pay him anything.

Finally, we are most excited to have a new writer involved with TellurideStyle magazine. Her name is Mary Bevington. Majoring in English at Colorado College, Mary's command of the language and poetic style captivate an audience from the on-set. Her fine contributions are Wildflowers and InfoStyle ~ Speedway to the Internet.

As with most everything, the beginning is the most important part of any work. And, so my search for a front cover photo was minds taking to say the least. But when I ran across the photo, I knew it was not one that spoke a thousand words, but rather a million about Telluride. This one photo seemed to be something only the Walt Disney Studios could have simulated. It's a "Kodak moment" in that it captures all elements one would ever want in a photograph; the strong emotion of love, incredible and intriguing subject matter, balance, resolution...the list goes on. Page Teahan, the photographer, deserves a standing ovation for this photo.

So, without further ado, please meet Lissa Gilmour-Margetts and her mountain lion, Ruby, at their home on Wilson Mesa. Their story is so rare and unique that, as I write this (mid-March) National Geographic Society is flying out here to research, write and photograph their situation. On page 94 you'll find a profile on Lissa and Ruby. Another story well worth reading.

Finally, I must congratulate and thank photographers Michael Bush, Michael Butterfield, Morton Dagawitz, Bill Ellzey, Jack Pera, Melissa Plantz, C. Greg Schultz, Greg Simpson, James Stevens, Johnnie Stevens, Page Teahan, Linde Waidhofer, T.R Youngstrom as well as the artist/illustrators Birdi Boyd, Ellen Brody, Julie Shore and our advertising director, Bruce Kinsey. Never has our company been presented such quality workmanship and variety. These people's works are what make TellurideStyle magazine such a "looker." We acknowledge and vastly appreciate all their gallant efforts. The town of Telluride is filled with a treasure trove of talented people, things-to-do and places to-see ~ this is for certain. We at Bush & Associates, Inc. hope you find Telluride as enchanting as we do. Enjoy your stay.