The abridged Telluride recap.

I don't know if it was all that delicious New Belgium beer, the good people watching, the strong sunshine, the gorgeous scenery, the robin-egg cloudless sky, the awesome tunes, or the other un-mentionable substances, but when Jenn looked over at me and said I love my life, I couldn't have agreed more.

We couldn't have had a more perfect weekend in Telluride. (And this is going to be the last post about Telluride so for the love of god quit rolling those eyes!)

Unlike most everyone else, we stayed in a condo instead of camping. Jonathan's parents own one there and so along with his sister Shira, her friend from Israel Amalia, Jenn's brother Peter, his wife Ali, and some young man whose name escapes me, we made the most of showers and toilets and a kitchen and a balcony overlooking main street, and the other amenities that accompany ski-town condo living. Yes, it was most luxurious, despite sleeping in a (comfy) nest on the floor.

The process of festivaling soon became automatic. Breakfast in the morning. Showers and the lathering up of sunscreen. Walking Lucy and her new boyfriend Sammy before heading out for the day. Spreading the tarp and blankets out and setting up low-slung chairs. Getting settled. Buying a smoothie because of trying to hold out until noon for a beer. Buying a beer, and then more beer as the afternoon wears on. My beer of choice this weekend was New Belgium's Loft. I think maybe once I tried something else. After beer, buying cokes after dark for Bourbon. (The unofficial rule being: No Bourbon until dark. You know, pacing oneself is key at TBF.)

As the bands came on we would consult the official TBF program. Assess who we liked and who we really wanted to see. We shared what we knew about each band, where they were from. Everyone was good. You could have been bad and still have been good. I discovered I loved Kathleen Edwards, Hot Buttered Rum String Band, the John Butler Trio, the Burnett Family Band (they gave me goosebumps--they were 2 daughters and a son and the parents, all so very talented!), and King Wilkie. I already knew I loved Wilco, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Split Lip Rayfield. Yonder Mountain String Band, sort of surprisingly, put on the best show in my opinion.

The best things about the Telluride Bluegrass Festival are the things that are so distinctly Telluride. Pastor Mustard, the MC. A cornball, but lovable just the same. Sam Bush and Emmylou Harris, king and queen of Telluride, respectively. New Belgium Brewing Company . KOTO, the radio station that broadcasts the festival live. The gondola that takes people back and forth between Mountain Village and the town. Town Park itself, and the ever-present view of that beautiful waterfall. Peoples' homemade flags (one near us was one of those swiffers). Autumn Teneyl , the clothing vendor I had a mild obsession with. Spicy Greens, a delicious salad served up year after year. Biota, a new biodegradable bottled water. Straw cowboys hats and cigarette butt collecting contests and hula hoops and all feet wearing Chacos and the Utne Reader ring toss and the sound of the river running nearby and the Laidlaw shuttle busses and the kids having meltdowns in wagons and Elks Park where we watched a friend perform in the band contest. Margaritas, strong-ass margaritas, at Cornerstone Grill and iced lattes at the Steaming Bean. We even had Shabbat.

All of it was so wonderfully, wind-erfully, environmentally-friendly Telluride. All of it.

Alas, the memories live on.....hopefully we'll be back again next year. I know Yoni and Jenn will be.

Check out the slideshow of our trip here!