24 Mar 2024, 4:06pm
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Texclipse:  A Music Festival with a Telluride Connection

Have you made plans for April 8 yet? You know, that’s the much talked about, much anticipated day when a big swath of the United States from Texas to Maine will experience a total solar eclipse. A once-in-a-lifetime event for many people, if you find yourself in the right place, you can experience over three minutes of darkness in the broad daylight. Huh?

Yes, it’s a super cool happening and a good reason to create even more of an event around it. That’s exactly what fellow Telluride ski instructor, Macy Brooks, has done with her planning of the Texclipse Music Festival. Macy did a dry run with this event back in October during the solar eclipse, so this gal has the days of April 6, 7 & 8 cued up for lots of fun and excitement.

Originally from Junction, Texas, the town where Texclipse is taking place, and experienced at organizing all kinds of events, including motorcycle rallies, Macy found it fitting to create added animation around this unique occasion in her hometown. Situated within the renowned Texas Hill Country, just over a hundred miles from San Antonio and a bit more from Austin, Junction is pegged to be one of the best places in the country to fully experience the eclipse. And, of course, the chances of having a clear, sunny day are far greater in Texas than in Maine. Translation:  the extended weather outlook for the eclipse is terrific.

Miss Macy Brooks

Macy has put together a lineup that showcases some of the best of Texas. In terms of music, there will be country, red dirt, rock and a bit of blues. Sunny Sweeney and Grammy-award winning Rick Trevino will be headlining along with a roundup of other top musicians. Since this is Texas, there will also be a chili cook-off, team roping, lots of Texas food and merch vendors as well as a Texas wine tasting. The Hill Country rates tops for the latter, so Macy has aligned herself with a top local vineyard that has produced a robust red with a sizzling label for the eclipse.

The art and science component of the festival promises to be stellar as well. There will be several family friendly presentations by Dr. Sky, the renowned National Space & Science Educator.

And to top it all off, Macy has put together Elope at the Eclipse where you and a handful of other couples can be married by an ordained minister during the actual total eclipse. What a way to create some magic between you and your beloved. I hear Bonnie Tyler singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in the background. Dang, those Texans know how to do it up right.

Texclipse Red
15 Feb 2024, 1:32pm
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Twenty-Two Reasons Why I Love Being a Ski Instructor 

Moi in My 20th Season as a Ski Instructor in Telluride

In honor of my twentieth anniversary of teaching skiing at the Telluride Ski Resort, I thought I’d post some of the many reasons why I love being a ski instructor.

-I’m paid to ski in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

-I’m part of a big family that is the Telluride Ski & Snowboard School. The camaraderie we share among our fellow instructors, supervisors, managers and other mountain workers is tops.

-It’s wonderful to spread rainbows and sunshine everyday; we are truly the cheerleaders of the hill and the people who spend the most time with the guests.

-I love teaching.

-My job requires me to be playful, especially when teaching kids, however, I’ve found that adults respond well to play also.

-I love socializing. Instructors need to be very social; we are people people. We are often social planners, especially when it comes to facilitating a guest’s experience on the mountain.

-Teaching children to ski and spending time with them fills a big whole in my heart that was created when I was not able to have children of my own.

-It’s most convenient to have a locker right at the base of the slopes.

-Ski School provides us with many opportunities to work on our own skiing and I take advantage of as many training sessions as possible.

-I like being a part of PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America) where the emphasis is on continuing education. They can be kind of nerdy but that’s part of what we do, particularly when it comes to technique.

-I think of my father most every day when I’m on the mountain and feel gratitude toward him for introducing me to skiing and Colorado. 

-I do like wearing a uniform and red is my favorite color.

-There’s nothing like fresh air and exercise.

-I eat pretty much whatever I want during ski season since as instructors that are out in the cold many, many long days in a row, we burn a lot of calories.

-I like the perks we have, including pro discounts on lots of goods and services and free skiing at many resorts. It’s also nice to receive reduced price and complimentary lift tickets to Telluride that I can share with friends and family.

-It’s interesting to meet all kinds of people from all over the world and to turn them on to skiing.

-I like to play chairlift games.

-I feel that I’m pretty good at chairlift therapy i.e. convincing a woman why should she cultivate an interest in skiing when she’d rather be at the beach. (I like to say that families that ski together stay together and also that maybe you don’t want to send your partner away on one more guy’s trip to the slopes.) 

-It’s a wonderful feeling to have worked out in the cold all day and go home to a cozy interior to thaw out.

-I like developing a side to myself that was not so apparent throughout my life, especially during my Paris days. Self empowerment through sport has become a theme for me these past two decades.

-It’s nice not to have to wait in lift lines when I’m teaching. (Although not nearly as busy as other big resorts, Telluride has become quite busy during the vacation weeks.)

-We are an eclectic group within the Telluride Ski & Snowboard School–young and old, from all kinds of backgrounds with all kinds of fortes that distinguish each and every one of us. It’s fun, for example, sitting on the bench (in the locker room) with a twenty-something and still feeling no ageism because our common language is the ski and riding experience that we all offer. Translation:  this ‘ole gal has some good pearls of wisdom to offer to many of the youngins, even if they can ski circles around me. 

Why twenty-two? It’s my favorite number.

Tune into KOTO.org tonight, Thursday, February 15 at 6:30pm MST to listen to my Travel Fun interview with Tim Williams, Director of the Telluride Ski & Snowboard School. Talking about sliding is almost as good as doing it.

 
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    This blog is a personal blog written and edited by Maribeth Clemente. This blog sometimes accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content. The owner of this blog is sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, Web sites and various other topics. Even though the owner of this blog receives compensation for certain posts or advertisements, she always gives her honest opinions, findings, beliefs or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blogger's own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
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