Summer thoughts…

Not to scare anyone (and I’m not talking about this weekend’s return of CB parking ticketers or weird smoky skies), but since last Sunday the days are getting shorter. On last weekend’s Summer Solstice, there were 14 hours, 59 minutes and 45 seconds of daylight. On Friday, June 26 daylight will hang out for 14 hours, 58 minutes and 54 seconds. We’ll be skiing before we know it…

And hopefully it will be a banner year after last season’s slim pickings. That slim ski season is running into this summer and there is legit concern about water and wildfires given how dry it is. Glad the local Forest Service finally joined the rest of the area and entered Stage 1 fire restrictions. Not sure why they waited, but at least they’re there now.

So, word is we are in an El Nino with the expectation and hope it turns into a Super El Nino. Yesssss! If NOAA forecasts are correct, Colorado — especially the Western Slope — could see a wetter-than-normal summer. The Climate Prediction Center’s seasonal precipitation outlook continues to show above-average chances for rainfall in the western half of the state from July through September, according to estimates. Bring it!

In the meantime, we are in the frying pan. It’s hot, dry, crunchy and unfortunately, windy. The paddleboarders on the Slate are starting to scrape bottom and the moon dust on the trails is piling up. The summer orthopedic fashionwear is beginning to be worn by more people (my latest sling is very fashionable), and live music, galas and the summer event scene are all ready to pop off the calendar. Summer is short – but always packed.

Here’s a shout out to the two local businesses in Crested Butte that pump gas and take the biggest hit with backcountry camper trash. Those visiting and camping tend to fuel up before heading home and as is normal, they tend to drop off their camping trash while the fuel tank is replenished. Most of us have probably done that with good intentions in mind, but that’s a giant burden on businesses like both the Gas Café and Ace Hardware. They’re busy enough without having to pick up hundreds of pounds of trash.

So, they have partnered with the town to split responsibilities to provide those backcountry campers with a legit place to dump their trash. Both have provided space (at the cost of a few parking spaces) to situate a dumpster specifically to collect backcountry trash. Talking to Tunkey and Sweitzer this week, they both appreciated the cooperative attitude of the town, the opportunity to help keep our backyard a bit cleaner and the idea of a successful partnership between a government entity and a private business.

Right on. And that’s a good attitude to apply toward other issues we will no doubt see pop up as we head into the heart of the summer busy season.

The flowers are starting to burst around the Wildflower Capital of Colorado. No one is quite sure what this dry summer will hold in terms of blossoms, but the wildflowers are now emerging and suddenly colorful. While not a super bloom type of year for most flowers, the color is out there and I wouldn’t wait too long to check them out as some of those guys look pretty droopy and thirsty already.

The one impressive super bloom that is going off is the Monument Plants. As explained in last week’s Crested Butte News by Dr. David Inouye, the Frasera speciosa is having a summer. Thousands of the plants are popping up and seeding throughout the valley. They may not be as stunningly gorgeous as the colorful fields of columbine or lupine, but what looks like forests of green and white stalks are pretty impressive and out in most of the nearby drainages. Don’t miss them. They don’t appear every year — in fact the last similar summer was 2019 —so count yourself lucky to experience it.

This week unofficially begins the summer push. Unfortunately, part of that includes two memorial gatherings for two young men who left us too soon. Time for connection. The normal summer events, both sanctioned and underground, start this week as well. Time for connection. Then, the Suburbans and Range Rovers roll into town for the six weeks of prime time. Hang in there. Find a quiet spot every once in a while, and pray for peace and for the Super El Nino to bring us a real monsoon.

Here we go. Everyone’s favorite parking enforcement begins Saturday in Crested Butte. That’ll make people happy! The big Lower Verzuh development application will get a hearing July 9. That’ll make people happy! The library district and CB South issue is pretty quiet, but no review date has been set. Is that a happy thing? The Spectrum internet outage Tuesday was tough. Not many people were happy with that. I digress….

We are basically a week away from the July 4 holiday weekend — typically, the busiest couple of days in the busiest month of the busiest tourist season. July is knocking on the door. Locals will be on edge, the internet will be sketchy, parking anywhere will be a cluster. The good thing about it is that most of us can bank some money for the sleepy, wonderful fall when we return to that time for connection. During this final week of June, enjoy where we are, appreciate partnerships, soak in the color and don’t dwell on the shorter days ticking away until December. It is summer in CB.

—Mark Reaman