Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Day 3

Day 3 of the 40th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival was filled with lots of special moments (as you will see below). What a day.

We kicked off the day with my fiancé's family on a beautiful hike that had a very special surprise ending... 

A proposal! My soon-to-be cousins, Damon and Leanne, got engaged and it was amazing! Talk about an awesome start to the day.  

View of Telluride from the hike down. 

More downtown Telluride... 

And back to TBF we go!

Sam Bush made another appearance, this time with Yonder Mountain String Band. It was a fantastic set ending with Yonder's Jeff Austin uttering two words that melted my heart before walking offstage: "Go Hawks!" He was of course referring to my beloved Chicago Blackhawks, who hours later played and defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals. 

Does it get any cuter? It does: if you look closely you'll notice that he's wearing a Blackhawks t-shirt. 

More Blackhawks love in Colorado! And since we're talking about the Blackhawks, I want to take a second to send a special thanks to Smuggler's Brewpub, where I watched Stanley Cup Finals Games 4, 5 and 6 (all of which the Hawks won). Smuggler's was infiltrated by quite a few Blackhawks fans each game (me being the loudest) and it's where I eventually watched them win the 2013 Stanley Cup Championship. So Smuggler's, thanks for letting me cry tears of joy all over and hug everyone in your bar. You made a girl who's been to countless Blackhawks games this season (included at least one game for each round of the NHL Playoffs) very, very happy.

After Yonder Mountain, TBF took a moment to recognize Marikay Shellman, my fiancé's aunt, for her behind-the-scenes work for the festival since its inception. Forty years later, TBF is still going strong and we can thank Marikay and Fred Shellman and others for their vision.

Bluegrass legend Sam Bush said a few words about Marikay to the crowd.

 Feist was perhaps the most random member of the TBF lineup, but I was thrilled because I absolutely love her and her music. She was even more impressive live than I'd imagined.

  

Leftover Salmon was a high-energy end to an incredible day. The crowd was up on their feet dancing until the last note was played.

Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Day 2

Day 2 in musical mountain heaven a.k.a. the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Some turtles, a little String Cheese, another beautiful day, and smiling faces everywhere. Completely magical.

Every morning, when the fest opens at 9am, dedicated festivarians race to throw their tarps, chairs, and tents down to secure a good viewing spot for the day. Many camp in line overnight to obtain their little piece of temporary Telluride real estate. It was fun to watch.

Tarp race observers.

These two scored a prime spot and took a moment to celebrate.

I took a break from the festival to stroll around town. 

Telluride Farmers' Market 

This is someone's house. Love.

I stopped by Elks Park to check out the free community guitar lessons.

Later I played some darts and drank a couple delicious Colorado beers at O'Bannon's Irish Pub.

The outside of another fantastically American home.

My favorite camper on the trail back to TBF.

Back at TBF, things had kicked into full gear.

Trampled by Turtles had taken the stage and the crowd was loving it.

After Trampled by Turtles, I went to check on the Drepung Monks' progress with their sand mandala. 

The intricacies of the stunning mandala were already apparent.

The String Cheese Incident. I hadn't seen them in over a decade so their set had me experiencing waves of nostalgia.
One of my favorite acts of the whole fest.

This dude was feeling it!

These little cuties were not. Ha! 

There was a designated hula hooping and dance area. This little girl was so adorable. 

Sunset from the tent area.

Hands free! How convenient.

The Masters of Bluegrass finished off Day 2 with some classic tunes.