Just got back from a beautiful-beyond-words trip to Telluride!
Rode a little plane over the Rockies to get there... breath-taking views... snow-topped mountains and hillsides covered with bright yellow aspens.
Such amazing and enthusiastic teens and teen librarians (Alyssa in the middle and Sarah in yellow on right) at the Telluride Library! Oh, how I wish I lived there so I could swing by to say hi every day! What a cozy, wonderful community.
Wined and dined at a magnifique French restaurant with librarians and teachers and community leaders...
Everyone did such a fantastic job generating excitement about my visit! Here's a bulletin board at the school...
Some of the talented high school girls who attended the Friday afternoon writing workshop...
Here's a cool little fantasy/sci fi nook in the high school library... wish I had a little refuge like this when I was in high school... I would have curled up there and never left!
I stayed at a cute B and B, right downtown next to a river trail, where I walked every day (while dreaming of living here)...
Couldn't get enough of those quivering aspens...
For my Saturday writing workshop at the library, some of these teens took a two hour van ride to get there! I was honored. They were all brilliant writers, I discovered...
The fabulous librarian and blog reviewer Di (of Genrefluent), who I'd corresponded with online and was absolutely *thrilled* to meet in person! What a treat. (And she drove two hours each way, too...)
These gorgeous girls stopped by the library on Saturday before going to their Homecoming dance. I was so touched!
Here I am with a couple cool readers at the multicultural celebration on Saturday night... I did a presentation on "Transcending Borders." I was so happy to have such an exuberant audience-- about half of the people there were native Spanish speakers (my talk was simultaneously translated into Spanish via headsets)... Everyone had lots to contribute... One family there was from Oaxaca! They spoke Chinanteco, one of the eighteen indigenous languages spoken in Oaxaca. Needless to say, I was over the moon to chat with them (in Spanish... I don't speak Chinantecto- -maybe one day!) It was such an honor to be part of this community celebration-- many connections were made that evening-- what great energy...
Two of the geniuses behind the celebration-- Sarah the super-hero librarian on the left and Emo the community non-profit community organizer goddess on the right. I was so impressed with how they got nearly everyone in town excited about my books... Several times as I was walking down the street, some kids called out, "Hi Laura Resau!" And they even knew how to pronounce my last name. ;)
Before my plane left on Sunday, I took a ride up the mountain in a free gondola. Stunning views...
Here's the town of Telluride through the gondola window...
And here it is when I was almost to the top... (yes, I was a wee bit nervous, dangling alone in the air at 10,000 feet...)
xo
Laura