March 2016
What are your favorite and least favorite things about Crestone?
Stephen Futral (aka Ish)
Well, I probably have several favorite things. One is the space that exists here. Another is the quiet that exists here. And I really appreciate the ability to be as reclusive and/or as socially engaged as you want. So, I may spend a lot of time writing and painting in my studio, but then I also have a column in the newspaper and I’m on the steering committee for the Crestone Creative District, and part of Crestone Artists. For me, it enables me to feel very creative here. I mentor at the Crestone Charter School, and love seeing young people get turned on to painting and encaustics. And another favorite thing is that I’ve really seen a sense of community grow in the last 4 years that I’ve lived here.
And in terms of the least favorite thing, is in that same breath of seeing that sense of community, I’ve seen a lot of ego that becomes really negative and resentful that’s spewed all over the 25 different Crestone groups on Facebook. But at the same time, there are so many good things like RideShare and people needing a prescription picked up. Overall, I would say there’s much more positive here than there is negative.
Judie Rose
I think my favorite is how the community comes together when there’s trouble, and when there’s happy events. I like to see that. I see when people are in trouble, or they’re doing happy things, the community gets together.
And my worst is the fact that we don’t have enough people coming up in the ranks in age to take over the fundraising and being available. I see that, and it bothers me, because I’ve been volunteering for 23 years and we have yet to pull the younger people up with us. When people need fundraising, or are sick & dying, we step up – and that’s what I love. When I came here, there were 300 people, and it was tighter knit than it is now, because there were only 300. But as we grow more and more, I see that we’re not including younger people to take our places, for when we end up on that pyre!
Vickie Helm
My favorite thing, well, obviously the wildlife here, and the mountains. Crestone is just unbeknownst to me the most beautiful place. Ever. But the secret of what I really like about Crestone is that it’s not painted with the zillions and gazillions of corporate advertisers, like here’s McDonald’s, here’s Taco Bell, here’s Burger King. It’s the bastion of what a community looked like before it was overtaken by corporations. And it’s like the last place you can go to where nighttime is really nighttime and daytime is really daytime. It’s really dark at night, it’s super quiet. It’s like, whatever the earth was meant to be, this town is closest to that. And I love that. That’s something completely not on the planet anymore, except for rural places like this.
The mosquitoes in high season are my least favorite thing. If anything would make me want to move out of Crestone, that mosquito season when they’re just like a cloud of mosquitoes and you can’t run anywhere, can’t do anything – it’s like a Stephen King novel! Ya know? The mosquitoes! THAT is my least favorite thing, over even the wind, the mosquito season is really “uuugh.”
Ara MacDonald
My favorite things about Crestone are that everyone knows me, that I know everyone, we wave at each other, know each other’s kids, go to the same places to get our food, strive to ban together as a community when things really matter, strive to live off the grid lives that involve being self-sustainable and close to the environment, the earth. I love that there’s fresh air and so many different kinds of animals here. That people care, and care about each other as much as they can humanly possibly do, and that I feel like I have people that understand me and that know my child and that will be there for me when I really need it, and I’ll be there for them when they really need it.
My least favorite thing about Crestone is that there’s so much confusion. I think this is common to human nature though, I don’t think it’s just this town. People get confused about their opinions about things and start arguing and then they create rifts and they don’t create any kind of solutions to any problems.
Dennis Neuhaus
I like the ruralness about the community. The idea that you can either be out there or be a hermit. Total acceptance of all different points of view without any cross eyes or double-takes or anything – you can think anything you want. You can go up in smoke when you’re done, or you can go in the ground. It’s your choice without any hesitation. I like the diversity. And I like the weather changes.
I don’t know what I don’t like about it. I like everything. Even for the mosquitoes, I get Lillian’s Green Earth Farm mosquito repellent and spread it on myself, and the mosquitoes gotta live and have a purpose, too, or why are they here? I accept everything, and I love everything about Crestone, but I have that view of life, too – I like everything about life – I don’t have anything that’s my least favorite thing. There was a survey awhile ago, and one of the questions was “What is it you wish you could have?” My answer was, “There’s nothing I wish for. I have everything I need.” The survey moderator said to me about a month later, “You were the only one who answered like that – everyone else had a wish list!” So, I’m different – sorry!
Robin Helm
Well, what I really love about Crestone and that brought me here, initially, are the mountains. I mean, the scenic beauty here is just unbelievable. And having the ability to walk right from my front door up to the top of a 14,000 foot peak is unbelievable. It really describes everything about the environment that I absolutely love. The blue skies, the snowcaps, the outdoors, the peace of mind and the energy of the mountains, I just absolutely love it. Although, having said that, I personally really like the people as well, and I think they reflect the peace and serenity of the mountains for me and my experience here.
For my least favorite thing, I really have to dig deep and I don’t wanna whine, but probably my least favorite thing is an occasional summer where we suffer through mosquitoes. Other than that, I have absolutely no complaints – I just love it here, in every aspect. I love the changes, I love the cold, I love the hot, I love…everything.