I have been a client of Kim’s since about the time I left for this trip. She is a renowned reiki master and works out of her home in Dover, NJ. For those of you not familiar with the practice; it is a healing technique based on the principle that the therapist can channel energy into the patient by means of touch, to activate the natural healing processes of the patient’s body and restore physical and emotional well-being. What stands Kim apart from the rest, is she encompasses geodes and crystals to work with the body’s 7 chakras.

Having been working together prior to the trip and during visits back east she insisted we meet up with her son once we arrived in Colorado. But as fate would have it she would be visiting her son on her yearly trip to Crested Butte the same time we were, too. As the days grew closer to our reunion she had our schedule jam packed, inviting us to anything and everything she had planned with her son, Craig.

We arrived in the small, beautiful mountain town on a rainy, Friday afternoon and felt the warmth of their hugs and a familiar face as we all met at Craig’s apartment.

First things first, smudge and a glass of rosé before taking the free local bus up the mountain to Mirror Palace to listen to the T Sisters. We discovered the folk band just last year in San Francisco at Hardly Strictly Blue Grass fest. Mirror Palace is indescribable! The venue is a traveling circus tent from the 1930s that provides all types of entertainment to communities. Upon entering the palace, where the original wood I walked on survived WW II, you could feel the energy left from previous performers and party goers. We danced the night away, probably too late but it’s hard to say good night when you’re having so much fun with new friends.

Not early to bed, but certainly early to rise as we arrived at Crested Butte’s Totem Park to join the town’s children museum for their annual splatter run.

This run alone generates the most donations for their museum. I’m not sure if it was luck or punishment but we were in charge of the paint. How we got that job is beyond me! We had fun setting up, meeting new people, and of course coloring the participants with our favorite colors! From the start to finish lines we were deep in powdered paint!

Many thanks to Kim and Craig for showing us the local parts of town and making sure we left exhausted from having too much fun.