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Outside Summer Traveler 2005
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Weddings
"I Do" With a View (cont.)

By Hannah McCaughey, Creative Director


wedding
Nieces, nephews, and henry with Lovey, the couple's Canine (Ethan Hill)

Dunton's old-time charm dictated the rest of our wedding oeuvre. Our nieces would play bridesmaid fairies with the help of feathered tiaras and rose petals; our nephews, the ring bearers, would wear top hats. We'd need a photographer with American Gothic sensibilities, a menu of autumn's yummiest dishes, and an antique wedding gown (never worn). And as luck would have it, one of the best bluegrass bands in the West, Sweet Sunny South, was less than three hours away in Paonia and willing to provide the original soundtrack.

wedding
The're Mr. and Mrs.(Ethan Hill)

I still can't quite put my finger on what was so darn perfect about our weekend—was it the fact that I felt like Katharine Ross riding on the handlebars of Paul Newman's bike? The game of charades in the bar? The dirty jokes by the bonfire? The herd of elk that rushed through town at dusk? The lithium in the hot springs?

I think it was all these things, but mostly it was that for one long weekend, my new husband, our families and friends, and I got to erase the thousands of miles between us and pretend that we lived in this tiny town, eating all our meals together, hiking, dancing, soaking, and being together—just like the pioneers who got here a hundred years before us. And just like them, I imagine, we were filled with hope for a little luck in our futures.

wedding
Where dirty jokes are told (Ethan Hill)

Access & Resources
Dunton Hot Springs (970-882-4800, www.duntonhotsprings.com) can be reached by flying into Telluride, Cortez, or Durango. Doubles start at $250 per person per night (two-night minimum), including meals and unlimited use of the hot springs. Or rent the entire town, with lodging for 34 people, for $12,000 a day, including meals and the hot springs. Massages, horseback riding, fly-fishing trips, guided hikes, and mountain biking cost extra. Airport pickups are $100 one-way from Cortez and Telluride and $200 from Durango. The San Miguel County Clerk's Office (970-728-3954) dispenses marriage licenses on West Colorado Street in downtown Telluride, a 45-minute drive from Dunton.
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