A Case of The Campers

There are people in every place that everyone just seems to know. They stand out in a crowd, wave hello from down the street and know at least a little something about every person that they come across. Here in CB we have a few of those, but one sticks out in my mind more than any of the others. Jesse Banks will walk through town, tall and scruffy as can be, if you didn't know the guy you'd be intimidated. Maybe it's his size, or the tough mountain man walk that only comes from being a rancher, maybe it's the way he holds onto the strap of the backpack that's only slung over one shoulder. But as soon as he speaks or throws you a wave, fingers coming all the way up to the brim of his hat, smile up to his ears, you know better. Jesse is a bear alright, the only teddy bear walking around town looking for a beer and a light.

The weekend of his life, as he puts it, was the weekend Jesse escaped jail to run away with a girl he had met just days earlier. They made it a few towns and two days before getting caught and taken in again, but even talking about her now, he smiles. So it was no shocker to hear that 13 years ago he had followed his heart yet again, to Crested Butte. After only a few short years and one engagement, the couple fell out of love, but Jesse's heart was already in CB. Jesse worked remodeling cabins for a few years after the split, but when the work ran dry at the beginning of the Summer and his lease was up...fate took over. Everything fell out of place (or into, depending on how you look at it), and the choice was obvious.

No cell phone. No home. No responsibilities.

Morning in the mountains. 6 AM or 10 AM, all depends on the weather. But what never changes is the sound of the unzipping of a tent, the crack of one of the nearby campers cracking fires ready to heat up a pot of coffee before heading to work in town, or the feel of the sunshine as it first hits his face. A stretch. A yawn. A morning hello even if it's just to a passing deer.

Living in the woods, as Jesse says, there is no need for money, there's not a whole lot to pay for...and for what there is, the odd job in town pays cash. This is freedom.

Thirteen years ago, he'd been in love with a woman, but the things that make a man fall in love with a place? Well they are simple. It's the feeling that not a single person minds much about what you do. It's being Peter Pan. It's never not having something to do. When you are surrounded by these kind of people, in this kind of place, the mountains become sort of engraved in you...there's no forgetting that feeling and no going back to who you were before.

Sounds like a dream right? Who better for a first interview!

What do you love about CB?

I think the thing is...here...no one is any better than the next guy, or gal for that matter. It's a pretty equal playing field all around. From the high school kid working as a dishwasher, to my buddy who is scrubbin next to him, we are all just here for the same reason of being in the mountains. It's something that really brings the town together, when it's forgotten though, it won't be what it is now.

The other great thing is that I'm never alone, all my friends are here like I said. I don't even have a phone, which seems to work fine, because all I do is walk up Elk and drop in places, eventually I find them all between one bar or another.

Most interesting CB story?

I took a shit off a chairlift once.
(I quickly stopped him and asked a more narrow question wary of the next response.)

Most interesting ROOMMATE situation?

I have lived with a lot of crazy people in Crested Butte, I'm warning you right now, look into who you live with. But this one girl...oh god....(Jesse takes a gulp of Bloody Mary and kinda looks around to see who is close by) SHE WAS NUTS! Everyone decided we just couldn't live with her anymore and we had to just kick her out. Took all the toilet paper! Few months later I saw a buddy of mine she had lived with...he kicked her out and she took all of the light bulbs straight out of the sockets!

How do you conquer the girl/guy ratio?

It's not a big deal if you know what you're doing. There are a lot of not that great guys in town, it's not hard to be better than that. I'm not the picture perfect guy living in a tent right now and it's still not so bad. Don't be a punk or a (I cut him off right there and finished his sentence to say Peter Pan) yeah! Yeah! Yeah! I always say

"The odds are good, but the goods are odd."

There are some great girls here, it takes something special to be a mountain girl, and you all kinda radiate it, but every decent girl here is taken or they are crazy.


My last question was a bit harder for Jesse to answer. Having known him awhile, I kinda already knew the answer...I asked him why, even though he can talk about Crested Butte like it's the only place worth living, he would leave...

I have a bunch of land in Wyoming, it's just sitting there. I want to make it self sufficient and have people be able to come and enjoy it with me, bring a tent and some food. It seems like a waste to have it just there, waiting for me. But really, there come's a time when everything just isn't everything anymore. I'm taking it for granted. This place doesn't have the same magic for me now as it does for you. I've waited a long time for me to be done with this place, I began to think the day would never come. But it's here...and it's time I get to someplace new.

-I think we take the kind of people that know everything about us, waving at us everyday, sitting with us answering questions for some silly blog, for granted. One day they shoot us a smile, ask about the dog, and then head off for their own magic. Maybe they are the most important people, maybe they are complete strangers, but maybe behind that smile they have every story you wish you had to tell.