Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 50F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 50F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Around 20 people signed up for last Saturday's camping trip, including some who had never been camping before. (Courtesy photo)

Around 20 people signed up for last Saturday's camping trip, including some who had never been camping before. (Courtesy photo)

Arguably, one can only stay in the canyon so long before they get canyon fever. Some jet away to the beach or the city for a week, while others pack up their car and head into the wilderness to camp. Last weekend, Collaborative Action for Immigrants, Tri-County Health Network, the Wilkinson Public Library, the San Miguel Department of Health, and Sheep Mountain Alliance worked together to organize a camping trip with the Latinx community in Telluride. Organizers and around 20 participants met at the Wilkinson Public Library Saturday afternoon and then drove Down Valley to Mary E Campground.

Campers included Lorena Ortiz who owns and operates Lorena's Alterations at 164F Society Drive above Eco Cleaners in Lawson Hill. Ortiz has been part of the community for over 20 years, and this past weekend was her first time camping. 

"I didn't know much about camping, and I loved it. I was cold that night, but I really enjoyed it," said Ortiz (as translated from Spanish to English by Claudia Garcia Curzio)

According to Ortiz, she would go camping again after experiencing the weekend adventure.

Camping is a great way to escape, focus on those around you, and reflect; however, it takes a lot of planning, preparation, and organization with a large group. Claudia Garcia Curzio, the Latinx Outreach Specialist at the Wilkinson Public Library, explained that gear like sleeping mats, bags, tents, chairs, etc., were generously lent out through various avenues. Telluride Academy provided a lot of the equipment they typically use for children's summer camps. Curzio said that when it came to finding adult gear, like sleeping bags, she sent out emails and reached out to friends.

Curzio emphasized that the event was a collaboration between various local organizations and the community.

"I think the Latino community has always said, 'we would love to go camping,' and so we all got together and asked, 'how can we make this happen?’ That's where the idea originally stemmed from. We decided to figure out a way to have folks be able to camp," said Curzio.

Families that were unable to spend the night were able to come and have dinner with the group at the campsite. Saturday night, they roasted s’mores around the fire and in classic camping-style, told scary stories to one another. The library brought lawn and card games, like connect four.

Twelve-year-old McDaniel Hernandez's father was working over the weekend, so Andres Jacinto, Community Outreach Coordinator for SMC Department of Public Health, acted as his guardian for the weekend, and so McDaniel was able to attend.

McDaniel had been camping with close family before but said he had a lot of fun and enjoyed playing the games provided by the library. With his dad working, McDaniel was happy he got to be involved with the activities and join in on the camping trip. McDaniel said he is "thankful to Andres," for making it happen.

In addition to McDaniel, Jacinto was able to act as a guardian for another student whose parents were unable to make it to camping due to work conflicts.

Ruthie Boyd, the VISTA Community Outreach Coordinator for SMA, brought everybody beverages from the Coffee Cowboy Sunday morning, and then check out from the campsite was at 10 a.m.

Since so many different organizations were involved, quite a few people helping out with the event did not speak fluent Spanish. Curzio explained a lot of the time, she had to translate, especially when they shared stories around the fire.

"It was great to share those moments with them," said Curzio, "My favorite part was being able to bring together and build community in spaces you think that would never happen."

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