Who We Are

By Gussie Fauntleroy The event took no more than a few, horrifying seconds to unfold, but it changed everything in Eden Elderberry and her partner Leah Garcia’s life. It led them to seriously reconsider their priorities, and eventually brought them to Crestone. It happened on a moonless night near the small Ohio city where Eden grew up and where she and Leah, young adults at the time, were living. Eden was driving a 4-wheeler and Leah was on the seat behind her when they suddenly emerged from a wooded track into the brightness of a streetlight where the track met a...

Leighton Burt has lived in Crestone/Baca a year and it’s still a marvel to him that this place, which feels like the home he always wanted, was here all the time, just an hour from where he grew up. His parents own and run Kristi Mountain Sports in Alamosa, and the family spent time hiking in the mountains next to Crestone when Leighton was a boy. But rumors about the town, about cults, religious zealots, lawlessness, and dangerous drifters, swirled around the southern end of the San Luis Valley. When night began to fall, the family was always sure...