Mark Watenpaugh
A SUNSHINE PRESCRIPTION

"We had strange and bizarre storm patterns here this year..."

by Caitlin Switzer

Mark Watenpaugh never really meant to move to Telluride. While completing his pharmaceutical training at Colorado General Hospital, Watenpaugh and his wife Jane lived briefly in a busy Denver neighborhood, a chaotic shift from their previous home in Boulder's Left Hand Canyon. “Where we had lived before, there weren't even car noises,” he said. “When we first got to Denver, we couldn't sleep for weeks—there were fire engines, police sirens and lots of traffic.” The young couple had come to the city with a specific goal in mind, however. “We were planning on moving to the Northwest," Watenpaugh said. “I used to work odd hours at the pharmacy in the hospital. I wanted to learn everything they had to offer, and then we were going to move.”

He worked evenings so as to leave his days free for skiing. “We were considering where to move in the Seattle area,” he said. “That was in 1972.” However, Bob Garber, a local architect, had opened a pharmacy in Telluride. “He had started an architectural project here,” Watenpaugh said. “He thought a pharmacy would be good to own. There was absolutely no business.” But Mark and Jane had a fondness for Telluride, a place that Mark had visited as a child, and which the couple had passed through on their honeymoon. “We loved Telluride,” Watenpaugh said. “We were used to Boulder. But it was a really hard thing to decide whether to move here. The clinic was originally leased from the mine. It was still a mining town with a ski area that didn't even have a lift into town yet—you had to ride an old school bus to get around.”

Despite a less than promising economy, the young couple took the plunge. “I had to work out of town and run other stores,” said Watenpaugh, who now owns Telluride's Sunshine Pharmacy. Still, there appear to be no regrets. The little family, which includes sons Ernie and Elliott, found a rich, fulfilling life in Telluride. “In the summer I like to mountain bike, hike and fly fish,” Watenpaugh said. “In the winter, I like to ski. My wife leads snowshoe tours, so I do that, too. I take my dog or go with my wife. I used to cross country ski-skate, but I have given it up for lack of time.”

Time is definitely of the essence these days for the independent pharmacist, who keeps 10 employees busy as well. “Sometimes the workload is a little heavy,” he said. “But the tourist season right now is really wonderful. We have had strange and bizarre storm patterns here this year, so just by chance and luck we are having a really good ski winter. “If I was in the Northwest, I wouldn't be skiing here.”

back to HighStyle home...............................  ...............................next HighStyle profile