The Durango Telegraph, June 6, 2024

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Theboathouseongrand.com

4 Supplemental journey

Navigating the health & wellness aisle not for the faint of heart or eyesight by David Feela

5

Books are back

Unlike in big cities, bookstores are booming in small Western towns by John Clayton/ Writers on the Range

10

Walking on sunshine

June provides ample chances to dance the world away – if only for a while by Stephen Sellers

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8

Stepping out

Fedarko returns with grand tale that goes deeper than meets the eye by Missy Votel

STAR-STUDDED CAST: David Feela, Allen Best, Stephen Sellers, Jeffrey Mannix, Rob Brezsny, Lainie Maxson, Jesse Anderson & Clint Reid

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Ear to the ground:

“What exactly is going on here?”

“It’s a river festival.”

“So, what are we supposed to do?”

– Apparently some befuddled tourists have a hard time grasping the concept of “river” and “festival”

Written in stone

In the scorching heat of June in 1977, atop a butte in Chaco Canyon, researcher and educator Anna Sofaer made a discovery that would unravel the astronomy of ancient America. Sofaer, who at the time was a volunteer recording rock art at a site known as Fajada Butte, noted three seemingly innocent stone slabs leaning against a cliff. However, at about 11:15 a.m. on the summer solstice, she witnessed nothing short of magic: the slabs channeled a "dagger of light" through the larger of two petroglyph spirals on the cliff. Sofaer had rediscovered the astronomical marvel known as the “Sun Dagger,” used to mark the solstice and equinox and perhaps the most famous site in Chaco.

Sofaer went on to found the nonprofit Solstice Project, which over the last four decades has helped unravel the mysteries etched in the landscape of Chaco. In that time, she has made three documentaries on Chaco, the latest of which, “Written on the Landscape: Mysteries Beyond Chaco Canyon,” will make its Colorado premier at 7 p.m., Fri., June 7, at the Community Concert Hall. The free showing is sponsored by the San Juan Basin Archeological Society and will be introduced by Southwest writer Craig Childs. The film’s national premiere will be on New Mexico PBS at 7 p.m., June 20.

On the cover

Where else other than the Animas River Days parade will you see a guy in a gold suit run the rapids above Smelter on a stand-up paddleboard –and survive? Where ever you are, gold SUPer man, we salute you./ Photo by Missy Votel

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“Visiting with Puebloan descendants has deepened my knowledge and inspired me through the years,” Sofaer said. “They have encouraged our research into the science of their ancestors and offered sensitive insights into their historical and spiritual connections with Chaco. It is their insights that create the story of our new film.”

Hailed as an astronomical marvel comparable to the pyramids and Stonehenge, the Sun Dagger unveiled the profound scientific knowledge of the Chacoan culture. Flourishing 1,000 years ago, Chaco Canyon served not just as a trade center but a center of astronomy, where the landscape itself spoke the language of an ordered universe.

“Written on the Landscape” continues the exploration of the Chaco world using imagery, precise surveying and LiDAR to document the immensity of the Chaco world, which extends from the heart of Chaco Canyon across 70,000 square miles of the Four Corners.

The film not only reaffirms the Chacoan peoples’ legacy as pioneers of scientific observation and spiritual integration but also serves as call to protect this ancient resource from resource extraction and irresponsible use.

LaVidaLocal

The melatonin medley

Standing near our discount store’s health and wellness department, I considered my simple mission: to pick up a bottle of kelp. I even planned to carry this single item to the checkout using my bare hand. When I arrived at the vitamin and supplement aisle, I swear half the shopping carts in the store had converged there, much of this traffic piloted by an army of retirees, like me, on a mission to protect its own borders.

Oh, so many shelves crowded with rows of nearly identical bottles, sporting their brand’s uniform white, green, amber or clear plastic containers. Each one with its own inscrutable label so that a shopper must practically get down on his or her knees to figure out what it says. If only the supplement could just wave and shout, “Over here, I’m the one you’re looking for!” Each bottle also includes a tiny notice: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, cure or prevent any disease.” I’m not sure who requires this warning, the FDA or the manufacturers’ lawyers.

I worked my way into the maze of shoppers, standing on my tiptoes in order to see beyond the shoulders of my peers, scrutinizing each shelf to determine where in the alphabetical ranks my kelp happened to be waiting. Calcium, echinacea, ginger, iron, magnesium ... wait! Where’s kelp? I know the alphabet and kelp should have been ... oh well, it was not. So much for the amber brand – on to the green ones.

Stepping back, I noticed just how confusing the vitamin and supplement arena has become. Is a bottle of Nature’s Bounty any different than Nature’s Way? As if the word “nature” on a green bottle makes it more authentic than the phrase “naturally occurring” on a white one, as if anything other than human nature is at the root of growing this supplement market.

and they have a new cherry flavor. How about that ... and away you go.

I never found my kelp, but the OTC approach taught me one thing: to speculate on what’s wrong with all of us just by paying attention to the kind of pills that are and are not available.

Every brand name offers an enormous supply of melatonin. I’d heard about it, promoted as a sleep aid, but it’s defined as “a hormone secreted by the pineal gland that inhibits melanin formation and is thought to be concerned with regulating the reproductive cycle.” That was a wake-up for me.

Medical offices schedule appointments, and despite the hefty price for professional care, they are trained to diagnose and treat perplexing health problems. It stands to reason many of us also end up spending more than our patience, which explains the OTC’s market designed to offer instant relief.

You might ask yourself, am I suffering from an allergy or is it just a cold? It also feels like a digestive problem. So, which brand is most effective? Beano? ClearLax or Ex-Lax? What about Pepto-Bismol? That’s been around a long time,

Thumbin’It

Score two for our neighbors to the south. Mexico just elected Claudia Sheinbaum, not only its first female president, but also its first Jewish president

The City of Durango announcing a unique public-private partnership to provide childcare and workforce housing near the Durango Library. Way to think outside of the box. Win-win.

Apparently, there was more in the run-off tank, with the Animas River seeing a surprising spike of 3,400 cfs this week after a string of hot days.

American Heritage’s 5th edition provided a more expansive definition: “There is some experimental evidence that administration of melatonin may increase the amount of sleep in people with sleep disorders. However, the evidence is not convincing and the effect is not profound.”

Is it dangerous? Obviously not like an outbreak of salmonella. Most people who have trouble falling asleep take 2-5 milligrams 30 minutes before bedtime. More than 10 mg is not recommended, though it’s available on the shelves in 12 mg doses. Some independent studies have found that unregulated levels of melatonin may be as much as 478% higher than the labeled content.

I found this supplement is recommended in a dizzying number of doses, like 1-2 mg gummies for preschoolers, a 1-3 mg option for school age kids up to 12 years old, and the full 10-12 mg for all the grownups.

But I also recall the historical Woodward Company marketing a soothing formula in 1851 for teething & colic that contained 3.6 percent alcohol, thankfully no longer available. Some grandparents may still remember a common alternative: If you rub a little whiskey on the infant’s gums everyone will sleep better.

I dozed a little too much during my biology and chemistry classes, so I’m far from being an expert on any medical diagnosis, including our collective sleeping problems, except to say they could arise from insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, even restless leg syndrome, or something as simple as an uncomfortable mattress. Still, the bottles of melatonin keep marching off the shelves. When I consult with the people around me and ask about what keeps them awake at night, politics drives most of our discussions. If I were a doctor I’d prescribe smaller doses of the news.

– David Feela

SignoftheDownfall:

Right-Wing pundit Steve Bannon has reared his bloated, bloodshot head after an extended absence in which we hoped he was gone forever. Please, go away.

We knew the cool spring wouldn’t last. The first heat dome of the summer has arrived, bringing soaring temperatures across the West. But please stop saying, “Hey – at least we’re not in Phoenix.”

An 83-year-old woman was gored by a bison this week in Yellowstone, the latest in a string of incidents involving the large ungulates. People: bison weigh 2,000 pounds and run 35 mph, which is much bigger and faster than you running while trying to put away your selfie stick.

Charlotte’s Web of Lies

This past February, the Aquarium and Shark Lab in North Carolina announced that Charlotte, one of its stingrays, was pregnant even though she hadn’t shared a tank with a male stingray for eight years. Pregnancies such as Charlotte’s are theoretically possible given an asexual way of reproducing called “parthenogenesis,” but something about her story was fishy. And it got worse last week when the aquarium announced that Charlotte had also contracted a mysterious reproductive disease, making it all sound like another story in recent news…

WritersontheRange

Changing the story

Unlike in big cities, bookstores are thriving in small towns

by John Clayton

“Ilove to spend my day in a bookstore,” Amy Sweet said. She lives in Red Lodge, Mont., and was explaining why she and her husband, Brian, opened Beartooth Books in her town of 2,300.

“It was part of the life we wanted – to live in a small town, walk to work, and enjoy outdoor adventures and wonderful people.”

She’s not alone. For many of the same reasons, bookstores have been opening in small towns across the West, according to Heather Duncan, executive director of the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association.

Since 2020, more than 100 bookstores have opened in her region, which extends across 14 states ranging from Texas to Montana and from Nebraska to Nevada.

One reason for the growth, said Amy Sweet, is that “people are proud of their town, their local history. It’s all a package, and the bookstore gets to be part of that.”

The success of such a low-tech enterprise might surprise people. “Lots of firsttime customers come in and say, ‘I thought bookstores were dying,’” said Brian Sweet.

But he believes that a bookstore is a perfect complement to today’s culture. “A bookstore is quiet, peaceful, and yet mentally stimulating,” he said. “It’s not our devices and incessant TV news.”

Bookstores opening in towns, as opposed to cities, is a trend throughout the West, Duncan said. Of her 60 member stores in Colorado, just 17 are in large

Beartooth Books, in Red Lodge, Mont., is among a boom in new bookstores in small towns across the West. Since 2020, more than 100 bookstores have opened in the region, according to the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association./ Courtesy photo

cities. The rest are in small towns, smaller cities or suburbs. In the Western Slope town of Paonia, population 1,500, Emily Sinclair opened Paonia Books a year ago. She said she likes exercising her own as well as local taste, and also enjoys inviting Western writers to give talks and sign their new books.

These days, said Duncan, bookstores are becoming more diverse in both ownership and retail model.

“We now have online-only stores,

Free Summer Music

Thursday 6/6: Dango Harris, 6-9pm

Friday 6/7: Alex Blocker, 7-10pm

Saturday 6/8: Reeder & Spencer, 12-3pm

Saturday 6/8: Reviva, 7-10pm

Saturday 6/8: DJ Mountain Menace, 10pm-late

Sunday 6/9: Devin Scott, 12-3pm

pop-up stores, book buses and bookmobiles,” she said. And new store owners are increasingly Black, Indigenous, Hispanic/Latino, or LGBTQ+. “Diverseowned stores are approximately 20% of our membership. In the past it would have been around 10%.”

Locating a bookstore in a rural community is arguably another aspect of diversity – and a surprising strength.

“Small-town stores had a much better success rate during the pandemic,” Dun-

can said, “due mostly to the support of their communities, as well as lower overhead costs.”

The strong connection to community, however, requires work. “We pick the books one by one,” Brian Sweet said. “People are surprised to hear that – some think we just sell whatever shows up. But I pore over publisher catalogs, and in a small store, for every book that I choose, probably 200 don’t make the cut.”

Bookstores in tourist destinations, such as Back of Beyond in Moab, Utah, have always thrived on community connections. But the current trend highlights how community is something best appreciated by full-time residents rather than visitors.

Like farmers’ markets, microbreweries, bakeries and outdoor-gear stores, bookstores are places to gather in person with like-minded neighbors, Amy Sweet said.

“Customers in a bookstore are friendly and inquisitive,” she said. “They come in to browse and talk about books.”

While tech companies are always looking to “scale up,” the challenge for many small towns is finding business models that “scale down” to smaller populations. Bookselling provides that model.

But booksellers agree that they’re doing a job: “It’s business – it’s not reading books all day,” said Brian Sweet. “But it’s a business where people want to support you. Every day,” he added, “people thank us for being open.”

John Clayton is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He’s the author of the newsletter Natural Stories. ■

SoapBox

Felon in chief?

Veterans and families who have loved ones in the military and all citizens: If Trump wins the upcoming election, he will be a convicted felon 34 times. He will also be commander in chief of the U.S. military. A convicted felon cannot be in the U.S. military by law.

Can he order your family member into danger or death? Do the officers and enlisted have to obey orders from a convicted felon? Think about that and vote. I do at 76.

– Bob Battani, USAF/ANG MSGT, Durango

Stand up, defeat Trump

Donald Trump was found guilty by a jury of Americans on 34 felony counts. He is finally being held accountable for one of his many illegal schemes to gain and hold onto power. His conviction is a reminder that no one – including a former president – is above the law. And it’s another reminder that Trump still poses a major threat to our democracy.

When he was President, Trump attacked fundamental freedoms, from our freedom to vote when he attempted to overturn the will of the people, to ap-

pointing three extreme Supreme Court justices that overturned Roe v. Wade and abortion rights.

The New York trial may be over, but Donald Trump still faces three additional indictments and 54 criminal charges for a litany of crimes, including federal charges for his efforts to incite violence and overturn the will of voters after he knew he’d lost the 2020 election. And on top of all that, he’s STILL running for president.

Our fundamental freedoms are on the line. Don’t let a convicted fraudster hold the highest office in our land. It’s up to us to stand up and defeat Trump at the ballot box this November.

– Lori Bryan, Durango

Not above the law

Trump’s conviction in New York reaffirms the principle that no one – not even a former president – is above the law in the United States of America.

The evidence presented to the jury was damning, including numerous falsified documents with Trump’s signature on them. Falsification of business records is a serious crime, and Trump is finally being held accountable just as

D-Tooned/by Rob Pudim

any other American would. Trump’s felony conviction is not merely about illegal hush money payments made 11 days before an election; it is about safeguarding the integrity of our elections. Trump has a clear pattern of lying to the American people and trying to undermine our elections in order to cling to power. This trial was the first of several – he still faces three additional

indictments and 54 criminal charges, including federal charges for inciting a deadly 2016 insurrection.

Donald Trump has shown us who he is: a fraudster who will lie and break the law in order to stay in power. We must remember that when we go to the ballot box and cast our vote in November.

– Lori Gaughan, Durango

BigPivots

An inconvenient truth

Despite Biden’s “war on coal,” coal has been digging its own grave

by Allen Best

To some Wyoming politicos, the Biden administration’s recent announcement to ban new coal-leasing in the Powder River Basin was evidence of humanity’s descent to hell in a handbasket. Some in the environmental community were moved to hallelujahs. It was a decision without consequence. Demand for coal has been sliding since 2008, and the slide will almost certainly accelerate.

Mining companies in the Powder River Basin can continue mining their existing leases until 2041 without exhausting them, according to an analysis by the BLM. They’re unlikely to do so. Just consider the market for Powder River coal in Colorado.

Coal plants along the Front Range mostly, if not entirely, burn coal from the Powder River. Two units, one each in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, were shut down in 2022. Four others from Fort Collins to Pueblo will cease operation by the end of 2030. Another, Pawnee, near Brush, will convert to gas by 2026.

Coal’s decline started long before Joe Biden was elected in 2020. By then, the shift was already well underway.

Donald Trump, when campaigning in 2016, pledged to bring back “clean, beautiful coal.” He did nothing of the sort. Coal jobs declined 24% during the Trump presidency. And 60 coal companies declared bankruptcy between 2012-20. Among them were Arch and Peabody, two major operators in the Powder River Basin.

Even

To help make sense of Wyoming’s path forward, I called a resident of Cheyenne, Larry Wolfe, who is retired now but for 30 years was a lawyer representing coal companies. “If you are going to be realistic about this, you have to look at some of these coal companies,” he told me. “They’re not great companies anymore. They used to be.”

I noticed Wolfe’s response to the statement of Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who called the leasing decision part of Biden’s war on Wyoming. “This will kill jobs and could cost Wyoming hundreds

of millions of dollars used to pay for public schools, roads and other essential services,” Barrasso said. “Cutting off access to our strongest resource surrenders America’s great economic advantage – to continue producing affordable, abundant and reliable American energy.”

Wyoming’s two other delegates in Congress echoed him: The United States will become dependent on energy from other countries. This will create more pollution in other countries who don’t have access to Wyoming’s “clean” coal. And so forth.

Environmental groups were supportive but restrained. “A monumental decision,” Earthjustice said.

Powder River Basin Resource Council attorney Shannon Anderson confirmed my instinct. “This is a symbolically significant decision for the climate but in terms of practicality, it means absolutely nothing,” she told me.

Anderson explained that, unlike oil and gas leasing on federal lands, coal companies must ask for leases. In the past, they commonly did so adjacent to existing mines. None have done so since 2012. Two pending leases have stalled since 2015, awaiting action.

My research suggests limited coal mining in northwest Colorado beyond 2028, when the last power plant there closes. West Elk, near Paonia, the state’s largest producer, may last longer. It has reserves of 10 to 12 years.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has made carbon capture and sequestration his initiative.

In Colorado, the Polis administration sees a more limited role for carbon capture, such as for sequestering emissions from ethanol plants. The Colorado Land Board seems to think this can constitute a revenue stream in years ahead. It has already leased lands near Yuma, Pueblo and in Weld County.

In Cheyenne, retired attorney Wolfe sees few of the active 14 coal mines continuing operations in years ahead.

Allen Best produces Big Pivots, an e-magazine that tracks the pivots in energy and water in Colorado and – as in this case –sometimes beyond. ■

in 2011, when extraction of coal from the Powder River Basin had begun to decline, a virtual conveyor belt existed from mines such as the North Antelope, where this train is loading, and other mines. / Photo by Allen Best

Taking the long way

Fedarko returns with grand tale that goes deeper than meets the eye

by Missy Votel

Fans of “The Emerald Mile” rejoice! The master of tales of trials, tribulations and near-death experiences on the Grand Canyon, Kevin Fedarko, is back with his latest, “A Walk in the Park.” As the name would suggest, this book does not move at the rollicking, breakneck speed of its predecessor, taking instead a meandering and thoughtful approach to the world beyond the snaking torrent at the canyon’s bottom. Sure, there are plenty of calamities and misadventures to go around. After all Fedarko – who first made a name for himself in Grand Canyon adventure writing as “Groover Boy” –has never shied away from self-deprecating humor.

But “A Walk in the Park” is far more than a follow-up act. Just like the book’s pretense – an end-to-end hike of the entirety of Grand Canyon National Park – this book is far more complex, rich and fascinating than meets the casual book browser’s eye.

The 750-mile “walk” itself took 75 days broken up into eight trips over the course of 14 months in 2015-16. That was the easy part. Exhaustively and meticulously researched, putting the walk into words was 10 years in the making. (To put that in perspective, it reportedly took Tolstoy six years to write “War and Peace” and Mitchell three years to write “Gone with the Wind.” )

“I didn’t think at the time we were doing the walk, there could be anything more miserable than walking the canyon,” Fedarko said in a recent interview from his home in Flagstaff. “And then I discovered, yes indeed there is, because writing about walking the canyon is even worse.”

Fedarko, of course, is using his signature dry humor there – a humor that is interspersed throughout the book. But what really draws the reader in is Fedarko’s writing style – familiar and approachable while at the same time compelling and mesmerizing. Perhaps there is no other writer as capable of capturing in words the beauty of this magnificent chasm than he.

However, the book doesn’t just skim the surface of this beyond-ancient 1,904-square-mile gash in the Earth’s crust, which, if flattened like a pancake, would be roughly the size of Delaware. Clocking in at a just under 500 pages (including an author’s note and readers guide), the book delves into every nook, cranny, crevice, side canyon and pothole, while at the same time taking a deep dive into the riveting history, native peoples and ecology of this natural wonderland.

As one might guess, the book’s name is a bit parchedtongue-in-sun-burnt cheek. When Fedarko’s best friend and partner in outdoor sufferfests, photographer Pete McBride, proposes the idea to hike the park end to end in the interest of a magazine story, he poses is as “just a walk.” But as we soon find out with a cliffhanger (quite literally) in the first few pages, it is anything but.

“I decided from the start that I was going to be as brutally honest as necessary,” Fedarko said. “By virtue of the

fact we knew this landscape, we thought we were experts. We were pretty arrogant. That caught us flatfooted in some pretty profound ways.”

For starters, only a few super-human desert rats have ever completed a thru-hike – also known as a transect –of the canyon, which follows no trail and requires complicated, often dangerous route-finding. Fortunately, Fedarko and McBride were taken under the wing by a small group of veteran adventurers who have dedicated their lives to exploring the unknown reaches of the canyon. The gesture was one of kindness and also done under the auspices of Fedarko and McBride calling attention to the need to protect the solitude and wildness of this irreplaceable landscape for generations to come.

Naturally, as Fedarko alludes to, the two get spanked right off the bat. Grossly ill-prepared mentally and physically for the scope of this epic slog, they suffer crippling blisters, sprained ankles, dangerous heat stroke, attacks from jumping cactus and a horrifying encounter with a skin-burrowing wood rat. All this under the ever-present threat of dying a slow, tortuous death from dehydration. As anyone who has ever endured the Grand Canyon park ranger talk at the outset of a river trip knows, there are countless dumb, and not so dumb, ways to die in the canyon.

We find out just how in over their heads the hapless hikers are in a hilariously cringey scene where they show

up to the put-in the night before their first hike with brand-spanking-new gear still in its packaging. (They also had king-sized tubes of toothpaste, a 32-oz. bottle of Dr. Bronner’s and a jumbo pack of Pampers baby wipes.)

“I’ve heard people say I’m exaggerating the level of cluelessness and irresponsibility Pete and I displayed,” Fedarko said. “I’m embarrassed to say, yeah, we actually did that. Literally did that. Pete sort of begged me not to be so harsh in portraying our cluelessness – and we did do a lot of preparation – but the preparation we did was not in any way adequate.”

Needless to say, the two learn the hard way about the inhospitable and harsh environment between the rims. Only a few days into their first outing, they tap out. But after some wound-licking and soul-searching back in civilization, they return, leaner, meaner and much humbler.

Fedarko admitted that much like the actual hike, the whole book was a steep learning curve, taking many unanticipated twists and turns.

“I thought this was going to be an adventure story about two clowns getting in over their heads and then slowly coming to learn how to move through an incredibly harsh but also an incredibly beautiful environment. And by the end of it, kind of getting pretty good at what they were doing,” Fedarko said. (And yes, he and Pete are still good friends despite admittedly and understandably getting on each others’ nerves.) “But the fact

Kevin Fedarko, left, and Pete McBride, in what was possibly a rare smiling moment on their 750-mile end-to-end trek of the Grand Canyon./ Courtesy photo

is, we never got to be that good at it. Right up until the end, we were still being spanked; still making mistakes; still suffering from a certain form of delusion and hubris. The canyon had never stopped teaching us, and we never stopped being men desperately in need of teaching.”

Perhaps the biggest turn in the book’s trajectory was in shining a much-needed light on the history and plight of the native tribes that call the Grand Canyon home, particularly the Hualapai and Havasupai. Fedarko likened the unraveling of this storyline to the canyon’s maze of side canyons, as well as their side canyons, which must be navigated in the end-to end journey.

“You can’t hike laterally for more than half a mile before you hit a detour – a tributary canyon – and then you have to hike all the way into that tributary, and trace through all the tributary drainages of that tributary, until you come back out at pretty much the same spot,” he said. “Same thing for writing. I didn’t realize every environmental or development threat hanging over the Grand Canyon had a tribal component to it. Each one of the tribes that was connected – whether supporting the development or fighting against it – had an incredibly complicated backstory and history. You had to really weave around to get your head wrapped around it before you could come out at the end of that history pretty much at the same place you were, but with a better understanding.”

In addition to this transformation, Fedarko also undergoes a personal journey of his own throughout the book: the death of his father, Robert. Born and raised amid the slag piles of industrial Pittsburgh, it was Fedarko’s father who first sparked an interest in the untrammeled lands of the West in his young son when he gave him a used copy of Colin Fletcher’s 1967 book, “The Man Who Walked Through Time.” The book was about Fletcher’s “first trip afoot” through

Grand Canyon National Park, which at the time was much smaller than today, but a feat nonetheless.

Fedarko’s goal was to finish his own book about walking the Grand Canyon in time to hand it to his dying father, thus completing the circle begun some 40 years earlier. However, his dad passed before the book was finished, although Fedarko did manage to fly him out to see the Grand Canyon once before he died.

Compared to “The Emerald Mile,” a story that basically wrote itself, Fedarko said writing “A Walk in the Park” in such a personal style was an at times difficult de parture for him.

“At its heart, the narrative is two in competent, de luded, middle-aged white men suffering from B.O. and ex haustion getting up each and every morn ing and walking. There’s nothing that’s inherently exciting about that,” Fedarko said. “But it is written first-person, which is super challenging and new for me. It’s a per sonal story and not something I'm inher ently comfortable with, the language of vulnerability.”

aplomb; deftly weaving a tale as expansive, colorful and moving as the canyon itself. One thing he does not want people to take away from the book is the idea to go out and replicate his journey. In fact, he said the motivations behind the book are quite the opposite. “This is in no way intended as a guide or blueprint – look, do not go out and do this. And if you insist on not following that advice, do not use myself and Pete McBride as examples,” he said. “Do the opposite of what we did. Invest energy, effort and time into researching and mastering the skills you need.”

Of course, it’s all water under the rim at this point. “That’s one of the disconcerting things about spending a decade on a book – you just have to let go of it, and then the world decides if it sucks or not,” he said.

Well, it most definitely does not suck. And as uncomfortable as he may be putting himself out there, he handles it with

In fact, if there’s one thing he could impart, it’s this: “The frame of this narrative is two clowns bumbling through the Grand Canyon, but the heart and soul of the book are the tribes of the Grand Canyon; the people who were connected to that landscape, before the park was created; before people who look like you and me ever showed up in this part of the world,” he said. “They’re still part of the landscape despite the fact we have dubbed them out of it, and they have things to say that are worth listening to.”

In fact, it appears some may already be listening. In the last few years, since he started writing this book, the Park Service renamed “Indian Garden” to “Havasupai Garden;” President Biden designated nearly 1 million acres adjacent to the park as the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni –or Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument; a visitor tower

on the South Rim was turned into an interpretive and heritage site honoring native tribes; and in 2016, the NPS issued a formal apology to tribes over the unjust treatment they endured in the creation of the park.

“The Park Service is attempting a genuine effort to re-enfranchise the tribes’ stories into the park itself and the experience visitors have,” said Fedarko. “When park superintendent Dave Ugeruaga issued a formal apology, no one who’s been in a position of authority had ever uttered words like that.”

What’s ahead for the park, however, is anyone’s guess. Popular tourist helicopter rides and the Grand Canyon Scenic Overlook continue to be a complicated and thorny issue, and the threat of uranium mining hangs like a cloud on the horizon. However, for now at least, the reviled Grand Canyon at Escalade tramway project, which would have taken 1,000 visitors a day to the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado, is dead in the water.

As for Fedarko, this may be the last time he dips his toes into that water.

“I’m gonna be 60 next year, so this may be my last book, for better or worse,” he said.

Well, for those of us who get to reap the benefits of his arduous labor – without taking a single step except maybe to the bookstore – we will certainly be better off.

Although there are a few photos from Fedarko and McBride’s trek in “A Walk in the Park,” McBride has published a large-format photo book, “The Grand Canyon: Between River and Rim,” available at your favorite bookstore or on Amazon. ■

JusttheFacts

What: Booksigning and talk with Kevin Fedarko, author of “A Walk in the Park” and “The Emerald Mile” When: Tues., June 11, 6-8 p.m. Where: Durango Public Library

BetweentheBeats Don’t worry, be happy

by Stephen Sellers

Greetings, dear readers! Happy Pride! Happy Farmer’s Market! Happy Telluride Bluegrass! I hope your days are sunny and your nights smell of pine, lilacs and petrichor slipping through your windows and tent doors. I hope someone miracles you a four-day pass to Telluride Bluegrass. You deserve it!

While recently doom-scrolling through the cellular hellscape that is my phone, a fellow DJ I admire in Amsterdam reminded me, “The urge to let pessimism take over is overwhelming. Don’t let it. Gather together, be it in small groups or big. Donate, protest, sing, dance, share spaces and moments of joy together. We need meaningful acts of joy to balance this shit out.”

While the world continues to melt down in so many ways, there are plenty of ways it is not. And, lucky for us, there are lots of moments on the horizon this June for us to cultivate community and joy with the return of two free concert series and a plethora of fantastic offerings at the Union Social House, 11th Street Station and The Balcony, to name a few. Wishing each and every one of you safety, love, connection and deep joy this month. Here are seven things I think are more than worth your while to check out, musically and culturally. I hope to see you all on the dancefloor!

1. Durango Pride 2024! There are going to be incredible Pride celebrations all throughout the month of June in Durango (and Ignacio, Ouray and Farmington, to boot!) Way too many to list here, in fact. So, be sure to visit www.thealliance.gay to get the full run down and don’t miss Aria PettyOne’s “Show Your Pride Week” June 26-30!

2. Westfield and Pearl Charles, The Rochester Hotel, Fri., June 7, 4 p.m. - Operating under the moniker of Rodeo Odyssey, Marissa Hunt and Emily Ciszek have built a reputation as women who are in love with building community and celebrating local art. Not satisfied to rest on the laurels of their highly successful SPACE pop-up in December, they have set their sights on a Rochester Secret Garden pop-up this Friday, featuring the indelible musical stylings of L.A.’s Pearl Charles with support from Durango’s pride and joy, Annie Brooks, playing under the name Westfield. The Secret Garden is about to be set ablaze by two of the West’s finest musicians to ever cross paths. For fans of desert-drenched, blissed-out, spacey guitar licks and marooned melodies that will melt even the most Carhartt-laden heart.

3. High Country Hustle, The Pickpockets, Robin Davis Duo, Animas City Theatre, Fri., June 7, 8 p.m.We’ve got three banging shows this June at the ACT for those holding down the fort. Local bluegrass legends-in-the-making High Country Hustle, who just played a sold-out Mishawaka Amphitheatre are up first, are bringing their friends The Pickpockets along for the ride. The pride of Pagosa, The Robin Davis Duo, is opening the night with its psychedelically saturated old-time fiddle and banjo sound.

4. Hotel Draw, Alex Graf’s SuperPac, BurroFest, Mancos, Sat., June 15, 12 noon - Mancos is bringing the dryside heat with a dusty, double-booking of Durango’s Hotel Draw and Alex Graf’s SuperPAC.

the

locally. In the most

sense of the phrase, they are the kind of innovative, polished, talented band that helps Durango feel connected to an indie music scene outside of bluegrass and beer-soaked dance music. Do not miss this 10/10 local band.

Sharing the bill is Alex Graff and his Bluegrass SuperPAC. One never knows exactly who is playing in the Bluegrass SuperPAC, but rest assured – it will be special, and Graff will shred at a level beyond what we can collectively dream of. Graff surrounds himself with a who’s who of local bluegrass pickers and continues to develop his voice as a soloist and accompanist, striving ever closer to reach what he has playfully dubbed “Incoherent Grass.” If I were a betting man, Graff is not far from playing rooms and festivals much bigger than the Meltdown and BurroFest. So seize the day!

5. Desiderata, Powerhouse Science Center, Wed., June 19, 5 p.m. - All Summer long, the Powerhouse is hosting free concerts Wednesday nights to celebrate and support local nonprofits. Durango’s beloved indie desert-rock wunderkinds Desiderata throw down on the patio in honor of local youth advocacy stalwarts, The Hive. Catch me fanboying in the front row!

6. Leon Timbo & His Family Band, Buckley Park, Buckley Park, Thurs., June 20, 5:30 p.m. - The Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College kicks off its annual free summer concert series in Buckley Park with Leon Timbo & His Family Band. Expect some heart-melting baritone belting out some “love-centric, emotionally rich” soulful ballads for this one. Additionally, cue a diverse national-act-level of music gracing the stage.

7. Nordfest 2024, Mancos Brewing Co., Sat., June 22, 3 p.m. - Survivor and chief garage rock officer, Erik Nordstrom, brings back his festival of survival and remembrance, featuring an absolutely stacked cross-genre line-up of guitar-driven music. Let’s all make the drive over and throw down in honor of young Nordstrom and the fine young man he is growing up to be and the work he is doing to raise awareness in our region around cancer. Expect high quality sets from Nathan Schmidt, Acid Wrench, Lawn Chair Kings and Afrobeatniks. More details can be found at www.mancosbrewingcompany.com. ■

Hotel Draw mostly flies under

radar

beautiful

High Country Hustle

by Jeffrey Mannix

I’ve been through and discarded at least a half-dozen June releases from New York publishers, reading sometimes a single page before finding such mediocrity that I tossed each aside until I exhausted all the June releases.

So I turned to my bookcases and precarious pillars of books to find a book, no matter its age, with a story I have etched in my mind. There were many, but I selected two, and I bring them enthusiastically to this month’s “Murder Ink.”

It’s like asking a mother which of her children is her favorite, or if a 1959 bottle of Henri Jayer Richebourg Grand Cru wine is better than a 1971 Château Mouton Rothchild. And so, Lori RaderDay’s “Little Pretty Things,” released in 2015, and Lynne Raimondo’s “Dante’s Dilemma,” also from 2015, are equally hard to pick as one greater than the great other one. These are two terrific stories written by two of crime fiction’s most talented noir writers.

Every writer of fiction has a distinct narrative personality, and each has a primary focus on one of two things: artistic prose or powerful story telling. Writers who can achieve both dizzying paragraphs and riveting plots are far between and become rich and famous –think Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Toni Morrison. And what we have with “Little Pretty Things” and “Dante’s Dilemma” are writers who have remarkable gifts for storytelling. They write well, no question, but they have chosen to forego the clever turns of

Summer two-fer

phrase, double entendres and nosebleed heights of word smithing so they might disappear altogether from the story they have a fire in the belly to tell.

“Little Pretty Things,” a genius title to begin with, follows up on Rader-Day’s bizarrely stunning debut, “The Black Hour,” and is about one Juliet Townsend who cleans rooms in the fleabag MidNight Inn under a roaring interstate in a woebegone Midwest town. Juliet has proved herself a loser, a lifetime achievement first stenciled on the running track 10 years ago at Midway High School. There she was perpetually sec-

ond-best to track star Maddy Bell, her best friend in the way of pilot fish to sharks – feeding on the leftovers, basking in the ferocity while feeling small, helpless, nearly worthless. Then some ugly years later, her lowliness now etched in stone as she steals little pretty things left behind by hourly room renters and road-weary families skimping across the heartland.

One night, Maddy Bell swishes into the Mid-Night Inn in her flowing gabardine trench coat, Italian high heels and bobbed and tinted hairdo, sporting a walnut-sized diamond ring, red nails

and lips and a thousand-watt smile. She bubbles over when she sees Juliet, rents a room for one night, and by the next morning Juliet, clinging to her little pretty things, is the prime murder suspect when Maddy is found hanging from the rusted railing outside Room 14, right above the ice machine. How this gets sorted in the hands of Lori RaderDay is a clearly rememberable reading experience.

“Dante’s Dilemma,” by Lynne Raimondo, is nearly as pithy as “Little Pretty Things” though not quite as sensational as her debut novel, “Dante’s Wood,” or as deliciously tricky as her next installment in the Angelotti series, “Dante’s Poison.” But her protagonist, Mark “Dante” Angelotti, a blind psychiatrist, is arguably the most charming and incisive crime solver in anybody’s book. In “Dante’s Dilemma,” Angelotti is hired by the prosecution to decide upon the sanity of the estranged wife and confessed murderer of a University of Chicago professor found in one of the exhibits at SCAV, the school’s world-famous annual scavenger hunt, missing a vital piece of his anatomy. Nothing about a Raimondo novel is quite as it seems, and “Dante’s Dilemma” will keep you up long past a sensible bedtime.     If you ever thought of writing a crime novel, you’d want to carefully study the books of Lori Rader-Day and Lynne Raimondo to learn how. You might check with Maria’s Bookshop to see if they can order these paperbacks and receive your 15 percent “Murder Ink” discount. Or you could try Amazon. ■

Thursday06

Ska-B-Q with music by Black Velvet Trio, 5-7 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

Live music by Leah Orlikowski, 5-8 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave.

Live music by Terry Rickard, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Public House 701, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music with Desert Duo Dan Hayden & Brian Ross, 5:30-8 p.m., James Ranch Grill, 33846 HWY 550

Bluegrass Jam, 6 p.m., Durango Beer & Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.

“Paint Like Steve Ross,” exhibit of art by veterans, open house, 6-7 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Live music by Jeff Solon Jazz, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music by Darryl and Frank Kuntz, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Live music by The Columbine Jazz Trio, 6-9 p.m., The Oxford, 119 W. 8th St.

Live music by Andrew Schuhmann, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Trivia Night, 6:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1330 Camino del Rio

Drag Trivia Night, 7:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

First Thursdays Songwriter Series, 8-10 p.m., The iNDIGO Room, 1315 Main Ave., #207

Friday07

La Plata County Humane Society Adopt-aThon, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., La Plata County Humane Society, 1101 Camino del Rio.

First Friday Art Crawl, 4-7 p.m., around Durango.

Rodeo Odyssey Pop-Up Art Show and Concert, 4-8 p.m., Rochester Hotel Secret Garden, 726 E. 2nd Ave.

First Friday Opening Reception with Amy Brimhall, 5-7 p.m., Create Art and Tea, 1015 Main Ave.

“Nameless Narratives” art opening presented by Legacy Unbound, 5-7 p.m., Smiley Café, 1309 E. 3rd Ave.

First Friday Featured Artists: Juanita Nelson & Allysia Edwards, 5-8 p.m., Studio & Gallery, 1027 Main Ave.

“Floating in the San Juans” art by Marley Seifert, opening reception 5-8 p.m., Studio & The Recess Gallery, 1027 Main Ave.

Live music by Tim Sullivan, 5-8 p.m., Serious Texas BBQ South, 650 S. Camino Del Rio

Live music by Kirk James, 5-8 p.m., Gazpachos, 431 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music by Leah Orlikowski, 5-8 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave .

Live music by Andrew Schuhmann, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Public House 701, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

“Art on the Spectrum,” exhibit by John Truitt, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Stillwater Music, 1316 Main Ave., Ste C.

“Women Artists of the Southwest,” art talk, 5:30-7 p.m., The ArtRoom Collective at the Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave.

Live music by Darryl and Frank Kuntz, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

“Summer of Love,” free class on the Bodhisattva’s way of life, 5:30-8:30 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, Pine Room, 2500 Main Ave.

Live Music by the Ben Gibson Duo, 6 p.m., Foxfire Farms, 5513 CR 321, Ignacio

Stand-up comedy “Wolfie” 55 & Over Tour, doors 7 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave., Ste. F

Live music by Dustin Burley, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

“Written on the Landscape: Mysteries Beyond Chaco Canyon,” film premiere presented by San Juan Basin Archaeological Society, 7 p.m., Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.

Live music by Lizard Head Quartet, 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.

Durango Star Party Summer Series “Intro to Astronomy Equipment and the Night Sky,” 8-10 p.m., SJMA’s Durango Nature Center, 63 CR 310

High Country Hustle with The Pickpockets & The Robin Davis Duo, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre,128 E. College Dr.

Second Weekend Series: Funk Express w/ Blu Funk Collective, 8-10 p.m., The iNDIGO Room, 1315 Main Ave., #207

Aria PettyOne presents Aria’s Pizza Party, 8:30-9:30 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave.

Fresh Baked Fridays: house, techno and electro, 9 p.m., Roxy’s, 639 Main Ave.

Saturday08

Steamworks Half Marathon, 8 a.m.-12 noon, CR 250

Durango Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 noon, TBK Bank parking lot

La Plata County Humane Society Adopt-aThon, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., La Plata County Humane Society, 1101 Camino del Rio.

Childrens Book Author & Illustrator Gianna Marino, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Durango Botanic Gardens, 1900 E. 2nd Ave.

The Hive Volunteer Day, 12-4 p.m., The Hive, 1150 Main Ave.

“Front Lines to Home Front: La Plata County and WWII,” 1 p.m., Animas Museum, 3065 W. 2nd. Ave., or via Zoom: animasmuseum.org/events

“The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: Trials and Tribulations of an Indiana Jones of Global Plant Hunting,” 1:30-3 p.m., Durango Public Library,1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Live music by Nina Sasaki and Dan Carlson, 2-5 p.m., Derailed Pour House, 725 Main Ave.

Live music by Donnie Johnson, 5-8 p.m., Serious Texas BBQ South, 650 S. Camino Del Rio

Live music by Darryl and Frank Kuntz, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Karaoke, 6 p.m., Durango Beer & Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.

Live music by Ben Gibson Duo, 6 p.m., Fenceline Cider, 141 S. Main St., Mancos

Live music by Matt Rupnow, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Live music by Augustus and Community Pancake, doors 7 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave., Ste. F

Country Western Dance, 7-9 p.m., Durango La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave.

Sunday09

The Allison Dance Duo, 12 noon-2 p.m., Lola’s, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Irish jam session, 12:30-3 p.m., Durango Beer & Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.

Durango Food Not Bombs mutual aid and potluck, 2-4 p.m., Buckley Park

Board Game Sundays, 2 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

AskRachel Roller rebirth, algorithm-noia and trimming the fat

Interesting fact: Roller skating uses 80% of your body’s muscles. And one wipeout can take off 100% of your knee skin.

Dear Rachel,

I have noticed a lot of roller skate ads on TV, with young adults using the sidewalks. Welcome back to the ’50s. Do you think the street department is going to have a skate lane on the new wide sidewalks or going to have it painted on the new street design?

ROLLER SKATE LANE… YO AND GO.

– Roller King

Dear Emperor Wheelie,

No. They won’t. In a town like this, the only roller kings are of the doobie variety. Even that is out of style these days. At least, I think it is. I’m hardly with it these days. I just recently figured out what “rizz” meant, back when people were still saying that. So if I can’t even be cool on a weekly schedule, I don’t know why you think a local government will catch up anytime soon.

– Life in the slow lane, Rachel

Dear Rachel,

I am SICK and TIRED of every app and every website wanting permission to use my location. No I will NOT sign in. No I do NOT want you knowing where I am every second of the day. I see why people do though. The

Durango Palestine Solidarity Rally, 4 p.m., Buckley Park, 12th St. and Main Ave.

Durango Cowboy Gathering Barn Dance featuring the Tim Sullivan Band, 5-8 p.m., River Bend Ranch, 27846 HWY 550

Live music by Alex Blocker, 5-8 p.m., Fenceline Cider, 141 S. Main St., Mancos

Sunday Funday, 6 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main.

Live music by José Villarreal, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Blue Moon Ramblers, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Sonic Sundays, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Roxy’s, 639 Main.

Monday10

The Durango Chamber Music Festival and Academy Lunchtime Concerts presented by The San Juan Symphony, 12:15 p.m., thru June 14, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and Fort Lewis College

Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

constant asking wears you DOWN. But these stupid phones are a necessity these days. Heck you can’t even order in some restaurants without them. Do I need to just cave in? Or can I keep holding out?

– Incognito

Dear Location Known,

Hate to break the news, but that block in your pocket has you pinpointed more precisely than a missile tracking system. Pretty sure there’s no way to stop it tracking you at all times except to take a hammer to it, with prejudice. But then it’s really hard to scan menu QR codes. The best you can hope for is to throw some noise in the system. Keep ’em guessing. Like, you could strap your phone to your neighbor’s cat once in a while. Keep that algorithm guessing.

– Always accept cookies, Rachel

Dear Rachel,

Whenever I read a story about some celebrity actor taking on an action role, there’s always this bit about how they spent four months or six months or whatever improving their physique. Must be nice to focus on your body without other obligations for so long. I know, I know this is superficial fitness, but there’s got to be actual fitness underlying it too. I’m not a good actor nor am I willing to put in the hours waiting tables to get discov-

Meditation and Dharma Talk, 5:30 p.m.; in person at the Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave., Ste. 109 or online at www.durangodharmacenter.org

SINGO with Devin Scott, 6-8 p.m., Grassburger South, 360 S. Camino Del Rio, Suite 300

Live music by Leah Orlikowski, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Comedy Showcase, 7:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Tuesday11

Celebrating International Day of Play, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio

Twin Buttes Tuesday, weekly community mountain bike ride for intermediate riders and above, 5:30 p.m., meet at Twin Buttes parking lot.

Live music by Sunny Downpour, 5:30 p.m., James Ranch Grill, HWY 550, Hermosa.

Kevin Fedarko author event and book signing, 6-8 p.m. Fedarko will talk about his newest book “A Walk in the Park.” Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

ered. So how can I, regular person, get paid to spend half a year improving my physique too?

– Superhero in the Rough

Dear Wait Machine, Sponsorships, baby. You have got to sell yourself. Maybe there’s a protein powder company who wants to chronicle your transformation from normal person to partially better fit person, unless you tweak something along the way and end up as recovering-oncouch-person. That happens, you know. But not to you, probably! Maybe you can ink a deal with the roller skate industry. I hear they’re coming back.

– Flex, Rachel

Live music by the Black Velvet Duo, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Durango Playfest’s Managing Director Mandy Mikulencak, presented by the Rotary Club of Durango, 6 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave.

Live music by Randy Crumbaugh, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Open Mic Night, 7 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Wednesday12

Community Concert Series featuring Birds of a Feather, 5-7 p.m., The Powerhouse,1333 Camino Del Rio

Live Music by the Ben Gibson Duo, 6 p.m., The Balcony, 600 Main Ave., Suite 210

Open Mic, 6:30 p.m., EsoTerra Ciderworks, 558 Main Ave.

True Western Roundup, 6:30-9:30 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Trivia Night, 7 p.m., Bottom Shelf Brewery, 118 Mill St., Bayfield

June 6, 2024 n 13

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): What potentials should you strive to ripen as Jupiter glides through your astrological House of Connection, Communication and Education in coming months? I’ll offer my intuitions. On the downside, there may be risks of talking carelessly, forging superficial links and learning inessential lessons. On the plus side, you will generate good luck and abundant vitality if you use language artfully, seek out the finest teachings and connect with quality people. In the most favorable prognosis, you will become smarter and wiser. Your knack for avoiding boredom and finding fascination will be at a peak.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Since 1969, Taurus singer-songwriter Willie Nelson has played his favorite guitar in over 10,000 shows. His name for it is Trigger. Willie doesn’t hold onto it simply for nostalgic reasons. He says it has the greatest tone he has ever heard in a guitar. Though bruised and scratched, it gets a yearly check-up and repair. Nelson regards it as an extension of himself, like a part of his body. Is there anything like Trigger in your life, Taurus? Now is a good time to give it extra care and attention. The same is true for all your valuable belongings and accessories. Give them big doses of love.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Off the coast of West Africa is an imaginary place called Null Island. A weather buoy is permanently moored there. Geographers have nicknamed it “Soul Buoy.” It’s the one location on Earth where zero degrees latitude intersects with zero degrees longitude. Since it’s at sea level, its elevation is zero, too. I regard this spot as a fun metaphor for the current state of your destiny, Gemini. You are at a triple zero point, with your innocence almost fully restored. The horizons are wide, the potentials are expansive, and you are as open and free as possible.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): When I worked as a janitor at India Joze restaurant in Santa Cruz, Calif., I did the best I could. But I was unskilled in the janitorial arts. I couldn’t fix broken machines and I lacked expertise about effective cleaning agents. Plus, I was lazy. Who could blame me? I wasn’t doing my life’s work. I had no love for my job. Is there a remotely comparable situation in your life, Cancerian? Are you involved with tasks that neither thrill you nor provide you with useful education? The coming months will be an excellent time to wean yourself.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I foresee two possible approaches for you in the coming months. Either will probably work, so it’s up to you to decide which feels most fun and interesting. In the first option, you will pursue the rewards you treasure by creating your own rules as you outfox the system’s standard way of doing things. In the second alternative, you will aim for success by mostly playing within the rules of the system except for some ethical scheming and maneuvering that outflank the system’s rules. My advice is to choose one or the other, but try not to do both.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): During the next 12 months, I may seem a bit pushy in my dealings with you. I will encourage you to redefine and enhance your ambitions. I will exhort you to dream bigger. There may come times when you wish I wouldn’t dare you to be so bold. I will understand, then, if you refrain from regularly reading my horoscopes. Maybe you are comfortable with your current success and don’t want my cheerleading. But if you would welcome an ally like me – an amiable motivator and sympathetic booster – I will be glad to help you strive for new heights.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Three months after Rachel Denning bore her fourth child, she and her husband sold everything and embarked on a nomadic life. They have been roaming ever since, adding three more kids along the way. She says they have become addicted to “the personal transformation that travel extracts.” She loves how wandering “causes you to be uncomfortable, to step out of the familiar and into the unknown ... to see with new eyes and to consider things you had never been aware of.” If you were ever to flirt with Rachel’s approach, the next 12 months would be a favorable time. You could probably approximate the same without globetrotting journeys. Ask your imagination to show you how.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Among the Europeans who first settled in South America were Jews who had been forcibly converted to Christianity by Portuguese and Spanish persecutions. Centuries later, some families resolved to reclaim their Jewish heritage. They led a movement called la sangre llama – a Spanish phrase meaning “the blood is calling.” I invite you to be inspired by this retrieval, Scorpio. The coming months will be an excellent time to commune with aspects of your past that have been neglected or forgotten. Your ancestors may have messages for you. Go in search of information about your origins.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): If you simply let the natural flow take you where it will in the coming weeks, you would become a magnet for both degenerative and creative influences. Fortunately, you are reading this oracle, which will help ensure the natural flow won’t lead you toward degenerative influences. With this timely oracle, I advise you to monitor and suppress any unconscious attractions you might have for bewildering risks and seemingly interesting possibilities that are actually dead ends. Don’t flirt with decadent glamour or fake beauty! Instead, make yourself available for the best resources that will inspire you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is campaigning to be U.S. President. But oops: He recently confessed that a parasitic worm once ate a portion of his brain, damaging his memory and cognitive skills. “The worm is dead now,” he assured us. Why am I bringing this up? Like most of us, you have secrets that if revealed might wreak a bit of mayhem. As tempting as it might be to share them –perhaps in an effort to feel free of their burden – it’s best to keep them hidden for now. Kennedy’s brain worm is in that category. Don’t be like him in the coming weeks. Keep your reputation and public image strong. Show your best facets to the world.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The English and French word “amateur” comes from amatus, the past participle of the Latin word amare, which means “to love.” According to one definition, an amateur is “someone who pursues sports, studies or other activities purely for pleasure instead of financial gain or professional advancement.” In accordance with astrological omens, I encourage you to make this a featured theme in coming months. On a regular basis, seek out experiences simply because they make you feel good. Engage in playtime, fun and games.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Good news, Pisces: In coming weeks, one of your flaws will mysteriously become less flawed. It will lose some of its power to undermine you. If you engage in focused meditation about it, you could rob it of even more of its obstructive force. More good news: You will have an enhanced capacity to distinguish between skillful pretending and earthy authenticity. No one can trick you or fool you. Can you handle even more good news? You will have a skillful knack for finding imperfect but effective solutions to problems that have no perfect solution.

Deadline for Telegraph classified ads is Tuesday at noon. Ads are a bargain at 10 cents a character with a $5 minimum. Even better, ads can now be placed online: durangotelegraph.com Prepayment is required via cash, credit card or check.

(Sorry, no refunds or substitutions.) Ads can be submitted via: n www.durangotelegraph.com

n classifieds@durango telegraph.com

n 970-259-0133

n 679 E. 2nd Ave., #E2

Approximate office hours:

Mon-Wed: 9ish - 5ish

Thurs: On delivery

Fri: Gone fishing; call first

Announcements

Vintage Ski Boat

Owners and drivers wanted to share driving and coaching. If you have a new ski boat, you will also be welcome. Though we respect all watercraft, please no wake boats. I have a fair amount of equipment. 970-799-3488.

KDUR is Celebrating 50 years in 2025. Staff is on the hunt for past DJs who have a fond memory, story or even some recorded material! Email Bryant Liggett, Liggett_b @fortlewis.edu

HelpWanted

Mountain Bike Guide/Driver Hermosa Tours, based in Durango, CO is seeking a full time guide/driver, for our multi-day tours in Colorado, Utah and Arizona. The ideal candidate will have the following qualities: - Personable and patient with people - Strong problem solving skills - Somewhat mechanically inclined a plus - Works well in an autonomous environment - Safe driver with clean driving record - Organized and detail oriented - First Aid/CPR (can attain after hire) - Looks forward to travel and working in new, beautiful areas - Email us at info@hermosatours.net

Wanted

Cash for Vehicles, Copper, Alum Etc. at RJ Metal Recycle. Also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970259-3494.

Books Wanted at White Rabbit

Donate/trade/sell (970) 259-2213

YardSale

Exceptional and Unique Sale!

Saturday, June 8th, 8 am at 8 Blue Sky Dr., off CR 255. American & English antiques. Collectibles & one-of-a-kind. Art. Furniture. Tools. Vacuum. Sony TV. Skis & bike. More. All quality .

ForSale

Reruns Home Furnishings

Beautiful servingware, glassware and baskets. Bistros, chaise lounges and yard art. Also furniture, art, linens and housewares. 572 E. 6th Ave. Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.

Services

Boiler Service - Water Heater

Serving Durango over 30 years. Brad, 970-759-2869. Master Plbg Lic #179917

House sitters available!

We are a small family looking for a housesitting opportunity from October 2024- March 2025. Any dates between Oct to March could also work. Experience with house pets/ livestock. Call or text Jenny 9705709110.

Firewood

Cedar, piñon & oak delivery and stacking available cooking/camping bundles call 9707596900 for pricing and availability

Lowest Prices on Storage!

Inside/outside storage near Durango and Bayfield. 10-x-20, $130. Outside spots: $65, with discounts available. RJ Mini Storage. 970-259-3494.

Electric Repair

Roof, gutter cleaning, fence, floors, walls, flood damage, mold, heating service.

BodyWork

Massage by Meg Bush LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199.

For a film about Sexhibitionism, this was quite hard to watch

Lotus Path Healing Arts

Unique, intuitive fusion of Esalen massage, deep tissue & Acutonics, 24 years experience. Kathryn, 970-201-3373.

Lainie Maxson