The Durango Telegraph, June 13, 2024

Bot not

Sure, AI can take the drudgery out of email – it can also put us out of work by Zach Hively

Ear to the ground:

“I had to stop going to parties of people who owned tattoo guns.”

– Sometimes you have to learn the hard way that alcohol and poorly conceived tattoo ideas don’t mix

Ramping up

Life on the edge

‘Unique’ resort proposed for aviprone mine site north of Silverton by Jonathan Thompson / Land Desk

10

Down but not out

Riding the sag wagon of life with a little help from your friends by Jennaye Derge 7

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8

Up in smoke

Homeowners grapple as insurance becomes harder to come by by Dave Marston / Writers on the Range

STAR-STUDDED CAST: Zach Hively, Jonathan Thompson, David Marston, Rob Brezsny, Lainie Maxson, Jesse Anderson & Clint Reid

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P.O. Box 332, Durango, CO 81302

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On the cover

With peak wildflower season still a few weeks off in the mountains, the deserts are taking their turn to put on a colorful display./ Photo by Andy High

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Collaboration is all the rage – from music to fashion. And beer is no exception. Just in time to slake your summer thirst, Star Liquors is offering Skaterade, a skateboardthemed American lager made in collab with Telluride Brewing and The Boarding Haus.

Available in six-packs, the cans feature the photo of a friend of Boarding Haus owner John Agnew shredding it up as well as retro Thrasher mag style font.

“I’ve been crushing them, they’re really great on a hot day,” Star co-manager Tamara Vermette said.

Of course, Skaterades are best consumed after a skate session, especially if your skate skills – like ours – leave much to be desired.

This is the latest in a series of collaboration Star has done, including a Blueberry Muffin ale last summer with Denver’s Wood Boss Brewing and local bakery Bread. The collab was sparked by fond memories of Durango Brewing Co.’s Blueberry Wheat Ale. As a result, Star came up with the idea to send blueberry muffins from Bread to their friends at Woods Boss and ask them to create a personalized version of this local favorite. “Bread even gave us the blueberry muffins,” Star co-manager and wife of Tamara, Mike Vermette, said.

To celebrate the limited-edition Skaterade, Star and the Boarding Haus are also giving away a free skateboard. To enter, folks need only like Star Liquors and Boarding Haus on the Insta, and DM Star with a photo or reel of your beat-up board or you shredding (or not shredding if you happen to be boardless at the moment). The contest is open to any locals over 21. Parents can enter for their children under 21.

The contest is open till June 30, and so far Tamara said entries have been scant.

“Surely, someone out there needs a new board,” she said.

LaVidaLocal

opinion Letters from an automaton

A disturbing thing happened to me. I was procrastinating by appearing, to myself, to be busy and productive. I do this by checking email. I know – because I read it in a book, which for me is another powerful justification for not actually working – that the most efficient relationship I could have with my inbox would be to check it at a set time once a day and deal with all important correspondence at that time. This limitation reduces the sense of urgency that colleagues, marketers and other robots imbue their emails with. After all, nothing truly urgent gets communicated in an email. That’s what tagging me in a post is for.

Yet the problem with being so efficient with the inbox strategy is that it leaves one with all this available time to fill, and nothing much to fill it with – except the truly fulfilling work that one needs (for a variety of deep and unresolved psychological reasons) to keep punting to a distant future that I haven’t finished earning for myself, alright?

So I have gotten terribly, wonderfully efficient at pretending that I will check email only once a day. I have gone so far as to relocate my email app to the second screen on my phone. Actually, though, I check it much more often, such as every time I think of it, and many times when I don’t. It just happens. It’s involuntary. Like sneezing or finishing a tube of off-brand potato chips when in reality I just got up for a glass of water.

Now, I do not generally DO anything with the emails when I check them. They sit there, filling my screen until I get enough new emails to bump them off the screen and out of my life for good. Sometimes I will open one and click “unsubscribe,” under the guise of preventing myself untold hundreds of future emails. For this, I applaud myself. If there is no “unsubscribe” button, I simply reply “unsubscribe,” which has greatly reduced the use of my inbox as a form of social interaction. But for the most part, the emails just keep piling on, increasing my anxiety for all the not-yet-done things still to do, making me feel like I must be Very Important Indeed. Such people do not – cannot! – waste time on things with a risk of failure, things like creating art, or learning new skills, or making friends. We do not have, as Very Important Indeed people say, the bandwidth for that.

deadline, or not at all. But emails – emails provide such a reprieve from the pressures of productively writing things because they are writing-adjacent. We writers, who (based on our anxiety levels) are Very Important Indeed, can rest very late at night with the comfort of having written SOMETHING during the day.

Then my inbox changed on me. I opened some email or other, fully intending to type “unsubscribe” my own damn self so I could sleep that night, when the compose window popped up another window proposing my very own AI Assistant that would, it claimed, craft responses for me.

Maybe this does not disturb you. Maybe you dread crafting your own responses. Maybe you’re one of those early adopters who use new technological breakthroughs when the emphasis is still on “break.”

I will own up to being a late adopter. I treat technology a lot like dogs in this way: I like to adopt one who has worked out enough glitches to pee outside reliably rather than in.

So, no, I am not the AI Assistant target audience. I am, however, powerfully offended. Why would I, a self-appointed writer, want to replace myself? I mean, OK, I genuinely do want to replace myself most of the time. But I want to replace myself with other human writers – ones better than I am, if I can afford them, which I can’t, because I’m a writer. Writers need the work, dammit. And we need all the help we can get.

Right now, all around us, marketers and other robots think just because THEY are robots that they can trust other robots to do all the work for them. In some ways, I get it. Let’s hire robots to talk to other robots and free up the humans to get really freaking uncomfortable with all their free time. So uncomfortable that we have no choice but to make art and other creative things, because it’s either that or talk to each other.

Which is where the disturbing thing that happened to me comes into play. I am ostensibly, if you have not yet noticed, a writer. I write things. Mostly on

Thumbin’It

Durango having a strong showing on the Summer Olympics mountain bike roster, with Riley Amos, Christopher Blevins and Savilia Blunk all making the trip to Paris.

The Biden-Harris administration announced a new national strategy to reduce food waste and increase composting to battle climate change.

Well, Colorado didn’t get an assault weapons ban this year, but eight new gun-safety laws were passed, including new rules for conceal-carry, better tracking of gun purchases and requirements that anyone with a domestic restraining order surrender their weapons.

I just don’t trust that’s how it’s going. So far, every breakthrough that promises more time, like automated dishwashers and motorcars and the ability to play podcasts at 1.5x, simply demands that we humans get MORE PRODUCTIVE with that time. We’re squeezed dry. This is my increasingly resolved psychological reason for procrastination: I am not a machine, even when I act like one. So I’ll keep typing “unsubscribe” myself, thank you very much. It’s a small thing, but I think that human touch will mean something to the robot on the other end. Something disturbing, I hope.

– Zach Hively

SignoftheDownfall:

Chair of the Colorado GOP Dave Williams openly called for the burning of Pride flags in emails and social media posts. This desire to burn things is maybe not so surprising given that he bears a striking resemblance to Satan. Just sayin.’

The loss of another downtown venue, with late-night electronic dance spot Roxy’s closing suddenly last week after the death of one of its owners.

A rare white grizzly known as Nakoda, aka Bear 178, was killed by a car on the Trans-Canada Highway in Yoho National Park on June 6. It’s believed her fame was her demise, with people flocking to see her and habituating her to humans.

Basketfall “Rugball,” which originated in Russia, is now the fastest spreading new sport in Europe. The game is played exactly like basketball

with the small exception being that defenders are allowed to grab someone who’s about to shoot from behind and then slam them onto the ground – but don’t worry, it’s fair because the rules clearly state that a defender must first take off his shirt before body slamming an opponent. And oddly, despite all the recent efforts to bring gender equality to professional sports, there are exactly zero women’s rights groups demanding female Rugball teams.

SoapBox

How deep will the purge go?

First the good news.

If Biden wins, there will be violence.

The savagery will be instigated (again) by a shameless sore loser. Imagine a combination of the Jan. 6, 2021, attempted coup and the riotous Black Lives Matter demonstrations with a greater loss of life and injuries. A result of severe lead poisoning from Trump’s followers brandishing AR-15 rifles and assorted firearms. The battles will be mostly one-sided, since Democrats aren’t exactly Dirty Harry or Rambo. In essence, the end product will be a political pogrom.

Eventually the rioting will be quelled by the National Guard and local law enforcement agencies. That is, if they don’t take sides.

Now for the bad news. If Trump wins, there will be violent purges with longer lasting effects. These purges will make Hitler’s “Night of the Long Knives” seem like a pajama party in comparison.

However, if you believe purges could never happen in the “Land of the Free,” here’s a short history lesson.

Good Ol’ Honest Abe suspended the writ of habeas corpus while rounding up potential Confederate collaborators.

Under the Sedition Act of 1918 of Woodrow Wilson’s World War I administration, incarcerations of political foes happened in earnest (including the imprisonment of Eugene Debs, a former presidential candidate who in 1912 garnered 6% of the popular vote).

One more example: Let’s not forget the uber purge of American history FDR’s inexcusable Executive Order 9066. Another war-related civil rights atrocity, 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were forcibly removed from their homes and shipped to distant “internment camps.” About 80,000 were Japanese-Americans. These citizens were deemed possible subversives due to their last names and the shape of their eyes. In a 6-3 decision the Supreme Court went along with this racial injustice. (Komatsu vs. US).

This post began with a comparison of Trump to Hitler for a reason. Since America’s descent into the Age of Trumpism, political pundits (and me) have seen alarming similarities between the two. All the verbal and physical threats are there: intimidations, scapegoating, dismissals of the rule of law and their respective Constitutions, an admiration of fellow autocrats, and an aversion to facts mired in a deeply nationalistic vibe. None of this bodes well for the United States.

In Trump’s own words: “revenge, retribution, fight like hell, terminate the Constitution, suckers and losers, vermin, poisoning the blood of our country, enemies of the people, dictator on Day 1, American carnage.”

Not exactly “We the People” or a return to a Woodstock nation, is it?

Folks, the coming election is a simple choice. The continuation of democracy or the descent into dictatorship. All the other issues (the economy, the Gaza War, immigration and “wokeness”) are small lumps of

tasteless tofu in comparison.

Lastly, I found a Trump quote that’s not a lie: “The gravest threats to our civilization are not from abroad, but from within.” (Nov. 15, 2022, Palm Beach, Fla.)

Wake up! Pay attention! Because you never know how deep a purge can go.

– Jeff Sambur, Durango

LandDesk

Slippery slope

‘Unique’ resort proposed for avi zone

by Jonathan Thompson

This March, some friends and I drove from Durango to Ridgway. As we passed through the sprawling metropolis of Chattanooga, my friend pointed toward the Mill Creek Cirque, a steep, avalanche-ridden basin above the Muleshoe curve on Highway 550.

“They’re building an underground resort up there,” he said, prompting visions of a villain’s hi-tech hideout.

“Nuh uh,” I chuckled incredulously, waiting for the punchline. After none came, I brushed it off as a goofy joke. Then, as I read this week’s  Silverton Standard, a brief caught my eye: The San Juan County Planning Commission is holding a hearing on the proposed Silver Cloud Lodge near Chattanooga on June 18. And a portion of the resort will, indeed, be underground.

Bonanza Boy LLC, of Montrose, proposes developing a “mining heritage tourism and outdoor recreation small resort” on the Shelbyville Lode and adjacent mining claims in the Mill Creek Cirque. The resort would consist of a 7,000-squarefoot, two-story lodge; greenhouse; sauna; and hydropower house. The Silver Crown Mine “will be reopened and internally stabilized to house … 5 additional guest rooms, utilizing the old mine workings as well as some new tunnels/rooms/portals.” And the guest rooms will each have “a glass wall to provide a view of the Mill Creek gorge and falls.”

All of that would be about a half-mile west of the Muleshoe Curve. There would also be a garage and employee housing next to the old Chattanooga townsite. They plan to power it with solar and micro-hydropower. The development will

include mine waste cleanup and remediation as well as stream restoration, with the possibility of reintroducing native cutthroat trout.

“Our proposal to environmentally remediate the Silver Crown Mine and repurpose it into a small off-grid backcountry lodge – with portions of the lodge built into the old mine – is highly unique,” developers Colby and Leslie Barret wrote in a letter to San Juan County.

Yes it is unique. And it is also audacious, maybe even a little scary, given the fact that the resort, with the exception of the garage and employee housing, would be sited in “nearly continuous avalanche terrain.”

The developers have plans to deal with the hazard, including putting a lucky few of their clients underground –into the mine-based rooms. Everyone else will be protected by engineered, fortified structures as well as historic avalanche-mitigation berms that were built to buffer the original Silver Crown Mine from sliding snow. They also plan on having an avalanche forecaster on staff, doing mitigation work when hazard is high and shutting down if necessary.

I’ll admit to being a bit paranoid when it comes to avalanches in the San Juans, and I can’t imagine feeling anything but jittery at this resort – in spite of all the cautionary measures. But that’s just me. I’m sure there are folks out there who will pay a pretty penny to stay in a place like that, despite or even because of the potential danger. To learn more, attend the hearing – in person or via Zoom – at 7 p.m., Tues., June 18, at Silverton Town Hall.

To subscribe to the Land Desk, go to: www.landdesk.org ■

Location of the Silver Cloud Resort, north of Silverton. Avi paths are in purple.

LandDesk

Slippery slope

‘Unique’ resort proposed for avalanche zone

by Jonathan Thompson

This March, some friends and I drove from Durango to Ridgway. As we passed through the sprawling metropolis of Chattanooga, my friend pointed toward the Mill Creek Cirque, a steep, avalanche-ridden basin above the Muleshoe curve on Highway 550.

“They’re building an underground resort up there,” he said, prompting visions of a villain’s hi-tech hideout.

“Nuh uh,” I chuckled incredulously, waiting for the punchline. After none came, I brushed it off as a goofy joke. Then, as I read this week’s  Silverton Standard, a brief caught my eye: The San Juan County Planning Commission is holding a hearing on the proposed Silver Cloud Lodge near Chattanooga on June 18. And a portion of the resort will, indeed, be underground.

Bonanza Boy LLC, of Montrose, proposes developing a “mining heritage tourism and outdoor recreation small resort” on the Shelbyville Lode and adjacent mining claims in the Mill Creek Cirque. The resort would consist of a 7,000-squarefoot, two-story lodge; greenhouse; sauna; and hydropower house. The Silver Crown Mine “will be reopened and internally stabilized to house … 5 additional guest rooms, utilizing the old mine workings as well as some new tunnels/rooms/portals.” And the guest rooms will each have “a glass wall to provide a view of the Mill Creek gorge and falls.”

All of that would be about a half-mile west of the Muleshoe Curve. There would also be a garage and employee housing next to the old Chattanooga townsite. They plan to power it with solar and micro-hydropower. The development will

include mine waste cleanup and remediation as well as stream restoration, with the possibility of reintroducing native cutthroat trout.

“Our proposal to environmentally remediate the Silver Crown Mine and repurpose it into a small off-grid backcountry lodge – with portions of the lodge built into the old mine – is highly unique,” developers Colby and Leslie Barret wrote in a letter to San Juan County.

Yes it is unique. And it is also audacious, maybe even a little scary, given the fact that the resort, with the exception of the garage and employee housing, would be sited in “nearly continuous avalanche terrain.”

The developers have plans to deal with the hazard, including putting a lucky few of their clients underground –into the mine-based rooms. Everyone else will be protected by engineered, fortified structures as well as historic avalanche-mitigation berms that were built to buffer the original Silver Crown Mine from sliding snow. They also plan on having an avalanche forecaster on staff, doing mitigation work when hazard is high and shutting down if necessary.

I’ll admit to being a bit paranoid when it comes to avalanches in the San Juans, and I can’t imagine feeling anything but jittery at this resort – in spite of all the cautionary measures. But that’s just me. I’m sure there are folks out there who will pay a pretty penny to stay in a place like that, despite or even because of the potential danger. To learn more, attend the hearing – in person or via Zoom – at 7 p.m., Tues., June 18, at Silverton Town Hall.

To subscribe to the Land Desk, go to: www.landdesk.org ■

Location of the Silver Cloud Resort, north of Silverton. Avi paths are in purple.

WritersontheRange

A perfect storm

Navigating a way through the increasingly fraught home-insurance forest

by Dave Marston

Westerners have begun looking at their homes differently these days. Are those trees too close? Should I move all that firewood stacked up next to the deck?

Meanwhile, in California, some fire insurers have lost so much money they’ve pulled out of the state. Overall, fire insurance is becoming as expensive and unpredictable as the natural disasters – not just wildfires but also hail and windstorms –that are driving up rate increases. In some places, increases are as much as 1,000% for houses and condos nestled close to trees.

In Colorado, Tiffany Lockwood said she was dropped twice by fire insurance carriers over the 10 years she’s lived in Evergreen, a heavily forested exurb of Denver.

A former Florida resident, Lockwood, 59, only has one way out in case of a wildfire – and even then, she’ll have little warning. “When I lived in Florida,” she said, “we knew four days ahead when a hurricane was coming. Here we get 40 minutes.”

Lockwood thinks insurance companies are running scared and giving impossible directives. One insurer asked her to remove all the shrubs and trees within 30 feet of the house. But the plan meant taking down a lot of her neighbor’s trees, too.

Evergreen’s attraction is that residents live amidst towering conifer trees. But red zones on fire maps are being expanded all

over Colorado after several recent large forest fires and the wind-driven Marshall grassfire outside of Boulder in December 2021. It destroyed more than 1,000 suburban homes and was the state’s most expensive fire yet. Formerly “safe” places are now described as at-risk.

Jeff Geslin lives in high and dry La Plata County, in Southwestern Colorado, surrounded by 35 acres of piñon and juniper trees. He and his wife, Lorna, are used to remediation plans, he said, and when their insurance increases, “I just pay it, no questions asked.”

But they were shocked when their condo association at their second home in Summit County lost its insurance policy.

“It might be because we’re close to Forest Service land,” Geslin said, “which must be more risk.” Every condo owner was assessed $6,772 extra for the new policy the Homeowners Association managed to find – an increase of 1,000%.

Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Steamboat Springs, is working on legislation to insure larger structures. “I’ve gotten calls about insurance for the last year if not two years,” he said. “The single-family upset has quieted down, but the big thing I hear about is HOA and condo buildings.”

The state already has what is called the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan in place for smaller buildings when insurance companies refuse to underwrite traditional coverage. It’s backed by private insurers and administered by an appointed board of insurance profes-

sionals.

“We hope to insure no one,” FAIR Plan board member Carole Walker said. She’s the executive director of an insurance trade group covering New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

“This is insurance of last resort, as we don’t want to compete with private insurers,” she said. “They’re struggling after 10 straight years of unprofitability in property insurance.”

The FAIR Plan board, which plans to sell policies late next year, hired industry veteran Kelly Campbell as executive director this May. It will offer bare-bones coverage with high deductibles and low maximum amounts. The plan would offer coverage of $5 million per commercial structure and $750,000 per house.

“Everything has escalated,” said Walker. “Colorado is in that perfect storm of catastrophes. The number of claims and the cost to pay those claims is at a record pace. Add in the escalating number of events like hail and wildfire, and it’s the hardest insurance market in a generation.”

Walker says Colorado established a resiliency code board via state law in 2023, with a mandate of hardening structures with fire-resistant siding, metal roofs and landscaping. “We need confidence back in the marketplace,” she said about the board. “Ultimately, this is a life-safety issue, because wildfire knows no boundaries. You’re dependent on your neighbor.”

Kevin Parks, a State Farm insurer in Western Colorado, has some advice for homeowners: “Widen your driveway and road to 20 feet, install a turnaround big enough for fire vehicles, remove shrubs and trees close to your house, and add a perimeter of gravel all around your structure. Finally, hope you live where two roads lead to your house.”

In this new age of longer and meaner fire seasons, Parks added, “The fire is coming – now it’s a question of being ready.”

Dave Marston is the publisher of Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. ■

How long before this cabin in Douglas County, home to Denver’s southern exurbs, is uninsurable?/ Photo courtesy Lena Deravianko, Unsplash

On the sag wagon

Forced downtime always easier with a little help from your friends

by Jennaye Derge

Many of you have heard of my friend Emma. You’ve probably heard me talk about her or read something I’ve written about her. She’s made a name for herself in my world because of our harrowing mountain bike rides, or my harrowing attempt to keep up with her. You might have seen her name on race rosters or on Strava with some QOMs on segments that many others do not want to attempt.

But if you haven’t heard of Emma, that’s OK. She actually keeps a low profile (which I keep breaching). She doesn’t update her social media or brag about how good of a cyclist she is and how fearless she is when dabbling in the many of her other outdoor pursuits. She is the sort of person who is effortlessly cool, so much so that sometimes it’s annoying.

One hundred percent of those times it’s because I have, yet again, found myself on my bike looking down some terrifying mountain or cliff, and it’s probably about to rain, and the ground is covered in 10 feet of snow, and she’s off in the distance smiling, laughing and having a grand ol’ time. But by the time I catch up to her, that annoyance is gone, and I’m also smiling and laughing, because as it turns out – a lesson learned from Emma – riding down a sketchy trail, postholing in deep snow or battling wind and rain is actually fun.

And if she sees you are not having fun, she offers words of support like “You can do this,” “This isn’t that bad,” “You’ve done things that are harder.” Which maybe aren’t her exact words, but she is the inspiration for that internal monologue that replays in my head when I come up against something on my bike that is hard or scares me.

“Breathe,” she always reminds me while I’m battling a technical section. She’s probably the only person on this planet who continuously catches me not breathing, because that’s what I do – or rather I don’t do – when I’m scared.

I wouldn’t admit it to Emma that I was scared three weeks ago when she showed up at my door at 5:15 a.m. to take me to my appointment; my toothbrush still in my mouth and my

hospital bag ready to go.

Moments before, I was pacing, and every once in a while, stopping to remind myself to breathe. I reminded myself to breathe when I gathered all my items, and reminded myself to breathe when I put on my shoes and zipped up my jacket. I had to breathe through my nose when I was brushing my teeth, and one more big breath when Emma asked, “ready?” We drove in the dark toward the hospital, and getting out of her truck and walking toward the entrance felt similar to rolling my front wheel to the top of a scary, technical downhill. As I checked in for my surgery, I could feel myself getting lightheaded; it could have been because I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since the night before. It also could have been because I wasn’t breathing, but when I heard Emma say she would stay with me until they rolled me off to the operating room, I took a breath.

She sat by my hospital bed and cracked jokes as my nurse poked needles into my arm to start my IV. She asked questions of my doctor, took mental notes and kept my belongings safe when they rolled me off to the OR. Then, when I woke up hours later, she helped me put my shoes on (amongst other things) and took me home. She made up my couch, which would remain my recovery area for the next two weeks, walked my dog and did my dishes while I was asleep. She summoned the rest of our amazing friends to help me with food, walk my dog or keep me company, of which I will forever be indebted.

She has since driven me to the grocery store or to hang out with friends, since I cannot drive or ride my bike.

And so this is to Emma, and the rest of my friends who have shown up with meals or a friendly hello, who have walked my dog or helped me lift something heavy, who have washed a dish or watered my plants, who have gotten me out of the house, and who have made me laugh to help me heal, so I can get back on my bike soon. Thank you for being the absolute most amazing humans and friends, and continuing to remind me to laugh and breathe. ■

The author, second from left, with Emma, third from left, and the rest of her support crew – on and off the bike.

Stuff to Do

Thursday13

Chamber Music Festival Friends of the Festival Trio, 12:15 p.m., St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 910 E. 3rd Ave.

Ska-B-Q with music by Ben Gibson Band, 5-7 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

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

Professional Womens Speed Networking, 5:30 p.m., Purple Cliffs, 1305 Escalante Dr., 2nd Floor Conference Room

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

Poetry Open Mic Nite, 6 p.m., Sustainable Goods,1259 Main Ave.

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

Live music, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon and The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Live music by 3-Way Street, 6-9 p.m., Durango Hot Springs, 6475 CR 203

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

Live music by The Pete Giuliani Band, 7-9 p.m., Prospector Restaurant, Glacier Club.

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

Friday14

Nature Walk hosted by San Juan Mountains Association, 9-11 a.m., Haviland Lake parking area

Chamber Music Festival: Student Showcases, 12:15 and 2:30 p.m., Roshong Recital Hall, FLC

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

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

Live music by Adam Swanson, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Live music by High Altitude Blues, 6-9 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, 18044 CR 501, Vallecito

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

A Night of Improv, 7-9 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music by Tumblin’ Dice, 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.

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

Saturday15

Durango Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 noon, TBK Bank parking lot, 259 W. 9th St.

Purgatory Summer Kick Off & Chili Cook-off, 12-3 p.m., Purgatory Resort

Night of Second Chances Prom, 4-7 p.m., substance-free event hosted by Young People in Recovery, La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Live music by The Pete Giuliani Band, 5-8 p.m., Mancos Brewing, Mancos

Live music by Alex Graf’s Bluegrass Super PAC, 6 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

Live music by Dustin Burley, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

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

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

Talent show, 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.

Sunday16

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 Games, 2 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

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

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

Free Music Continues ...

6/13 Thursday - Benjamin Barnes, 6 - 9pm

6/14 Friday - Ben Gibson Band, 7 - 10pm

6/15 Saturday - Derek Abt , 12 noon - 3pm

6/15 Saturday - Good Times Band, 7 - 10pm

6/15 Saturday - DJ Forest Thump, 10pm - late

6/16 Sunday - Devin Scott, 12 noon - 3pm

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

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

Monday17

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

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.

Tuesday18

Live music by Nina Sasaki & Dan Carlson, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Jack Turner speaks about the Durango Cowboy Gathering, presented by the Rotary Club of Durango, 6 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave.

Live music by Sean O’Brien, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

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

Wednesday19

Juneteenth event, hosted by SW Movement 4 Black Lives, 4-6 p.m., Buckley Park

“Fire Adapted and Livable Landscapes,” 4:30-6 p.m., Durango Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Live music by Pete Giuliani, 4:30-6:30 p.m., The Meadow Market, 688 Edgemont Meadows Road

Community Concert Series: Desiderata, 5 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio

Author Event and Book Signing with Emily Halnon, 6-8 p.m., Rochester Hotel , 726 E. 2nd Ave.

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

Ongoing

“Duality,” exhibit by Tad Smith, thru Jun 29, Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

“Floating in the San Juans” art by Marley Seifert, thru June, Studio & The Recess Gallery, 1027 Main Ave.

AskRachel

Planting thoughts, family togetherness and getting soaked

Interesting fact: According to BBC Earth, plants have feelings too. Great. A whole new kingdom for me to offend.

Dear Rachel,

Do plants actually like being kept in pots? On one hand it might be cozy for them. On the other, it might be restrictive, like living in a straitjacket. Maybe they’re missing out on their roots feeling into the big wide world. Or maybe they have all their basic needs met –nutrients, water and sunlight – so they’re content. What do you think?

– Not Easy Being Green

Dear Pot Thoughts,

What do I look like, a botanist? What is happiness to a plant, anyway? Perhaps we could learn a thing or two about being content with some sunlight and water, at least when our roommates think to give some to us. Actually never mind, I can’t even trust those clowns to wipe the counters, so no way I am trusting them with my survival, let alone my happiness.

– Make like a tree and leave, Rachel

Dear Rachel,

I have to go for annual summer “fun” with the family, which means staying at my sister’s

house or else offending everyone by getting a hotel. And her home belongs on a cable show but not the beautiful house kind. I am related to HOARDERS. I’m pretty sure I will get black mold poisoning just from being there. Yet family drama is so bad I’m willing to risk disease to prevent it. Survival tips?

– Full House

Dear Jam Packed,

No family drama is worth your wellness and sanity. Why stop at getting a hotel room? Why not get one in another place entirely? Maybe you can find some similar-sounding town name in, I don’t know, Hawaii, Baja or Greece, and “accidentally” book all your accommodations there. Nonrefundable, of course. Then send your sister a postcard to add to her stacks.

– Travel on, Rachel

Dear Rachel,

So the Animas River flows through town. Presumably that means there’s a bunch of underground water alongside the river. How far does that extend into town? What stops it? Or are we all just standing atop river-soaked dirt? I can’t really imagine how a constant water flow doesn’t leave everything sopping wet?

– Dripping with Curiosity

Dear Soggy Questions,

I am not a geology expert, but now there’s yet another reason I want to go back to school and study yet another subject, besides of course putting off regular working adulthood for four more years. I think we should ask this question of the trees. But not the ones stuck in pots so their roots can’t dig down to water. They’re probably too grumpy to help us out anyway.

– Out to dry, Rachel

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The term “maze” has various meanings. Most commonly, it signifies a puzzling cluster of choices that lead nowhere and bode frustration. But there are more positive meanings of the word. In ancient myths, a maze was where heroes underwent ritual tests. There they might summon ingenuity to win access to a hidden treasure. In modern psychology, the maze is a structure used to stimulate learning in rats. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the maze you are now in is metaphorically akin to the second two meanings, not the first.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): There is an abundance of good news, Taurus. In the coming weeks, your conversations could awaken realizations that will augment your wealth – both financial and emotional. So be eager to commune with vigorous souls who inspire your power to attract resources and goodies. Furthermore, you could generate benefits for yourself by engaging with unfamiliar influences that are outside your web. Don’t be too sure you already know everything. Helpful surprises could arrive if you’re open-minded.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Though 2024 isn’t half over, you have already earned the title “Least Boring Zodiac Sign of the Year.” Or maybe a more positive way to frame it would be to award you the title “Most Scintillating, Interesting and Stimulating Zodiac Sign of the Year.” Please keep doing what you have been doing, Gemini. Entertain us with your unruly escapades and gossip-worthy breakthroughs. Encourage us to question our dull certainties and dare us to be more fun. If we seem nervous to be in your stirring presence, disarm our worries with your humor.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your subconscious mind is full of marvelous capacities and magic. But it also contains old habits of feeling and thinking that influence you to respond in ways that are out of sync with what’s actually happening. These habits may sabotage your conscious intentions. The good news: In the next nine months, you will have more power than ever to perform this wizardry. So get started! Ask your subconscious to send you intuitions about how to proceed.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk” will serve as a prime metaphor for you in coming weeks. Ruminate on its themes as being applicable to your life. I’ll refresh you with the main

points of the story. Young Jack and his mother need money, so she bids him to sell the family cow at the marketplace a few miles away. But on the way into town, Jack meets a man who coaxes him to sell the cow in exchange for magic beans. When Jack returns home, his mother is angry at his foolishness. In disgust, she flings the beans out the window. Later, the beans live up to their promise. They grow into a giant beanstalk that Jack climbs to reach the lair of a giant. There Jack retrieves three of his family’s lost treasures, which had been stolen by the giant long ago.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Before the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the third century BCE, Chinese people had built many local walls designed to keep out invaders. Qin Shi Huang initiated a great public works project to connect all of these fragments into what’s now known as the Great Wall of China. He also erected a vast system of roads and a city-sized mausoleum filled with the Terracotta Army: sculptures of 8,000 soldiers with their chariots and horses. Qin Shi Huang was a big thinker who was also highly organized! In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to glide into your very own Qin Shi Huang phase. What long-lasting structures do you want to build in the next 11 months?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Psychologist Carl Jung believed we could accomplish profound self-transformation by working hard on our psyches’ unripe and wounded aspects. That might entail honest self-examination, objective observation of how we affect others and a willingness to recognize and forgive our mistakes. Jung also recommended another way to heal our neuroses: numinous experiences. By “numinous,” he meant mystical, sublime or awe-inspiring. Jung said such visitations could radically diminish our painful habits of mind and feeling. They might arrive through grace, thanks to life’s surprising interventions. They may also be coaxed through meditation, dreamwork, communing with myth and fairy tales, and spiritual practices. I foresee a wealth of numinous events in your life during the coming months. May they bring a steady stream of healing.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In a moment, I will list events I foresee as being possible for you during the next 11 months. They are cosmic tendencies but not cosmic mandates. Whether or not they actually occur will depend on how you wield your willpower –which, by the way, could be freer and more muscular than it has been in a long time. Now here are the potential developments. 1. An offer to create one of the

Great gifts for dad like Chacos, shorts, hats, shirts and hiking boots

most symbiotic unions or robust collaborations ever. 2. Great chances for you to capitalize on the success of others. 3. Alterations in the family configuration. 4. Major shifts in loyalty and affinity. 5. A promotion in rank. 6. Revelations you can use to your advantage.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Have you been metaphysically itchy and psychologically ticklish? Are you unsure whether those tingling sensations are worrisome or signs of healing and awakening? I believe they are signs of healing and awakening. They suggest you are doing the metaphorical equivalent of what a snake does when it sheds its skin. Expect imminent redemption! Reframe the discomfort as a herald of relief and release.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): It’s time for Super Mom to make an appearance. Some circumstances in your life could benefit from healing tweaks best initiated by her. And when I say “Super Mom,” I’m not necessarily referring to your actual mother. I’m envisioning a wise older woman who sees you as you really are and who can assist you in living your destiny according to your own inner necessity. If you have no Super Mom in your world, see if you can locate or even hire one. I also recommend creating an inner Super Mom in your imagination. You need and deserve sympathetic input from the archetype of the sage crone.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I suspect that later in 2024, I will authorize you to commune with boisterous adventures and tricky risks. But right now, I advise you to flirt with modest adventures and sensible risks. Can you contain your burning, churning yearnings? Are you willing to coax your crazy wild heart into enjoying mild pleasures? By early autumn, I’m guessing you will have done the necessary preparations to roam through the experimental frontiers. Until then, you are most likely to corral X-factors on your behalf if you pace yourself and bide your time.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Oh God, if there is a God, save my soul, if I have a soul.” That prayer was the handiwork of Piscean philosopher Joseph Ernest Renan. If his ironic minimalism is the only spiritual aspiration you can manage right now, so be it. But I hope you will strive for a more intimate, expansive connection with the Divine Intelligence. The coming weeks will be an extra favorable time for you to speak and listen to mysterious powers. Please take advantage! Go in quest of the sweet, deep lowdown directly from the Sublime Source!

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

I Have 12 Convicted Felons

Who are my friends after my 34 felony convictions, so won't you be my neighbor? You might be number 13 … Vote for me, Donald.

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.

Lost/Found

Found: Womens Chaco Sandal

At High Bridge take-out on Sat., June 8. Text to ID/claim: 970-749-2595.

ForRent

Clay Art Studio

Ceramic studio space. Kilns on-site. Intown. david@dupzyk.us

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

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

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.

Lotus Path Healing Arts

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

CommunityService

Giving Workshop for Donors

The Community Foundation serving SW Colorado and the Colorado Planned

Giving Roundtable invite donors to join an exploration on how to leverage IRAs to support their favorite charities! The workshop is free and will be held at El Moro on Wed., June 26, 8 - 9:15 a.m.

Americorps is Hiring Team UP AmeriCorps places AmeriCorps members at nonprofits, schools and government agencies through SW Colorado. We are currently hiring for 912-month positions! Our partner organizations are concentrated in La Plata and Montezuma counties and span from September 2024 through the end of May or August 2025. To learn more, visit www.unitedway-swco.org/ americorps and start serving with us!

‘A Haunting in Venice’ A who-done-it, that takes place in the loveliest run-down palazzo – Lainie Maxson

Volunteers Needed

Do you want to make a difference in your community and the lives of others? Alternative Horizons is always in need of volunteers to staff our hotline. Training and ongoing support provided. For more