The Durango Telegraph, Sept. 29, 2022

What goes around Upcycling event turns garage clutter into new rides

Slippery slope Wildife advocates push back over Pagosa MTB trail plan

Text me to my face Introducing the Telegraph’s lovable curmudgeon

line up 7

Upcycling

Event turns your garage clutter into new rides for folks who need them

by Jennaye Derge

RegularOccurrences

Ear to the ground:

“This whole town is a fart.”

– Observations during a recent trip to the Mile High City

Hear ye, hear ye

Yes, we understand it’s entirely possible that you are still hungover from this past winter’s Snowdown, but that’s no excuse. It’s time to pull up your Venetian breeches or trunkhoses, and get ready for 2023’s Shakespearean Snowdown.

Now, there are still 119 days (who’s counting?) until Snowdown 2023 actually starts, but there are some happenings going on in preparation of Durango’s big winter bash.

Wheels vs. wildlife

Proposed trail network near Pagosa draws concern of wildlife advocates by Jonathan Romeo

Homegrown

Durango’s Seed Studio marks a decade of tapping into kids creativity

by Kathleen O’Connor

Here’s Lynch

The Tele’s newest writer is on the scene musing on obscure music to texting by Jon Lynch

EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel missy@durangotelegraph.com

ADVERTISING SALES: Angela Wilson angela@durangotelegraph.com

STAFF REPORTER: Jonathan Romeo jonathan@durangotelegraph.com

The Durango Telegraph publishes every Thursday, come hell, high water, beckoning singletrack or monster powder days. We are wholly owned and operated independently by the Durango Telegraph LLC and

STAR STUDDED CAST: Morgan Sjogren, Jennaye Derge, Kathleen O’Connor, Jon Lynch, Lainie Maxson, Rob Brezsny & Clint Reid

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 332, Durango, CO 81302

VIRTUAL ADDRESS: www.durangotelegraph.com

distributed in the finest and most discerning locations throughout the greater Durango area.

We’re only human. If, by chance, we defame someone’s good name or that of their family, neighbor, best

On the Cover

Catch it while you can – fall colors are peaking around Durango, and views like this one on Hermosa Cliffs won’t last long./ Photo by Stephen Eginoire

REAL WORLD ADDRESS: 679 E. 2nd Ave., Ste E2 Durango, CO 81301

PHONE: 970-259-0133

E-MAIL: telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

MAIL DELIVERY AND SUBSCRIPTIONS: $3.50/issue, $150/year

friend or dog, we will accept full responsibility in a public flogging in the following week’s issue.

Although “free but not easy,” we can be plied with schwag, booze and flattery.

For starters, on Oct. 5, the Snowdown KickOff Party will be held at The Roost from 5:30-7 p.m. where you can learn about volunteer opportunities and take part in the unveiling of the official poster.

Also, tryouts for the Follies cast and crew will be at 6 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Animas City Theatre. Anyone is welcome to audition for the Follies cast and crew, and organizers are asking people to get their minds churning on Shakespearean-themed acts.

And, lastly, Snowdown organizers are asking the good people of Durango for more theme ideas for the 2024 Snowdown (I know, hard to fathom). But, if you’ve got a good idea, head to the event’s Facebook page and leave a comment on the post calling for more theme ideas.

Some good ones we’re seeing right off the bat: Smurfdown; ’80s Ski Party – Snow Me Your ’80s; Snowdown Time Machine; DurangaTucky (Kentucky Derby); an ambiguous call for all things Stephen King; and our favorite: A Hipster Snowdown – “It’s a really cool theme, but you’ve probably never heard of it.”

Pantus maximus

Speaking of pants, did you see the oldest pair of Levis will be live auctioned at the firstever Durango Vintage Festivus this Saturday at Tico Time? If this sounds like a setup for a bad joke, it’s not.

Back in the 1990s, longtime Durango resident Brit Eaton had a vintage clothing store on College Ave. called “Carpe Denim,” at a time when vintage clothing wasn’t exactly en vogue. “I’d go to yard sales and people thought I was crazy for buying old clothing,” he said.

Well, now the joke’s on them. Carpe Denim closed in 2015, but Eaton has a warehouse full of vintage clothing. He thought about holding a grand opening at the warehouse, but soon enough, his fellow vintage clothing colleagues wanted in, and the event evolved into a fullon, three-day festival at Tico Time.

“It started to become like Woodstock with people coming out wanting to be part of this thing,” Eaton said.

Vendors from all over the country will come sell their vintage garb, and there will be fun competitions, camping and live music. Oh, and the live auction on Saturday of Levi jeans dated between 1885-92. Eaton said vintage clothing experts are able to date the jeans based on certain “nuances and geek stuff,” like design and clues such as stamps inside the pocket.

At press time, The Durango Telegraph was unable to confirm whether they qualified as “skinny jeans.” If so, you may want to jump on them in case the Hipster Snowdown gets selected for 2024.

Steps in a new direction

For the past five years, Bears Ears National Monument has become my de-facto home as I roam the Colorado Plateau foraging for stories and a sense of place. The first time I glanced up at a thoughtfully placed masonry wall embedded in a sandstone alcove, it was the dead of winter. I was homeless, living out of my beater Jeep Wrangler, encrusted with mud. Witnessing the ancestral home of Indigenous people who withstood a thousand years of winters like this brought my circumstances into perspective – this was not wilderness as Western culture defines it, but a place that Indigenous people called home, and still do.

In exchange for this epiphany – and a place to camp – I vowed I would learn as much as I could about Bears Ears, on foot and by talking to the diverse people connected to it, and then to help protect it with my words.

That was just after President Obama designated it in 2016, only for 85% of its protections to be removed by President Trump in 2017. Last year, President Biden made good on his vow to restore Bears Ears National Monument. Biden’s proclamation honored the original monument designation, while expanding its boundaries to 1.36 million acres.

Biden’s proclamation reestablished the Bears Ears Commission to collaboratively manage the monument with the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. The commission is composed of tribal nations affiliated with Bears Ears: the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, the Ute Tribe, Southern Ute Tribe and the Pueblo of Zuni, which are unified in efforts to protect the sacred landscape known as ‘Bears Ears’ in each of their native languages.

On August 26, the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, an advocacy organization composed of the same tribes as the Bears Ears Commission, released their recommended collaborative land management plan for the national monument. It outlines how the newly reestablished Bears Ears Commission will work with the BLM and Forest Service on management decisions of the monument. The 90-page document, which can be accessed online, is a historic and important step towards letting Indigenous people lead how their homelands are managed. While each tribe’s perspectives and suggestions are different, there is a common reverence for the entire environment within Bears Ears, not just the cliff dwellings and rock art that have become associated with this landscape in the news:

“To the Tribal Nations of the BEITC, the landscape is much more than just a natural realm to sustain the material needs of life. It is imbued with spiritual powers, and everything in the natural world – rocks, trees, animals, water, air, light, sound – has meaning and character. Cultural resources and natural resources are not two different categories in Native life. An individual depends on other living plants, animals and surrounding land to survive; thus, the natural resources gathered, hunted and walked on for survival become a cultural resource.”

The document affirms how an Indigenous perspective will benefit how all land and

Thumbin’It

The City of Durango receiving a grant for 28 new bike racks to be placed around town, including at Durango High School, Smith Sports Complex, Aspen fields and the base of the Sky Steps.

The greenback cutthroat trout – Colorado’s official state fish – making a second comeback after it was thought to be extinct, thanks to reintroduction efforts. Now, please bring back Carvers’ shneck from extinction.

President Biden likely to designate his first national monument at Camp Hale, a World War II military training ground near Leadville.

water is managed in the United States. Secretary Deb Haaland and the Department of the Interior affirmed this when earlier this month she released guidance for including Indigenous knowledge and perspectives to strengthen the role of tribal governments in federal land management. Secretary Haaland stated:

“From wildfire prevention to managing drought and famine, our ancestors have used nature-based approaches to coexist among our lands, waters, wildlife and their habitats for millennia. As communities continue to face the effects of climate change, Indigenous knowledge will benefit the Department’s efforts to bolster resilience and protect all communities … By acknowledging and empowering Tribes as partners in co-stewardship of our country’s lands and waters, every American will benefit from strengthened management of our federal land and resources.”

The entrance gates of U.S. national parks, national monuments and public lands are anchored to the legacies of racism and colonialism. The federal government stole Indigenous homelands under the noble intent of conservation and guise of protection. Parks were then, and still are, managed to cater to and benefit tourists and wealthy concessionaires. The romantic veil of conservation shrouds the dark side of public lands to this day, but these initiatives for tribal collaboration and stewardship are an opportunity to shape the future of how the U.S. manages and interacts with land, water and the environment moving forward. These landscapes have been Indigenous homelands since time immemorial and must be cared for and respected as such.

To support the work of the Bears Ears InterTribal Coalition, consider downloading and reading the document. Likewise, the BLM has released their intent to prepare a new Resource Management Plan for Bears Ears National Monument. There are several public scoping meetings in the Four Corners to explain this process along with an open public comment period through Oct. 31. Letters from the public are an important opportunity to affirm we care about our neighbors and want them to lead how their homelands are managed.

Like voting, it feels like my civic duty to participate and voice concerns for how these lands are managed and protected and by whom. In these mercurial times of drought, disease, economic instability and political unrest, an opportunity like this is an antidote to despair and false hope. It is an actionable step in a new direction.

To read Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition: A Collaborative Land Management Plan, visit: https://bit.ly/3DWlMiS. Information about the Bears Ears National Monument Scoping meetings: https://on.doi.gov/3UG0hJ7. And public comments about management plans can be submitted here: https://bit.ly/3RhuYBj

– Morgan Sjogren

Portions of this op-ed are excerpted from Sjogren’s forthcoming book, Path of Light, which treks back through time as she retraces the 1920s expeditions led by Charles L. Bernheimer into the heart of Glen Canyon and Bears Ears National Monument. The book will be published by Torrey House Press in April 2023: https://www.torreyhouse.org/path-of-light

SignoftheDownfall:

The death of Telluride extreme skier Hilaree Nelson after a skiing accident on Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest mountain in the Nepalese Himalayas.

Surveys of LPEA lines finding extensive damage – some on high-voltage transmission lines – from gunshots. Wow, must be pretty exciting to go out and shoot electric lines for fun.

A new study finding about 68% of Utah’s water is used for growing hay, the sales of which generate about 0.2% of Utah’s GDP. Seems like Utah’s been reading a little too much of “The Art of the Deal.”

Guinness World Rectum

A 66-year-old woman from Ireland went into the emergency room two weeks ago with stomach pains, and after a quick x-ray, the doctors diagnosed her with “having eaten 55 batteries.”

After cutting into her abdomen to remove 46 of them, and “milking” the rest out of her rear end, the doctors discovered that the batteries were a mixture of “AA” and “AAA,” but more importantly, they also announced that this was a new world record for the total number of batteries found in a single patient. When asked for a comment, the doctors didn’t say, “we’re just glad everything came out alright in the end.”

With scandals rocking the chess world, the Telegraph asked: “What’s the worst thing you cheated on?”

Amy

“A test. You know, a little look over the shoulder.”

Jeanine

“That school game Heads Up 7 Up. I’d look under my arm to see who it was.”

Devin

“Probably at poker once. Sometimes you can know someone’s hand with a little interrogation.”

Sean

“Definitely at Catan.”

Brady

“Oatmeal cookie recipes. Cutting the sugar, sneaking a banana in there.”

SoapBox

The cost of angry entertainment

It’s fun to watch Lauren Boebert on social media

“Owning the Libs.” Turns out that’s all she has accomplished – angry entertainment. She’s so busy opposing everything that she has accomplished absolutely nothing.

She voted against the American Rescue Plan. Remember that $1,400 arriving in the midst of the pandemic? Boebert voted against giving working families the money that kept a lot of them from really desperate times.

She voted against supporting our veterans dying from exposure to toxic burn pits, against growing American manufacturing by investing in semiconductors and against protecting us from fuel price gouging.

She voted against the Invest in America Act, which will repair our infrastructure, creating millions of jobs.

She voted against compensating firefighters injured protecting us from fire, against making insulin affordable for diabetics and against lowering prescription drug prices.

Remember the baby formula crisis? She voted against the babies.

She netted zero dollars for local projects, while other Colorado representatives brought in $150 million for their transportation projects. She can’t even fix our potholes.

She brags about bills she wrote (or someone wrote for her), but none even made it out of committee. The hashtag on social media “#BoebertIsZeroFor39” says a lot about her inability to work with others.

Adam Frisch is running against Boebert. He says he’s running so he can pass legislation helping families and businesses in Colorado. Let’s give him a chance. He may not be as much fun to watch, but we’ve been paying a lot for our entertainment.

Vote for Frisch!

by Rob Pudim

– Philip Riffe, Hesperus

What comes around

Share the Love cycle event seeks to give new life to old bikes

by Jennaye Derge

About a decade ago, I bought a $500 mountain bike from a local bike shop that was previously owned and, presumably, previously loved. I rode it for all of its intents and purposes, and then I put it in my shed where it has sat unloved and pathetic for many more years.

This story is not unique in Durango, which is why Durango-grown and current Rico resident Teal Stetson-Lee started brainstorming ideas with local bicycle recycler, Jon Bailey. The two also teamed up with Scott Nydam, founder of Silver Stallion Bicycle & Coffee, a nonprofit in Gallup, N.M., that works to bring the love and knowledge of bikes to the cycling-underserved Navajo Nation.

The trio had the same idea in mind: take those old salvageable bikes and bike parts sitting in our garages, and put them back into motion for whomever wanted or needed a bike to ride. So, on Oct. 7-9, these three bicycle lovers, along with a plethora of community partners, will band together at Buckley Park for “Share the Love Cycle” upcycle/recycle event. Free and open to the public, the goal of the event is to receive donated bikes and components and, with the help of a small army of volunteer mechanics, get the rigs rolling again. The rejuvenated bikes will then be donated to Silver Stallion, where they will be ridden, loved and not neglected in my shed or your garage.

As a professional mountain bike and cyclocross racer, Stetson-Lee is no stranger to bikes. She spent 11 years competing – seven of those sponsored by and working with SCOTT Sports. These days, under the SCOTT Sports umbrella, she has taken an advocacy role with the plan to connect with and help folks feel comfortable riding whatever kind of bike they want.

Right now, her sights are set on giving back to her own communities, specifically Durango, the town that raised her and helped her become the professional athlete she is today.

“Now I get to come back and … reconnect with my community and support my community,” Stetson-Lee said.

Besides relieving us of our dusty steeds and assorted parts – which can be done Fri., Oct. 7, from noon - 4 p.m. at Buckley (no clothes or helmets, please) – the event has an educational component as well. Time will be set aside that first day for workshops on basic bicycle maintenance in an effort to make it less intimidating for the regular folk and weekend warriors, Stetson-Lee said. “Bike maintenance should be accessible to everyone just as much as riding bikes should be accessible to everyone,” she said. “So, we want to start with that energy.”

For the event, she is bringing in a professional crew of bike mechanics from SCOTT,

based in Ogden, Utah, as well as local pros and bicycle enthusiasts to show the rest of us how to do the basic fixing, nipping, tucking and adjusting.

“It’s just important for people to feel empowered to work on their own bicycles,” Stetson-Lee said.

Then, on Sat., Oct. 8, the real work begins. Stetson-Lee invites anyone with professional bicycle maintenance experience to Buckley Park to assist the core team of pro mechanics to help get as many old bikes rolling again.

“If you are a skilled mechanic with your own self-contained tools and bike stand, bring your resources and set up to help,” she said. “If you are a curious passerby, check out the bike build extravaganza in full force as an observer. Hand mechanics tools if they ask for help, and contribute any refreshments for the crew, and you will be loved forever.”

Work is slated to continue through Sunday up until the “ceremonial hand off” to Nydam at 2 p.m. Sun, Oct. 9. Stetson-Lee said her goal is to fix as many as 100 bicycles to be put to good use and given a better life on the Navajo Nation.

Silver Stallion holds an entire, complex story in and of itself. Born from a lack of bicycle shops and bicycle culture on the Navajo Nation, it grew with the purpose of empowering youth and young adults by training them to be bicycle mechanics, teaching riding skills and, in general, getting more of them on and loving bikes.

“I feel that this event’s model can resonate with a lot of other communities, so

I’d like for this to be the inaugural event and continue it as an annual tradition in Durango but also used as a template that can be used in other communities,” Stetson-Lee said.

She’d like to see more communities recycling their bikes and bike components for better purposes. She acknowledges the privilege that a lot of us bicycle owners have, and she’d love to see us thinking more critically and universally about where our bikes should go if they are not being utilized, i.e., not just thrown in our garages for years to come without anyone riding them.

“The Durango community has a rich history with bicycles, and that history has often been competitively focused, so this is a way to share that love of bicycles through a new story, in a new angle that I think everyone, from the most competitive cyclist to the average cyclist, can relate to,” she said.

Meaning, anyone can and should involve themselves with the Share the Love Cycle event, whether it’s donating a bike, helping teach bicycle maintenance or handing a bicycle mechanic a cold beverage while they’re cranking on a bike. And if none of that pushes your pedals, there are a couple group rides, a meet and greet with the bike mechanics at Ska on Friday, and a wrap-up and sendoff party on Sunday as well.

“This is a community event,” StetsonLee said. Everyone who shows up makes this event possible, so I want to give a lot of gratitude and appreciation to partners who come in. When we’re all doing the right thing, it just kind of manifests. That’s how we know it’s the right thing.” ■

A recipient of an upcycled bike wheels off his new ride during a community bike giveaway on the Navajo Nation, sponsored by the Gallup-based nonprofit Silver Stallion./ Photo by Shaun Price

Slippery slope

A new proposed mountain bike park in Pagosa is … complicated

by Jonathan Romeo

Can you just start a mountain bike park on public lands in Colorado? Well, a trails advocacy group in Pagosa Springs is about to find out after proposing a 4,500-acre park with miles of new trails that is expected to have a major impact on the landscape.

The project, it goes without saying, has its fans and… people who don’t exactly love the idea.

Supporting the project, of course, are mountain bikers, mostly organized with the nonprofit mountain bike advocacy group DUST2, who say the public lands surrounding Pagosa Springs lack exciting mountain bike terrain. This park, however, would change all that.

On the other side of the issue are some recreational users and members of the public who say building a huge new mountain bike park would irrevocably – and negatively – impact the land. What’s more, these critics point out that the area in question is already home to an illegal trails network.

Amid it all, wildlife experts have expressed concerns about adding hundreds of new users into an area that is home to big game, namely deer and elk, which are already seeing declining numbers across the region.

The battle zone for the debate is just north of Pagosa Springs, in a relatively remote and undeveloped 11,000acre area known as Jackson Mountain, located in the San Juan National Forest. Since the early 2000s, mountain bikers have built and used illegal trails on Jackson Mountain, federal records show. In the past few years, amid increasing use, there has been a concerted effort led by DUST2 to push the Forest Service into establishing a mountain bike park.

Now, the Forest Service is set to begin a yearlong process to evaluate the proposed project.

“In Pagosa, this is a really, really, really big deal for a lot of people,” Annie Sewell, president of DUST2, said. “We’ve proposed a real change to the landscape, and now the process will work itself out.”

A turning point

According to federal records, illegal trails were first discovered around Jackson Mountain in the 2000s. In 2007, Colorado Parks and Wildlife started voicing concerns about the impacts to wildlife, because Jackson Mountain serves as a critical habitat and migration corridor for elk and deer. And with so much development and pressure on the landscape already, Jackson Mountain has remained one of the last refuges.

“It’s frustrating,” Doug Purcell, CPW’s District Wildlife Manager serving Pagosa Springs, said. “The trails on Jackson Mountain are illegal trails, and we’re not asking people to not be allowed to use the forest, but we are trying to preserve the most important areas.”

DUST2 was established around 2015, with one of its main objectives to establish a legitimate mountain bike park on Jackson Mountain. Sewell said that, initially, it was difficult to get the Forest Service’s ear on Jackson Mountain. That all changed, Sewell said, once Tyler Abers, trails program manager for the Forest Service, joined DUST2’s Board of Directors.

“That was really the turning point for us and the Forest Service,” she said.

Then, when DUST2’s proposed project made the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program list, which encourages new recreation opportunities on public lands, the path for a Jackson Mountain bike park become clearer.

“Jackson Mountain has always been this big goal, and (getting that funding) was huge,” Sewell said. “It was a signal to the Forest Service we can take this seriously and move forward.”

Checking the boxes

Although Pagosa Springs is flush with public lands, mountain bikers there say there aren’t many great riding options. There’s Turkey Springs trail network, which features miles of trails but is relatively flat, and Treasure Mountain, which requires a long car shuttle.

Sewell, who said she has ridden the rogue Jackson Mountain trails, said it checks all the boxes.

“It’s really fun – it’s close to town and has huge rides with technical terrain,” she said. “The No. 1 request we get is, ‘Can you do something about Jackson Mountain?’ We’ve heard that for two to three years.”

In 2020, DUST2 received additional funding from the City of Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County to devise a trails plan. The trails group then hired the International Mountain Bicycling Association for about $80,000 to write up a conceptual plan.

Shane Wilson, IMBA’s project manager for Jackson Mountain, said the group met with various stakeholders and conducted site visits to understand the landscape. What began as a potential 8,000-acre park with 60 miles of trails was whittled down to 4,500 acres with about 45 miles of trails after wildlife, grazing and other concerns were taken into account. (For reference, Durango’s Horse Gulch trail system has just over 5,000 acres and 60 miles of trails, according to the city’s website.)

“We’re not saying that’s everything that has to be built,” Wilson said. “It’s a conversation at this point, a vision for everything that could be there. And sometimes that vision can be scary for folks.”

Making rogue right

So, can just anyone propose a mountain bike park on public lands? It turns out, yeah, kind of. Josh Peck, the Forest Service Ranger overseeing the Pagosa District, said any member of the public is allowed to propose projects on federal lands. But Jackson Mountain is unique.

Mountain bikers have already been using illegal trails on Jackson Mountain for years, causing a host of issues, Peck said. So when DUST2 approached about establishing a safer, established network – along with the fact that the Pagosa area lacks technical mountain bike terrain – it seemed like a good solution.

A group of interested parties take a tour of the Jackson Mountain area near Pagosa Springs as plans start to take shape for a new mountain bike park on Forest Service land./ Courtesy of U.S. Forest Service

“With this one, we saw an increase in use in the past five to 10 years, and it was something we needed to address,” Peck said. “And once it ends up on those user trail apps (which it did), it’s hard to pull back.”

Peck said the Forest Service will by no means rubber stamp IMBA’s trail plan. Instead, he said the conceptual plan helps serve as a guide in the scoping and analyzing process. “It’s all about thinking about the appropriate opportunity on the landscape,” Peck said. “There is a desire from the community for more mountain bike trails with difficult terrain. And Jackson Mountain is one place we can provide that.”

Sewell, too, believes a designated park would actually cut down on the construction of illegal trails.

“Clearly there’s been a rift with the problem of illegal trails, and we wanted to provide an organized group that can work within the proper challenges to deliver a singletrack system, so no one feels the need to go rogue,” Sewell said.

Rewarding bad behavior?

Indeed, one of the core criticisms of the project is that mountain bikers are being “rewarded” for creating illegal trails that grew in popularity, thereby forcing the Forest Service’s hand.

One group that has been critical of the plan is the San Juan Back Country Horsemen, several of whom did not agree to an interview for this story. They did, however, provide a document that raised concerns with the proposed change in the landscape. “It seems the Forest Service is rewarding illegal trail-building in the Jackson Mountain

area with an area trails plan for mountain bikers,” SJBCH wrote.

Brien Webster, Southwest program manager for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, shared a similar sentiment. “We don’t stand for this with other activities on public lands like mining or logging,” he said. “And it’s important the outdoor recreation community be held to the same standard as all other activities on public lands, because there is an associated impact with new trails.”

Sewell said DUST2 has asked the mountain bike community not to build illegal trails, which cause a headache for public land agencies and advocacy groups alike. It’s costly to shut them down, takes time to repair damage and cultivates a negative image of the user group.

“But no one can stop it 100%,” Sewell said. “It’s just like the Bible says, ‘The poor you will always have with you.’ Well, illegal trail-building will always be with us.”

For IMBA’s part, Wilson said he has seen no evidence of illegal trail-building (though, it should be noted, people use different terms – user-created trails, rogue trails, non-system trails – based on different factors). Instead, Wilson said the trails in question were actually formed by livestock that are “sometimes exploited by humans.”

Nowhere to go

And perhaps the biggest issue is what a new mountain bike park would do to already-struggling elk and deer populations. To understand the potential impacts, one need look no farther than nearby Turkey Springs, CPW’s Purcell said.

There, about 15-20 years ago, the Forest

All October markets open at

Saturdays, 9 a.m. - 12 noon

Bank parking lot,

Service grappled with a nearly identical problem to Jackson Mountain when usercreated trails started popping up. “It was a massive free-for-all,” Sewell said. “And it was a huge headache for the Forest Service. They (ended up formalizing those) trails, but it created a lot of hard feelings.”

Purcell, who has lived in Pagosa for 20 years (and, for what it’s worth, is a mountain biker), said the Turkey Springs trail system “pretty much eliminated the use of that area” by wildlife. And, in all fairness, it’s not just mountain bikers – use by hikers, hunters and horseback riders have all “dramatically increased.”

“The wildlife is gone,” Purcell said. “They just go around it.”

The problem is, with all the development in Colorado, there are fewer and fewer places for wildlife to go, especially when it comes to migration routes and breeding grounds.

On a positive note, however, Purcell believes a balance can be struck by keeping new trails to the east and leaving the western side of Jackson Mountain alone. He fears, however, that once new trails are built, it will spur more illegal trails in protected areas. And, just as frustrating, Purcell said there are more suitable locations for a mountain bike park in Pagosa that don’t conflict with wildlife. But, because of the illegal trail-building, it’s too late for that.

“We could have picked better places around Pagosa that wouldn’t have given CPW as much anxiety about impacts to important habitats,” he said. “The Forest Service has acknowledged that, but we’re too far down the road on this.”

A microcosm of the West

The Forest Service is expected to launch its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process on Jackson Mountain this fall, which requires agencies to analyze if proposed actions have significant environmental, social and economic impacts. This process includes public comment ns meetings to allow the public to weigh in.

The Forest Service’s Peck said the agency hopes to come to a final decision by spring 2023. While some interviewed for this story see this timeline as rushed, Peck maintained the agency has already spent six months preparing for the NEPA process. As for the wildlife issue, Peck said the western side of Jackson Mountain, the most critical to wildlife, “won’t see a lot of development.”

And, as CPW’s Purcell noted, this issue is not unique to Jackson Mountain but rather is a microcosm of the intense pressure on public lands across Colorado and the West. “Everyone wants a piece of public lands; everyone wants their activity to be supported,” he said. “But we need to slow down and look at the total landscape. We’re going through some real growing pains.”

At Jackson Mountain, though, with trails already built and growing in popularity, there’s no backtracking. Now, it’ll be up to public land managers to find a balance between recreation and protection of wildlife.

“This is urgent,” BHA’s Webster said. “We are a fast-growing state with more and more recreation, and we are pushing wildlife out of the habitat they depend on. Wildlife is increasingly existing within the margins.”

from Transit Center

at www.durangofarmersmarket.com

A space of their own

Seed Studio helps nurture kids’ creativity, also giving parents some time off

by Kathleen O’Connor

Art, yoga, nature and presence. These are just a few of Seed Studio’s favorite things. And to celebrate the local nonprofit art school’s 11th year, founders Kathryn Samaltanos and Heidi Craw have woven together an anniversary event encompassing these favorite things for the enjoyment of all.

Seed Studio’s “Paint N Sip” event will be held this Saturday at the Smiley Building and will feature family-friendly activities that capture the studio’s overarching embrace of mindfulness, creativity and self-expression.

The fundraising event welcomes all in the community to attend – whether you’ve taken a class or not – and will begin with a casual meet-and-greet, followed by a 30minute family yoga and meditation session, and then a hands-on Georgia O’Keeffe-inspired art session for kids and adults.

“We’re really excited to give the families a deeper understanding of what Seed Studio programs are like,” Samaltanos said.

During the event, as the parents are outside experimenting with canvas and acrylics, the kids will be inside Seed’s art room, learning about American modernist O’Keeffe and creating their personal works of art with pastels and watercolors.

The fundraiser will also allow attendees to acquaint themselves with the nonprofit’s most recent collaborator, The Durango Docents. This group of fellow art enthusiasts will take the studio’s mindful art lessons to various schools in Durango and neighboring counties as part of its latest art outreach program.

“They go to schools that we can’t really reach – for example, those in Ignacio and Montezuma County – and teach them about art history, different artists and also guide them through little art projects,” Samaltanos explained.

This event also marks the first opportunity the studio’s had to connect with the

community in a celebratory way since the pandemic. Though the pandemic made the studio’s 10th anniversary impossible, Samaltanos and Craw are excited to bring families together for the studio’s 11th year celebration.

“I feel like we have a lot of new families that have just moved to town, and we want to create community with them as well as connect with our existing families, and really just the whole community at large,”

Samaltanos said.

Since its inception more than a decade ago, when it operated out of a small, rented space in the Durango Montessori School, Seed has held steadfast to its vision, which includes introducing collaboration, the importance of breathing deeply and paying attention to the process, all through creativity and art.

Early on, with little ones of their own at home, Samaltanos and Craw recognized a need in the community for a space where children could leave the instant gratification of screens and devices. Seed was conceived as a comforting and inviting space where kids could slow down and follow where their creativity leads. Reminding kids that it’s OK to create something that’s not necessarily going to hang in the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a part of what Samaltanos and Craw strive to teach during their sessions.

“It’s not about looking beautiful,” Craw said. “It’s really about the process of creating and being able to take that process and do it again, whether it’s with the same medium or something else.”

Samaltanos recalled her experience with one young boy in her Creative Kids Club earlier in the day who was lamenting how

JusttheFacts

What: Seed Studio “Paint N Sip” 11th year anniversary fundraiser

When: Sat., Oct. 1, 4 – 7:30 p.m.

Where: The Smiley Building Tickets: www.seedstudio.org

“bad he was at this.” Samaltanos assured him it was not a problem. “How does anyone get better at anything without practice?” she told him. “So, let’s make some bad art. That’s completely OK, too.”

As the studio and programming continued to take root and grow, it made sense to incorporate mindfulness and yoga into the studio’s offerings as well (in addition to being an artist, Samaltanos is also a yoga instructor.) Today, what began as three weeks of summer programming has now expanded into after-school classes for elementary and middle school kids, a weekly pre-kindergarten program, and classes for older kids and adults.

In addition to the plethora of programs available, Seed Studio also offers “Date Nights,” where parents may drop off their kids for a few hours while they enjoy a night out. “We also do birthday parties, private parties and ‘Girls Night Out’ events,” Craw said. Private, hands-on art lessons are also available.

The fundraiser will also include tapas, wine, non-alcoholic refreshments and a silent auction. Proceeds from the event will go toward expenses associated with the studio’s programming and assist with scholarships. Samaltanos and Craw have made it a part of the Seed Studio policy to open their doors to any child who wants to be there. This year alone, the studio has given out about $6,000 in scholarships, and, as Samaltanos puts it, “we’re just getting started.”

“The scholarships are such a big part of who we are,” Craw added. “We never turn anyone away.”

■

Hi, how are you?

Introducing the Telegraph’s new lovable curmudgeon

by Jon Lynch

Hi, how are you? It’s been a decent bit, and we sometimes forget to check in with people. Being hyper-connected to all the things, all the time, it’s easy to sidestep what makes us human. The interpersonal. Talking to another person. Actually talking. Face to face. Even on the phone, I suppose. No, not texting, messaging or DM’ing. None of that shit. I’ll repeat that: NOT TEXTING.

I’m mostly fine. Right now – today, anyway – thanks for asking. Had you inquired three or four months ago, maybe not so much. That is a longer story, for another day. And in person. But today? Today I’m OK. Things bother me – on some level –daily, but that’s part of life. Part of humanity. If you aren’t bothered or perturbed, you are either 1) not paying attention 2) blissfully and willfully ignorant or 3) have achieved some Dalai Lama level of understanding and compassion that is often lost on and beyond me. I need to work things out; sometimes breathe things out. I may even work through some of those bothers right here.

What this monthly column will become is somewhat unknown and certainly malleable. The upstanding humans at The Telegraph allow for a lot of creative liberty and autonomy, which is immensely appreciated. I may pepper in music recommendations on occasion. There are often fantastic, exceptionally worthwhile musical draws a few short hours away in larger cities for those who enjoy travelling to see music.

Now, that is in no way suggesting there are not worthwhile musical offerings here in Durango. Far from it. We currently have, and have always had on varying levels, a vibrant and semidiverse music community in town. Note the “semi-diverse” – that could be a stretch, depending on musical taste – but if something is missing, pick up an instrument and bang away. Make it happen. Or be alright – like I am – with travel for it.

I do fully believe that a fan of music must and should support the local music made in the community. I also passionately believe that the musicians making music and playing out should support the other bands and spaces within that same community. If you are a headliner, watch and support the opener(s). If you are a local opener, stick around for the headliner. Chances are, you got a lot of people there early to see your band(s). If a whole slew of your people come out to support YOUR band, stick around for the other bands on the bill – local, regional or touring.

Stay at the venue that hosted you and your friends, and patronize it before and after you play, rather than heading down the street to another random bar. The same love and respect you show is the same love and respect you will (hopefully) get. Do not be too cool and exclusive; be open, welcoming and encouraging. I f***ing hate clique-iness. Bolster the other people and bands in your community; don’t alienate them. Common courtesies, you know? Actually, you might not know. Or, perhaps you just didn’t realize or think about it. That’s OK. We all make mistakes; some of us more than others.

Earlier, I mentioned travelling to see live music. A lot of us do it on the regular, but a lot of factors play into when and

This is Lynch

how often we leave. Geography is one. We are 3½ - 7 hours away from larger towns with heavier touring traffic. There are also fiscal factors – it gets pricy hitting the road with gas, food, lodging and extras.

This week, it’s work constraints keeping me from seeing music. I just cannot make it happen. Of course, this work week coincides with multiple – literally one right after the other – shows that I’d usually travel for, just down the road in New Mexico. Maybe some of you were on the ball and picked up tickets to the nowsold-out Osees, shame, Viagra Boys or Kevin Morby shows happening this week. If you have the time off and act fast, you can still head down to catch the Iceage, Earth and – this one really stings – Divide and Dissolve shows. D/D made one of my favorite albums last year in “Gas Lit.” The duo that comprises the band, Takiaya Reed and Sylvie Nehill, are from Australia and identify their music as “Instrumental Doom Metal.” You can see them at Sister Bar in Albuquerque on Oct. 4. This may be their first lengthy North American tour in quite some time, and I’m bummed to be missing it.

Maybe that’s why I’m a little salty at present. Just a little peeved to be missing a solid bunch of stellar bands, a few short hours south of us. That’s all. With any luck, I’ll be back in print right here, next month. Or perhaps I’ve overstayed my welcome. Either way, feel free to reach out any time with questions, comments or gripes. Especially the gripes. ■

Jon Lynch is the program director at KDUR. He can be reached at KDUR_PD@fortlewis.edu

Stuff to Do Deadline for “Stuff to Do” submissions is Monday at noon. To submit an item, email: calendar@durangotelegraph.com

Thursday29

Four Corners Comedy Festival, for details, go to fourcornerscomedyfestival.com

Durango Cowboy Gathering, full lineup of events at durangocowboygathering.com

Share Your Garden Thursdays, 8:30 a.m., Animas Valley Grange, 7271 CR 203.

Manhattan Short Film Festival, 4 & 7 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. durangofilm.org

Durango Green Drinks, 5 p.m., 11th St. Station. Hosted by Wilderness Society and Good Food Collective.

Ska-BQ with The Jelly Bellys, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

Live music, 5 p.m., Diamond Belle & The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Bingo Night, 5 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Dave Stamey plays, 6 -10 p.m., VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave.

The Apricot Dumpling Gang, Western variety show, 6 p.m., Wild Horse Saloon, 601 E. 2nd Ave.

Rob Webster plays, 6 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

Trivia Night, 6:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio.

Merely Players present Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr. merelyplayers.org

Nu Bass Theory plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th Street Station.

Comedy Show, 8 p.m., Olde Tymers Café, 1000 Main Ave.

Friday30

Four Corners Comedy Festival, for details, go to fourcornerscomedyfestival.com

Durango Cowboy Gathering, full lineup of events at durangocowboygathering.com

Durango Vintage Festivus, vintage clothing festival, Tico Time Resort, near Aztec.

Four Corners West Coast Swing Weekend, for details, go to westslopewesties.com/events

Gary Walker plays, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Jean-Pierre Bakery & Restaurant, 601 Main Ave.

Share the Love upcycle/recycle event, drop off old bikes and bike parts, 12 noon – 4 p.m., Buckley Park.

Vintage Love Market, 4 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Live music, 5 p.m., Diamond Belle & The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Six Dollar String Band plays, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

Jack Ellis & Larry Carver play, 6 p.m., Derailed Pour House, 725 Main Ave.

Ru Paul’s Drag Race Watch Party, every Friday, 68 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave.

Women Outside Adventure Forum, story night, 6 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, womenoutside.org

La La Bones plays, 6 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Leah Orlikowski, 6 p.m., Fox Fire Farms, Ignacio.

Ben Gibson plays, 6 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

Terry Rickard plays, 7 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, Vallecito.

Merely Players present Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr. merelyplayers.org

Clear Spring Jazz Trio plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th Street Station.

Marilyn Mangold Garst (pianist) plays, 7 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 419 San Juan Dr.

Desert Child w/ Cousin Curtiss play, 7 p.m., Animas City Theatre.

Improv Night, 7 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Ecstatic Dance w/Asha Akashic, 7:30-9:30 p.m., American Legion Hall, 878 E. 2nd Ave.

Josie Loner, Spyderland, Mommy Milkers, Mad Libby & the Saints and The Happy Club play, 8 p.m., The Hive, 1150 Main Ave.

Saturday01

Vintage Love Market, 8 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Bayfield Farmers Market, 8 a.m., 1328 CR 501.

Durango Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-12 noon, TBK Bank parking lot, live music by Nathan Schmidt.

Aztec Highland Games & Celtic Festival, starting at 9 a.m., Riverside Park, Aztec.

Share the Love upcycle bike event, Buckley Park.

Four Corners Comedy Festival, for details, go to fourcornerscomedyfestival.com

Durango Vintage Festivus, vintage clothing festival, Tico Time Resort, near Aztec.

Durango Cowboy Gathering, full lineup of events at durangocowboygathering.com

Four Corners West Coast Swing Weekend, for details, go to westslopewesties.com/events

Pre-Apple Days Community Harvest, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., pick apples for Apple Days on Oct. 8. For location and to RSVP, visit https://bit.ly/3SsQILO

Drive Out Domestic Violence Golf Tournament, 10 a.m., Hillcrest Golf Course. Golfhillcrest.com

Women Outside Adventure Forum, 10 a.m., venues around town. Full schedule at WomenOutside.org

Tarantula Day at the Nature Center, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Durango Nature Center, 63 County Road 310.

Solar & Net Zero Home Tour, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., info at fourcore.org/solar-home-tour

Cowboy Gathering Parade, 10:30 a.m., downtown Durango.

Community Apple Pressing, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., bring apples and containers for cider. Animas Valley Grange, 7271 CR 203.

Sweet Daddy B/C plays, 12 noon, Buckley Park.

The Moetones play, 4 p.m., Mancos Brewing Co.

Live music, 5 p.m., Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Rob Webster plays, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

Community Yoga, 6-7 p.m., Yoga Durango, 1485 Florida Rd. Donations accepted.

Matt Rupnow, 6 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Merely Players present Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr. merelyplayers.org

Liver Down the River and Alex Blocker Band play, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre.

Sunday02

Four Corners Comedy Festival, for details, go to fourcornerscomedyfestival.com

Durango Vintage Festivus, vintage clothing festival, Tico Time Resort, near Aztec.

Durango Cowboy Gathering, full lineup of events at durangocowboygathering.com

Four Corners West Coast Swing Weekend, for details, go to westslopewesties.com/events

Durango Flea Market, 8 a.m., County Fairgrounds.

Veterans Benefit Breakfast, 9 a.m., VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave.

AskRachel

7-down, resting in peace & coyote control

Interesting fact: Sprite has been reformulated in Europe to remove 30% of the sugar. If they had removed 42% of it, I’d be a devotee.

Dear Rachel,

I had an upset tummy after dining out with friends the other night. So I stopped at a gas station for a Sprite. Now, I’m not some antisugar granola mama, but it’s been a little while since I had a 20 oz. anything. And it was gnarly. I mean, sweet to the point of gagging. Like licking the bathroom floor at the oompaloompa factory. Did they do something to pump up the sweet? And why?

– Sugar Mama

Dear Fructose Franny, Corn syrup, baby! Also, it’s called growing up. Somewhere along the line we give up the affinity for Sour Patch Kids and become vineyard junkies. I mean, a rose by any other name would taste as sweet, sure, but there’s a reason most Sprite commercials don’t show people “dining out with friends” so much as people doing unpronounceable skateboard tricks with friends. You require a certain resilience and resistance to pain.

– From the Pepsi generation, Rachel

I’m wondering what kind of wiggle room I might have with that 42% number. Like, if I rested extra as a baby, does that still work to balance out the three-hours-of-sleep nights I get now? How long until this blows up? Can it at least blow up when I’m at work instead of when I’m finally taking a vacation?

– Time Bomb

Dear Tick Tick,

Maybe THAT is the reason why the meaning of life, the universe and everything can be derived from the number 42. MOAR NAPS NAOW. I would believe that all things are possible with slightly more than 10 hours of rest each day. All things, that is, except the things I’m not doing because I’m busy resting. Damn, I really hate this Puritan ethic I inherited from everyone before me who just couldn’t stop.

– Give it a rest already, Rachel

Dear Rachel,

I read recently that the human body requires rest 42% of the time. Not every day, but cumulatively, or it will blow up in your face.

Aztec Highland Games & Celtic Festival, 9 a.m., Riverside Park, Aztec.

Vintage Love Market, 9 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Women Outside Adventure Forum, 10 a.m.. Full schedule at WomenOutside.org

Merely Players present Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” 2 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr. merelyplayers.org

Zarfha plays, 3 p.m., Mancos Brewing Co.

Live music, 5 p.m., Diamond Belle & The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Open Mic, 5:30 p.m., Mountain Monk, 558 Main Ave.

Comedy Show, 6:30 p.m., Olde Tymers, 1000 Main.

Young Dubliners & Patrick Crossing play, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre.

Monday03

Pre-Apple Days Festival Community Harvest, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., travel to orchards to pick apples for Apple Days

Dear Rachel, We’ve recently had a coyote coming close to the house. I’m in the camp that no one in this house (human or otherwise) weighs under 70 pounds, and we should live and let live. My wife is increasingly of the opinion that I’m not a man unless I run out there in my undershirt and beat it over the head with a cast iron skillet (or at least scare it off by banging on it). We need you to settle this dispute and promise to abide by your verdict.

– Wile E. Hubby

on Oct. 8. For location and to RSVP: https://bit.ly/3SsQILO

Live music, 5 p.m., Diamond Belle & The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Meditation and Dharma Talk w/Erin Treat, 5:30 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

Music Trivia, 7 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, Vallecito.

Comedy Open Mic, 8 p.m., Starlight, 937 Main Ave.

Tuesday04

Pre-Apple Days Community Harvest, 12 noon-2 p.m., pick apples for Apple Days on Oct. 8. For location and to RSVP, visit https://bit.ly/3SsQILO

Twin Buttes Farm Stand, every Tuesday thru Oct. 6, 35:30 p.m., 165 Tipple Ave.

Live music, 5 p.m., Diamond Belle and The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Open Mic Night, weekly 7:30-9:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Comedy Open Mic, weekly, 9 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Dear Acme Spouse, Live and let live, baby. The more you try to eradicate coyotes, the more they take over. Plus, you know, they’re living, breathing, feeling, eating, screwing, thinking beings just like… well, not like ALL of us, but like a lot of us. Those of us living Sprite-commercial lives, anyway. Which, if a middle-aged man were ever to make it in one, it would be in a white undershirt banging pots at wild carnivores.

– Awoo, Rachel

Wednesday05

Morning Serenity: An Opportunity for Small Group Meditation, 8 a.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

Pre-Apple Days Community Harvest, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., pick apples for Apple Days on Oct. 8. For location and to RSVP: https://bit.ly/3SsQILO

Animas Mountain Trailwork, 2-7 p.m., hosted by Durango Trails. More info at https://bit.ly/3Uzims6

Live music, 5 p.m., Diamond Belle & The Office, 699 Main Ave.

2023 Snowdown Kickoff Party, 5:30-7 p.m., The Roost, 128 E. College Drive.

Survivor Support Fundraiser, 6 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St. Benefit for the Survivor Support Fund. Music by Hello Dollface, performances by Secret Circus Society.

Word Honey Poetry Workshop, 6 p.m., The Hive, 1150 Main Ave.

“Historic Use of Horses, Mules & Burros on the San Juan National Forest” presentation, 6 p.m., Pine River Library, 395 Bayfield Center Dr.

Email questions to telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

Poet Susan Howe describes poetry as an “amorous search under the sign of love for a remembered time at the pitchdark fringes of evening when we gathered together to bless and believe.” I’d like to use that lyrical assessment to describe your life in the coming days – or at least what I hope will be your life. In my astrological opinion, it’s a favorable time to intensify your quest for interesting adventures in intimacy; to seek out new ways to imagine and create togetherness; to collaborate with allies in creating brave excursions into synergy.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

Social reformer Frederick Douglass (1817-95) had a growlery. It was a one-room stone cabin where he escaped to think deep thoughts, work on his books and literally growl. As a genius who escaped enslavement and spent the rest of his life fighting for the rights of his fellow Black people, he had lots of reasons to snarl, howl and bellow as well as growl. The coming weeks would be an excellent time for you to find or create your own growlery, Taurus. The anger you feel will be especially likely to lead to constructive changes. The same is true about the deep thoughts you summon in your growlery: They will be extra potent in helping you reach wise, practical decisions.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

“Conduct your blooming in the noise and whip of the whirlwind,” wrote Gemini poet Gwendolyn Brooks. I love that advice! The whirlwind is her metaphor for the chaos of everyday life. She was telling us that we shouldn’t wait to ripen ourselves until the daily rhythm is calm and smooth. Live wild and free right now! That’s always good advice, in my opinion, but it will be especially apropos for you in the coming weeks. Now is your time to “endorse the splendor splashes” and “sway in wicked grace,” as Brooks would say.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

“Don’t look away,” advised novelist Henry Miller in a letter to his lover. “Look straight at everything. Look it all in the eye, good and bad.” While that advice is appealing, I don’t endorse it unconditionally. I’m a Cancerian, and I sometimes find value in gazing at things sideways, or catching reflections in mirrors, or even turning my attention away for a while. In my view, we Crabs have a special need to be self-protective and self-nurturing. And to accomplish that, we may need to be evasive and elusive. In my astrological opinion, the next two weeks will be one of these times. I urge you to gaze directly and engage point-blank only with what’s good for you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Tips to get the most out of the next three weeks: 1. Play at least as hard as you work. 2. Give yourself permission to do anything that has integrity and is fueled by compassion. 3. Assume there is no limit to how much generous joie de vivre you can summon and express. 4. Fondle and nuzzle with eager partners as much as possible. And tell them EXACTLY where and how it feels good. 5. Be magnanimous in every gesture, no matter how large or small. 6. Even if you don’t regard yourself as a skillful singer, use singing to transform yourself out of any mood you don’t want to stay in.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

In the coming weeks, you should refrain from wrestling with problems that resist your solutions. Be discerning about how you use your superior analytical abilities. Devote yourself solely to manageable dilemmas that are truly responsive to your intelligent probing. PS: I feel sorry for people who aren’t receptive to your input, but you can’t force them to give up their ignorance or suffering. Go where you’re wanted. Take power where it’s offered. Meditate on the wisdom of Anaïs Nin: “You cannot save people. You can only love them.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh was born under the sign of Libra. He said, “The rootword ‘Buddha’ means to wake up, to know, to understand; and he or she who wakes up and understands is called a Buddha.” So according to him, the spiritual teacher Siddhartha Gautama who lived in ancient India was just one of many Buddhas. And by my astrological reckoning, you will have a much higher chance than usual to be like one of these Buddhas yourself in the coming weeks. Waking up will be your specialty. You will have an extraordinary capacity to burst free of dreamy illusions and murky misapprehensions. I hope you take full advantage. Deeper understandings are nigh.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I invite you to be the sexiest, most intriguing, most mysterious Scorpio you can be in the coming weeks. Here are ideas to get you started. 1. Sprinkle the phrase “in accordance with prophecy” into your conversations. 2. Find an image that symbolizes rebirth and revitalization arising out of disruption. Meditate on it daily until you actually experience rebirth and revitalization arising out of disruption. 3. Be kind and merciful to the young souls you know who are living their first lifetimes. 4. Collect deep, dark secrets from the interesting people you know. Employ this information to plan how you will avoid the trouble they endured.

5. Buy two deluxe squirt guns and two knives made of foam rubber. Use them to wage playful fights with those you love.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21): There’s an ancient Greek saying, “I seek the truth, by which no one ever was truly harmed.” I regard that as a fine motto for you Sagittarians. When you are at your best and brightest, you are in quest of the truth. And while your quests may sometimes disturb the status quo, they often bring healthy transformations. The truths you discover may rattle routines and disturb habits, but they ultimately lead to greater clarity and authenticity. Now is an excellent time to emphasize this aspect of your nature.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let’s imagine you are in your office or on the job or sitting at your kitchen table. With focused diligence, you’re working on solving a problem or improving a situation that involves a number of people. You think to yourself, “No one seems to be aware that I am quietly toiling here behind the scenes to make the magic happen.” A few days or a few weeks later, your efforts have been successful. The problem is resolved or the situation has improved. But then you hear the people involved say, “Wow, I wonder what happened? It’s like things got fixed all by themselves.” If a scenario like this happens, Capricorn, I urge you to speak up and tell everyone what actually transpired.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): To honor your entrance into the most expansive phase of your astrological cycle, I’m calling on the counsel of an intuitive guide named Nensi the Mercury Priestess. She offers the following advice.

1. Cultivate a mindset where you expect something unexpected to happen. 2. Fantasize about the possibility of a surprising blessing or unplanned-for miracle. 3. Imagine that a beguiling breakthrough will erupt into your rhythm. 4. Shed a few preconceptions about how your life story will unfold in the next two years. 5. Boost your trust in your deep self’s innate wisdom. 6. Open yourself more to receiving help and gifts.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Author Colin Wilson describes sex as “a craving for the mingling of consciousness, whose symbol is the mingling of bodies. Every time partners slake their thirst in the strange waters of the other’s identity, they glimpse the immensity of their freedom.” I love this way of understanding the erotic urge, and recommend you try it out for a while. You’re entering a phase when you will have extra power to refine and expand the way you experience blending and merging. If you’re fuzzy about the meaning of the words “synergy” and “symbiosis,” I suggest you look them up in the dictionary. They should be featured themes for you in the coming weeks.

classifieds

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: 9ish - 5ish

Tues: 9ish - 5ish

Wed: 9ish - 3ish

Thurs: On delivery

Fri: Gone fishing; call first

Announcements

2022 The New Axis of Evil Desantis/Abbott.

HelpWanted

the Paramis. The paramis are ten universal qualities of heart, from wisdom and kindness to determination and patience, that help us navigate the ups and downs of life. Five weeks starting Wednesday, Sept. 28, 6:00-7:45 p.m. For more info, visit durangodharmacenter.org

ForSale

Gordon Smith FibreFlex Longboard

A classic – sweet, smooth ride for cushy cruising. Been around the block but still in great shape. 42” long. $50 Text: 970-749-2595.

Vassago Jabberwocky Singlespeed

17” steel frame, black, hardtail, front Fox 32” fork. Set up for tubeless, decent rubber. Super fun, light and zippy bike –great for in-town rides, Phil’s or more. $700 Text: 970-749-2595.

GoPro Camera

Hero 5. A few years old but only used once or twice and otherwise just sat in a drawer. It is deserving of a more exciting owner! $150 OBO. Text 970-749-2595

Reruns Home Furnishings

editing, copywriting and editing, newsletters, blogs, etc. for small, local, independent or startup businesses. www.forward pedal.com or email jnderge@gmail.com

BodyWork

Lotus Path Healing Arts

Now accepting new clients. Offering a unique, intuitive fusion of Esalen massage, deep tissue & Acutonics, 24 years of experience. To schedule call Kathryn, 970-201-3373.

Massage by Meg Bush

LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199.

CommunityService

Volunteers Needed

Alternative Horizons is in need of volunteer hotline advocates. Call 970-2474374 for more details.

Telegraph cartoonist Clint Reid was MIA this week. In place of his weekly “Chech it Out,” please enjoy another round of “fill in the blank” comic. Clint - if you’re out there, call us!

HaikuMovieReview

A Different Kind of Bank…

1st Southwest Bank, a locally owned CDFI community bank, is seeking a commercial lender, marketing, loan & retail operations staff. FSWB offers competitive compensation, generous benefits, & career development. Join FSWB’s award-winning team dedicated to supporting rural Colorado’s agricultural, nonprofit and small businesses. For details and to apply, visit fswb.bank/who-we-are/careers. EOE.

Classes/Workshops

Learn Spanish Today

Open registration for fall Spanish classes at The Hive offered by Word Travellers Language School. Visit www.es panolahora.net or call (970) 749-6002.

Happiness is a Skill

Half-day meditation retreat at the Durango Dharma Center on October 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more info, visit durangodharmacenter.org

Insight Meditation Course

Meeting the Challenges of Life with Grace: An Introductory Insight Meditation Course on the Buddhist Teaching of

Cozy up your home: vintage dressers, mid-century modern, nightstands, patio sets, coffee tables, cool art and décor, kitchen items … Patio blowout sale! 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.

Wanted

Cash for Vehicles, Copper, Alum, Etc. at RJ Metal Recycle. Also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970-259-3494.

Services

Friendly Carpentry and Painting Stucco repair, 707-806-3456.

Harmony Cleaning and Organizing Residential, offices, commercial and vacation rentals, 970-403-6192.

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.

Marketing Small Local Businesses

Media, website building and content

Durango PlayFest Seeks Play Submissions

from area writers by Dec. 1 for its fifth annual festival, June 28-July 2, 2023. Prior playwriting experience not required. Selected playwright will collaborate with a local director and actors to develop the work for a reading during the festival. Plays should be 60-90 pages, with up to four characters. Playwrights must reside within daily driving distance. Submit plays in a Word document or PDF to durango playfest@gmail.com with “play” in the subject line. For info, visit durango playfest.org.

TeleFlashBack2002

This Week’s Wayback Time Machine: The before and after as the wrecking ball was taken to one of the last bastions of cheap dirtbag digs, the Durango Hostel, on E. 2nd Avenue, in August 2002. The spot went on to become the Mears Building. Pour one out if you remember the Hostel or have ever had to share a communal bathroom with total strangers of questionable hygiene.

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Much Guns N’ Roses, inclusion, diversity, and nude Chris Hemsworth

– Lainie Maxson