Durango Telegraph - September 5, 2019

Protective gloves recommended

­elegraph the­­­­durango

FREE Sept. 5, 2019

Vol. XVIII, No. 36 durangotelegraph.com

inside

T H E

O R I G I N A L

I N D I E

W E E K L Y

L I N E

O N

D U R A N G O

&

B E Y O N D

The long road

Ticket to ride

An open book

State’s path to EV enlightenment still has a few potholes p8

Nonmotorized national park, BLM trails open to e-bikes p10

Maria’s steps into future with familiar face at helm p14

Be on the lookout.

Issue 10 of The Gulch is on the horizon.

Wherever you find the Telegraph or at www.gulchmag.com.

To find out about advertising opportunities, email: steve@gulchmag.com

2 n Sept. 5, 2019

telegraph

lineup

8

4 La Vida Local

The long road EVs in Colorado face a few hurdles before going mainstream

4 Thumbin’ It

by Allen Best

5 Word on the Street

10

6-7 Soapbox

Breaking trail Interior issues edict opening nonmotorized BLM, national park trails to e-bikes

11 Mountain Town News

by Missy Votel

12-13 Day in the Life

12

16 Flash in the Pan

Summer swan song

Ear to the ground: “They’re the Huey Lewis of jam bands.”

– Local festivarian commenting on Colorado’s perennial touring band Big Head Todd and the Monsters

Accidental tourists

thepole

RegularOccurrences

It seems even rock stars get jerked around flying commercial sometimes.

Eighties heavy metal band Slaughter, who played the Sky Ute Casino last weekend, showed up to their gig sans their typical leather jackets, tight jeans and black T-shirts.

“American Airlines lost our luggage in case you’re wondering why we’re so dressed up,” a good-natured Mark Slaughter told the crowd.

Alas, the show must go on, and Slaughter didn’t let the absence of clothes keep them up all night. “We went into Durango and bought some T-shirts,” said Mark, who – like his bandmates – was bedecked in a “Durango” tee and sweats.

Alas, the lack of stage clothes had no effect on the band’s performance. “It was so loud I had to put Kleenex in my ears,” one concert attendee reported. We’re pretty sure a Durango T-shirt would’ve worked just as well, though.

17 Top Shelf

As the heat of summer fades, the best months are still to come photos by Stephen Eginoire

18 On the Town

14

20 Ask Rachel

Turning the page After 35 years, Maria’s steps into future with familiar face at the helm

21 Free Will Astrology

by Tracy Chamberlin

22 Classifieds

16

22 Haiku Movie Review On the cover: It’s September in the Southwest, which can only mean one thing: green chile. Get yours while they’re hot (or mild)./ Photo by Stephen Eginoire

Back to the future Fearing an Avs blackout, sons of Athens and skankin’ to the oldies

by Ari LeVaux

boilerplate

EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel (missy@durangotelegraph.com) ADVERTISING AFICIONADO: Lainie Maxson (lainie@durangotelegraph.com) RESIDENT FORMULA ONE FAN: Tracy Chamberlin (tracy@durangotelegraph.com)

T

he 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

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

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.

telegraph

Dauwalter

Run like a girl What does it take to not only finish a 105mile race but win it? Local hard-core runners and weekend joggers alike can find out this Sun., Sept 8, when Backcountry Experience hosts ultra-running phenom Courtney Dauwalter.

Dauwalter, 34, won last week’s Ultra Trail Mont Blanc, which took more than 2,500 of the world’s gnarliest runners through the Alps, starting and ending in Chamonix. In the process, the 170-kilometer course gained more than 32,000 feet over some of Europe’s most punishing terrain.

When the mud settled Aug. 31, more than a day after starting, Dauwalter, a former school teacher from Golden, emerged victorious for the women. With a time of in 24:34:26, Dauwalter arrived nearly a full hour ahead of her nearest competitor, Sweden’s Kristin Berglund.

It was her first attempt at the UTMB in a place where ultra-running is as popular as Monday Night Football in the states. “I’m still kind of absorbing it ; the whole thing was such a special day,” she told irunfar.com in a post-race interview.

Dauwalter was humble about her accomplishment, admitting to “losing her lunch” at one point. “There were parts I wasn’t sure I was moving forward,” she said of the final miles. “It wasn’t pretty … I was in a pretty dark place.”

But her spirits perked when, coming into the last 1.5k stretch, she was escorted by a man on Rollerblades. “(It) circles back to Minnesota where rollerblading is a major pastime,” said the Minnesota native. “Thank you for that, Roller Blades.”

There’s no word on whether Dauwalter will be sporting her blades in Durango, but she will lead a short trail run (on foot), starting at Backcountry Experience at 6 p.m. The run will be followed by a barbecue and the world premier of her Salomon TV episode, “Ultra Addict.”

Sept. 5, 2019 n

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opinion

LaVidaLocal Stumped Allow me to start by saying that I am not afraid to get my hands dirty. I made mud pies once, same as any other kid. I took money – money that our family dog had eaten and fully digested before my mom washed it and put it in plastic baggies so I didn’t have to touch it – to the bank once, same as any other kid. I have even gone so far as to live with other males in a college dormitory.

Getting my hands literally dirty makes me feel manly and accomplished. Fearless and grounded.

But getting my hands figuratively dirty? Let’s just point out that I was an English major for a reason, and that reason is power tools.

I never bothered to learn to operate power tools as a young adult. I saw no reason. I could fix any household problem by reading a book and traveling into other worlds and other lives until the problem resolved itself and/or we moved away.

Ever since, that method has been my most reliable approach to both home maintenance and personal relationships.

But no more! I have decided that enough is enough, and I must learn things like how to replace a faucet with nothing more than my hands, my wits, a cordless 18-volt reticulating saw with LED light and lithium-ion battery pack, and a growing awareness of how expensive a house call from a plumber can get.

In case you have never replaced a faucet with nothing more than your hands, your wits and a cordless 18-volt reticulating saw with LED light and lithium-ion battery pack, but you are considering doing so, then I also recommend wearing rubber gloves. These are especially necessary if the hair in the drain does not, and did not at any point in memory, belong to you. I have broken leases over lesser issues than drain hair. Stephen King wrote It, in fact, because hair clogs were too scary. This is more than getting your hands dirty; this is suffering contact with a visceral substance with the power to lock you in an eternal time loop where you never untangle yourself from the hair under your sink.

But untangle myself I did, and so emboldened was I from my triumph that I decided I could build my own house – one without drains at all, probably! Or at least I could retile the bathroom. But before taking such major steps, I deserved a break.

So I taught my dog how to swim.

We are all new to something at some time. Sure, I had to learn the difference between a blade for wood and a blade for metal for my cordless 18volt reticulating saw with lithium-ion battery pack. But I loved that saw from the moment the man at the hardware store explained why I needed it for any and all of my home improvement projects. Hawkeye too loved the water from the first time he set paw in it. I could not judge him for his process of learning to swim, no matter how much he swam like he was competing in a fifth-grade prep school slap fight, and no matter how shockingly he resembled an oversized, underfed rat when he emerged from the deeps. Because he was happy, and hanging at the lake sure beat caulking the bathtub.

We returned to the lake again, and again, and Hawkeye’s best friend (non-human division) taught him how to swim with a bit more grace, and all was well with the world, and then Hawkeye ran into a driftwood tree stump.

My best friend (non-dog division) said – and I quote, omitting the words not permitted in AP style – “Oh.” Hawkeye’s back leg was not dangling loose like a half-eaten carnival turkey drumstick, which is what I imagined upon contact. But he did have a four-inch piece of driftwood tree stump in his side.

I, being unafraid to get my hands dirty, left the wooden stake in place to search for other injuries.

My friend said, “Hold his mouth,” which I did, being now completely certain my dog was not a vampire.

She yanked the mega-splinter from his side. I said – and I quote, omitting still more nonpermitted words – “Holy.”

Somehow, Hawkeye did not bleed out everywhere.

This was helpful, because I am an English major for one other reason, and that reason is blood. Nor did he use it as an excuse to go get ice cream. Instead, he soldiered through while wearing a protective t-shirt.

The lake was forbidden for several weeks, so I returned to housework, and whilst I was shoveling gravel, Hawkeye tore out his own stitches.

Fortunately, he healed well, so he simply spared himself a return visit to the vet. I suppose we both have more of a do-it-yourself vibe than I ever suspected. But it’s good to be prepared, and if Hawkeye had injured himself further, I was ready. I always have a stack of good books waiting here, right next to the saw. Just in case.

This Week’s Sign of the Downfall:

Thumbin’It Walmart acting to stem gun violence despite the government’s ineptitude by announcing this week it will stop selling ammunition for certain short barrel rifles and all handguns and discourage “open carry” of guns in its stores Ute Mountain Ute tribal leaders confronting rising youth suicide rates and the stigma surrounding talking about it with the opening this fall of a new mental health center Michigan becoming the first state to ban flavored e-cigarettes, which are used by tobacco companies to lure kids and teens into getting hooked with flavors like “fruit loops” and bubblegum

4 n Sept. 5, 2019

– Zach Hively

The possibility that Colorado sports fans won’t be able to watch their favorite teams this upcoming season with Altitude sports and several cable/satellite providers failing to come to an agreement The Environmental Protection Agency rolling back Obama era rules that drastically cut methane emissions from oil and gas operations despite objections from industry leaders at Exxon Mobil, Shell and BP who actually agreed with the rules The painfully slow, grinding destruction of Hurricane Dorian, which all but decimated the Bahamas with several days of damaging winds and torrential rain

telegraph

If the shoe fits…

During a company-wide Twitter staff meeting, an employee asked an executive why the company doesn’t use its AI to silence racist or xenophobic tweets in the same way AI has been used to eradicate ISIS propaganda. The answer was surprising: if AI was used to ban neo-Nazi hate speech, it would inadvertently ban some Republican politicians as well, because their rhetoric is nearly indistinguishable. So, as it turns out, artificial intelligence cannot tell the difference between some republicans and Nazis, but then again, neither can regular intelligence.

WordontheStreet

Q

With the height of growing season upon us, the Telegraph asked, “What are you hoping to harvest?”

John P.

“Well, it is tomato season ....”

Marissa M.

“Some sweet waves near San Fran.”

Peggy Snuggs

“Awareness.”

Roger Klinger

“Nothing but fish.”

Terry Snuggs

“Health.”

telegraph

Sept. 5, 2019 n 5

SoapBox

ReTooned/by Shan Wells

‘Thoughts, prayers’ don’t save lives To the editor, The Red Flag Law should be in every state. This recent mass shooting in Odessa, Texas, would not have happened if law enforcement had been able to take guns away from this redneck shooter when he was firing at animals from the roof of his home, as reported by his nextdoor neighbor.

Uh, officer, is this the guy you played football and drank Lone Star beer with?

To see a picture of a 17-month-old child nearly dead from a military style weapon that also killed seven others over Labor Day sends chills once again – all because this guy lost his job and could care less if he lost his life by caring out just another senseless mass shooting.

From Columbine/Sandy Hook kids to this, when will common sense measures get implemented??!?!! Question marks and exclamation marks should be tattooed on the foreheads on ALL the folks that only have “thoughts and prayers!”

– Sally Florence, Durango

Scouts thank local businesses To the Editor, The boys and girls of Cub Scout Pack 508 would like to publicly thank Tim, Vessie and Carly from Zia Taqueria for helping us get delicious food for our annual banquet earlier this year, and also Katie at Cream Bean Berry for donating 2 gallons of ice cream for our recent ice cream social. Our pack is a strong resource for all youth in our community, and we are made stronger by the generosity of local businesses like these.

– Cub Scout Pack 508

Big pharm CEO salaries sickening To the editor, Why does health care in America cost so much? Why

is every other industrialized country in the world able to provide lifelong health care to every citizen for half of what we spend?

Here’s part of the answer: David Cordani, CEO of 4

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Cigna, “earned” $19 million last year. Larry Merlo, head of CVS Health, raked in $22 million. Michael Neidorff, CEO of Centene, made $26 million.

Axios reports in 2018, 62 health care CEOs made a combined $1.1 billion when calculating the actual value of cashed-out stock. What were these huge salaries based on? The CEO’s ability to make a profit for their shareholders. How do they make a profit? By denying us health coverage. By taking in more money in premiums than they pay out for our health needs.

How do these CEOs sleep at night? That’s one question I don’t have the answer to.

Partnership for America’s Healthcare Future is a lobbyist group made up of health insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists. They are busy spreading propaganda to ensure that this corrupt system of “health care” that puts their profits over our health continues. Last week the American Medical Association quit the coalition.

As long as the profit motive remains part of our healthcare system, we will receive expensive, substandard care.

National Improved Medicare for All (NIMA) will remove profit from the health-care equation. It will provide lifelong health care for every American, just like every other industrialized nation has been able to do for its citizens, for less than what we spend now.

– Philip Riffe, Hesperus

Meet Sen. Gardner’s challengers To the editor, Frustrated by our current “representation” in Congress? We haven’t seen our U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner for over two years! Twelve people are currently running (against each other) to become the Democrat who will take on Gardner in 2020. Come meet them, Sat., Sept 7, 2-4 p.m. at the Durango Public Library in a moderated forum. Join us!

– Anne Markward, La Plata Democrats

Children of the borderland Cross the chihuahua’s freezing nights, Sonora’s blistered desert sands.

Mothers holding tight to swaddled babies, Fathers clenched to tiny hands.

Dreaming dreams of lives of freedom; Go the children of the borderland.

Fences, walls, and rivers Cold and swift and running wide.

People chased toward the open arms of justice; Train top nights gone freezing by!

Gone to lands their father’s father s once possessed.

No time to wait, no time to cry.

Huddled masses breathing free, Coyotes steal into the night.

The walk to freedom’s long, It’s a deadly desperate flight!

With a baby in your arms, Escape your homeland’s gruesome plight.

Dark money troops and weapons, Pushed a fat cat’s greedy will!

Chaos births the gangs who target children, Forcing them to kill!

We sowed the seeds of chaos From fascists’ greedy hands.

The White House spins its circles, Gives them all that they demand!

Now a mother and her son Leave a world of fear behind.

Traveling toward the light of love and solace, A vision etched onto their minds.

A vision full of promise, From a land grown dark and blind!

California, clear to Texas; Between the Arizona sands.

They suffer Santa Anna’s thievery!

The fascists forced a treaty, a military stand!

North to Colorado’s ribboned canyons,

These were once the people’s land.

Remember us to the ones who lived there.

They paved the way, they took a stand.

Crossed the peaceful Gila, And they swam the Rio Grande.

Bless their passing with a welcome, The sweet children of the borderland!

– David Singer, Durango

Trade war hurting farmers

To the editor, President Trump is trying to attain trade equity with China, but his trade war is having a devastating impact on U.S. farmers, which could lead to long-term losses of the Chinese market for our agricultural products since they are being replaced by competing countries. The $12 billion farmers subsidy is just a temporary reprieve for farmers.

China typically imports large quantities of U.S. fruit, pork, cotton, soybeans and other farm products. It imports 60 percent of U.S. soybean exports, about 30 million tons per year. Although the European Union agreed to import more soybeans, its 14 million tons falls far short of the 30 million tons to China.

Brazil is the largest exporter of soybeans to China. It has increased its soybean exports to China by 27 percent to 71 million tons, and it is clearing large swaths of the Amazon forest for soybean production. Unfortunately, the forest is being cleared with set fires that are out of control, and the clearing has a huge adverse impact on the world since the rain forest absorbs millions of tons of carbon emissions each year, along with trees throughout the planet.

Note: My wife’s father, Alton Jones, was a cattle farmer.

– Donald Moskowitz, Londonderry, N.H., via email

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telegraph

Sept. 5, 2019 n 7

ColoradoNews

An electric vehicle gets some juice recently at the Smiley Building. Despite Gov. Polis’ attempt to put Colorado in the fast lane with adaption of EVs, there are still hurdles to overcome, such as lack of infrastructure and the state’s topography and climate, which can limit battery range./File photo

In the fast lane Colorado tries to lead charge in EVs, but there are twists in the road

by Allen Best

A

s Colorado emerges as a leader in electric transportation, it’s grappling with unique challenges from its geography.

The state’s challenges in accelerating electrification of transportation can be understood partly in its extremes. It’s 229 miles from Crested Butte to the gleaming gold dome of the Capitol. In theory, a Chevy Bolt’s battery life has a range of 238 miles. Just enough juice, right?

However, a study by the Gunnison County Electric Association revealed challenges. Temperatures still dip to 30 below in the Rockies, despite milder winters in recent decades. And to get to Denver requires crossing three mountain passes, including the Continental Divide. All

these factors reveal why Colorado is planning 33 fast-charging stations along highways in the state.

“Once those get built, it’s a very different picture,” Mike McBride, chief executive of Gunnison County Electric, said.

Colorado began briskly installing charging stations under former Gov. John Hickenlooper. Newly elected Gov. Jared Polis has taken steps to accelerate the pace. That direction, along with laws adopted this year, lead some to declare that Colorado will soon be among the nation’s leaders in vehicle electrification.

“After this legislative season, I think Colorado has to be considered a leader,” Travis Madsen, of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, said. “We have some work to do to implement the policies, but I expect that the next couple of years will be transformative.”

AUTUMN

2019

Travel and adventure is the ultimate education.

8 n Sept. 5, 2019

telegraph

Last year, Colorado was fifth in the nation in electric vehicle sales at about 2.6 percent, according to EVAdoption .com. California led the nation at 7.8 percent, but Madsen expects Colorado’s sales to increase.

Punching the pedal on EVs Polis has worked hard to speed the adoption of electric vehicles. In his first executive order as governor last January, he reallocated the $68.7 million Colorado will get as its share of the Volkswagen emissions settlement. Under Hickenlooper, the state splintered the money, with some going to school buses and garbage trucks fueled by propane or compressed natural gas. Now, all of Colorado’s VW money will go to electric transportation: half to transit buses; a third to school buses and medium and heavy-duty trucks; and 15 percent to light-duty electric vehicle charging stations.4

Polis also directed the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission to review adoption of a zero-emission vehicle standard based on California’s. A compromise with major auto manufacturers and auto dealers will, if approved, result in auto dealers expanding their offerings of electric vehicles.

Legislators have also pushed forward, creating the framework for the state’s two investor-owned utilities, Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy, to begin building charging infrastructure. They also created a longer downhill coast for tax credits for new electric vehicle purchases. The $5,000 credit had been scheduled to expire in 2020 but will now drop incrementally through 2025.

Group buys, including those in partnerships with utilities and dealerships, have also knocked down prices. State and federal tax credits along with discounts and rebates offered by Xcel and auto dealerships have ratcheted down the price of Nissan Leafs on the Front Range by $19,500.

Debby King, of Denver, owns a hybrid but had no plans to buy an all-electric car until the incentives persuaded her.

She ended up paying less than $12,000 for a Nissan Leaf.

“It was really hard to pass up. I’m not sure that all the infrastructure is quite as robust as I want it to be, but I’m going to find out,” she said. “If it’s not, I can always rent a (gas-engine) car.”

Ambitious goal, aggressive policy A state plan released in January 2018 identified a goal of having 940,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030.

Given Colorado’s aggressive policies, that may be a modest figure. The Colorado Energy Office says the plan will be updated this year.

Transportation has become the fulcrum for Colorado’s greenhouse gas reduction efforts. Legislators adopted sweeping goals this year, but Madsen pointed out if Colorado hopes to attain them, it must more rapidly accelerate decarbonization of its transportation sector. “It’s pretty clear where the electric sector is going, and the transportation sector needs a lot more attention,” he said.

For people in Crested Butte, buying most models of elec-

tric cars remains a stretch. During winter, driving to Denver requires climbing 3,609 feet up Monarch Pass before descending about the same elevation to Poncha Springs. That’s not a problem, as the regenerative braking technology standard on electric vehicles restores lost energy. But what if traffic gets diverted because of avalanche control work?

Cold temperatures also limit the range of electric vehicles. The study by Gunnison County Electric found cold weather sapped batteries. From 1 to 32 degrees Fahrenheit, batteries performed at 80 percent of the EPA estimate and 37 percent of the estimate when the temperature dropped to 8 degrees below zero.

High-speed charging stations should reassure motorists.

One such station was installed in February in Buena Vista, adding up to 125 miles of range within 30 minutes. But McBride points out that the Bolt typically gets about 55 percent of the nameplate charging rate. The lesson, again, is that electric vehicle owners need to be cautious.

Gunnison County Electric has since launched a similar study using a Tesla Model 3. “If potential EV users know what they can expect, they won’t be caught off guard,” McBride said. “They will also be able to choose a vehicle with enough range to meet their needs.”

Bryan Hannegan, chief executive of Holy Cross Energy, said the co-op has been working in the Aspen, Glenwood Springs and Vail areas to deploy two fast-charging stations.

One of them, at Eagle, went online this month. The co-op is also offering 100 percent rebates to members who install Level 2 chargers at their homes or businesses.

Fleets making the leap Transit agencies across Colorado are also investing in energy-saving infrastructure. Among them is the state’s second-largest transit agency, Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, which has a fleet of more than 100 buses and 22 vans. This month, it added eight 40-foot New Flyer electric buses, which can carry 60 passengers and their skis during peak times.

Dan Blankenship, chief executive of RFTA, says the buses

will be used in and around Aspen, where the agency runs 350 trips a day. One place the new electric buses won’t go is the Maroon Bells – RFTA isn’t sure how well the buses can handle the elevation.

“Every technology is going to present some challenges,” Blankenship said, and often the challenges aren’t clear until the buses are deployed. It was that way with natural gaspowered buses and hybrids.

Blankenship expects the climate to pose challenges, as well. Heating, defrosting and steep grades will all draw down the batteries. And, as he adds more electric buses, Blankenship has to think about charging infrastructure.

On the plus side, the electric buses will be far quieter than the diesel or hybrids, no small factor in a town that prizes environmental quality. Too, the buses will have a lower carbon footprint.

But what about residents living in mountain towns? Is it time to buy an electric vehicle?

“There’s no way I would buy a new gas-fueled car right now,” Madsen said. His declaration is driven by a passionate belief in the need to transition energy sources. But he’s also convinced the cost savings alone justify electric vehicles. “It seems like a win-win: save money, prevent pollution and protect health.”

But, given all the new electric vehicles expected to be available in the next few years, he’d want to lease one first, get familiar with how it works, and then buy. Electric vehicles are expected to achieve parity with internal combustion engines by a round 2025, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

As for those who want trucks, they’re coming, too. One option: a Rivian pickup, which was displayed at the X Games in Aspen last January as well as the Outdoor Retailer show this summer in Denver. The developer, an MIT graduate, believes the model can go 400 miles without recharging. It will be pricey though: the base model, which can go 230 miles on a charge – same as a Bolt – will be $69,000 before tax credits. n

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Sept. 5, 2019 n

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TopStory

Ticket to ride Interior issues order allowing e-bikes on nonmotorized BLM, national parks trails

by Missy Votel

E

-bikes could be coming to singletrack near you soon.

Last Thurs., Aug. 29, newly appointed Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt dropped the big one (at least as far as recreational users of public lands are concerned): Order No. 3376.

Despite the unassuming name, the decree ordered all trails on Department of Interior public lands – including those managed by the BLM – that are open to bicycles also be open to e-bikes. A similar memorandum applying to National Parks Service trails was issued the following day.

“This Order is meant to increase recreational opportunities for all Americans, especially those with physical limitations, and to encourage the enjoyment of all lands and waters managed by the Department of the Interior,” the order stated. “Reducing the physical demand to operate a bicycle has expanded access to recreational opportunities, particularly to those with limitations stemming from age, illness, disability or fitness, especially in more challenging environments, such as high altitudes.”

The new policy requires public land managers to adopt rules allowing e-bikes on nonmotorized trails and exempt them from motorized vehicle status within 14 days (Sept.

13). It also directs land managers to devise public guidelines for e-bike use within 30 days.

All three classes of e-bikes are allowed: Class 1, pedal assist with motor shutdown at 20 mph; Class 2, throttle powered with shutdown at 20 mph; and Class 3, pedal assist with shutdown at 28 mph. The new rules apply to two- and three-wheeled e-bikes.

The National Park Service has praised e-bikes as a more environmentally friendly form of transportation to get visitors to more remote areas while alleviating congestion.

“They provide an option for people who want to ride a bicycle but might not otherwise do so because of physical fitness, age, disability or convenience, especially at high altitudes or in hilly or strenuous terrain,” NPS Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith said.

However, trail advocates and conservationists are saying not so fast. “We believe reclassifying battery-powered bikes as nonmotorized not only is illogical, it will displace mountain bikes without motors,” Mark Larabee, of The Pacific Crest Trail Association, said. “More importantly, it would be a paradigm shift in otherwise sound government policy.”

The International Mountain Bicycling Association, or IMBA, which has come out in support of Class 1 e-bikes on trails, also urges caution in rolling full-steam ahead. “It is critical the secretarial order ... does not bind land managers to managing all classes of eMTBs as traditional mountain bikes.

Land managers must be able to recognize eMTBs as three distinct classes and manage eMTBs separately from traditional mountain bikes,” read a statement on the IMBA website.

The Durango-based Wilderness Society, along with several other conservation groups, sent a letter penned by Wilderness Society Director Michael Carroll this summer asking federal land managers to put the brakes on e-bikes until a proper public process took place.

That never happened. Instead, land managers have 14 days to implement the rule and 30 days to craft guidelines for e-bikes. The order also directs them to submit a timeline to seek public comment on changing the rule within 30 days.

According to Carroll, this basically goes against protocol, seeking comment after the fact. “If people want to see e-bikes on nonmotorized trails, there’s a process for that,” he said.

He also worries a decision to allow e-bikes on Forest Service nonmotorized areas could be forthcoming. How-

10 n Sept. 5, 2019

Mountain bikers make their way along a trail in the San Juan Mountains. Under a new decree from the Department of the Interior, all classes of e-bikes will be allowed on nonmotorized trails previously only open to bicycles. The rule applies to BLM and national parks lands. The Forest Service said it has no plans to reclassify e-bikes as nonmotorized./File photo ever, Jed Botsford, recreation supervisor for the Columbine Ranger District, said he knows of no plans to do so.

“There are no changes on the Forest Service side,” he said.

“E-bikes are considered vehicles by the U.S. Forest Service and only allowed on trails and roads open to motorized use.”

In addition, the Forest Service falls under different jurisdiction than the BLM. It is overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and not the DOI. Locally, the new rule would affect Phil’s World, Animas Mountain and parts of Horse Gulch and Overend Mountain Park, to name a few. Carroll notes that local land managers, such as the City of Durango, which have trails across a patchwork of private, city, state and federal lands, may be forced to follow the feds lead. “We’ve got a lot of trails that are on BLM land and dead-end into city parks and rec trails,” he said. “If we’re going to have a consistent formula, the city may be obliged to follow the federal rules.”

Currently, state law allows Class 1 and 2 e-bikes on any trail that bikes are allowed on. But, it also leaves the door open for local governments to make their own decisions.

E-bikes of any kind are not allowed on City of Durango natural-surface trails although Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are allowed on the Animas River Trail. Durango Parks and Recreation Director Cathy Metz told the Telegraph in an Aug. 15 story there’s no plan to change that, although some residents have raised the idea of allowing Class I e-bikes on natural-surface trails. “But, there hasn’t been an outpouring,” she added.

However, she noted if federal land agencies change direction and allow e-bikes, the city would likely revisit the issue.

“We are monitoring what federal land managers are doing.

We’re also monitoring what’s happening in other parts of Colorado and the nation,” she said.

For Carroll and others in the conservation community, it’s just part and parcel for the current administration.

“The Trump Administration has a long-standing track

telegraph

record of management for and by industry and, from our understanding, working behind closed doors,” he said.

He noted that the e-bike advocacy group People for Bikes recently merged with the Bicycle Products Supplier Association, which in addition to traditional mountain bike companies also includes motor manufacturers such as Harley Davidson, Yamaha and Bosch.

“What does this say to the thousands of volunteers who have played by the rules?” Darrell Wallace, Chairman of the Back Country Horsemen of America, asked. “That the manufacturers of these motorized machines are more important than the citizens who use and maintain these trails?”

Curiously enough, as the United States was opening its nonmotorized trails to e-bikes, Canada was shutting theirs down. British Columbia Parks announced Aug. 28 that Class 2 and 3 e-bikes would no longer be allowed on nonmotorized trails in order protect the land. It was a move that the region’s mountain bike advocacy group agreed with.

"We need to make sure that the trails stay within their own carrying capacity and our environment stays within its carrying capacity," North Shore Mountain Bike Association president Cooper Quinn told the CBC. However, Carroll is not sure the proverbial genie can be put back in the bottle in the States. “Will e-motorcycles, equads, e-snowmobiles, e-scooters all be allowed under this?

All of those exist,” he said.

Perhaps most importantly, Carroll and others noted they are in no way against e-bikes as a whole. They serve a purpose in everything from commuting to shuttling kids and groceries. Rather, opponents of the rule have a problem with the lack of a transparency and the refusal to accept ebikes for what they really are: motorized vehicles.

“No one in the conservation community has anything against e-bikes, we want to see more e-bikes,” Carroll said.

“We just want an open process, and we want e-bikes in the right places.” n

MountainTownNews Can e-bikes make America great again?

MEEKER – In his presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to “Make America Great Again,” but what made America great?

That seems open to question. The Trump Administration has been rolling back restrictions, lowering every bar.

Last week, it announced it was easing regulations governing oil and gas extraction on public lands. The rules enacted during the Obama era seek to reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas with 80 times the heat-trapping property of carbon dioxide during its first 20 years, although it quickly dissipates thereafter.

The federal regulations were modeled on those adopted in Colorado, where they have been credited with reducing but not eliminating methane leaks. The federal rules also mirror those adopted

by Wyoming to cover drilling in the upper Green River Basin south of Jackson Hole. A rural area, it had air quality rivaling that of the worst cities. Several of the major oil companies, including ExxonMobil, supported the existing regulations.

Just before the weekend, new Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced that electric bicycles are now allowed on trails in more than 400 national parks, monuments and wildlife refuges as well as on BLM lands that were previously restricted to human-powered bicycles, hikers and horses. The intent, he said, was to make the trails more accessible.

No National Park Service policy governed e-bikes previously. In Yellowstone, both electric and pedal-assisted e-bikes have been allowed only on roads where motorized vehicles were allowed. Now, e-bikes may be allowed on those roads in spring and fall, times when the roads are closed to motorized vehicles, reported the Jackson Hole News&Guide. The newspaper noted that the new memorandum does not strip superintendents of their authority to determine where bicycles, including e-bikes, are allowed.

In a general way, the new policy represents a deference to shortterm economic interests.

A century ago, a different metric was used at Trappers Lake, in northwest Colorado. The U.S. Forest Service in 1919 assigned a new hire named Arthur Carhart to survey lots along the shores of the lake for summer cabins. He was a landscape architect by training, although the Forest Service called him a recreation engineer.

Doing his work at Trappers Lake, he encountered two sportsmen. “Do you have to circle every lake with a road?” they supposedly asked him. “Can’t you bureaucrats keep just one superb mountain lake as God made it?”

Returning to Denver, Carhart advised his superiors to rethink their plans. “There are a number of places with scenic values of such great worth that they are rightfully the property of all people,” he wrote to them. They should be preserved for all time for the people of the Nation and the world. Trappers Lake is unquestionably a candidate for that classification,” he wrote to them.

They agreed, and today Trappers Lake is within the Flat Tops Wilderness, the lake accessible not just to cabin owners but to everybody on the same terms.

That is not the thinking of Donald Trump and the crowds he hangs around with. He’s one of exclusive resorts, places of ornate design. Golf is Trump’s sport, not wilderness trails, in places where the grass is clipped just so.

Rick Reilly, the sportswriter from Denver, recently wrote a book called Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Donald Trump. Reilly’s conversations with caddies and others revealed Trump’s dishonest ways. But one that was not dishonest is the most surprising.

Trump has said repeatedly that climate change is a hoax. But as Reilly reveals in his book, in Ireland, where Trump has a golf course, he applied to local officials for a sea wall, citing the effects of global warming in producing rising waters.

Citizens to help with wildlife data JACKSON, Wyo. – Nature Mapping Jackson Hole celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. A concept called citizen science collection is at its core, employing the observational skills of people interested in wildlife to build a data base that has become invaluable.

The Jackson Hole News&Guide cites the case of pikas, the tiny mammals with the squeaky barks heard so frequently in alpine and montane environments. “Even in the first six months of the project we received several hundred observations of pikas,” according to Embere Hall.

Hall, who now works as the wildlife coordinator for the

Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said data from citizen scientists continually challenged her assumptions. “The lowest recorded elevation for a pika came from a nature-mapping volunteer, and it totally reshaped how we thought of our research project,” she said.

Another case is the Teton County Wildlife-Vehicle Collison Database. Of the 543 collisions recorded, 130 came from Nature Mapping.

Tom Griffith, who had studied wildlife biology 50 years ago but then pursued a career in business, got involved with Nature Mapping Jackson Hole after retiring to Jackson in 2015. Wildlife, he says, is why he lives there.

“It really gives an opportunity for people to become a part of the conversation of the wildlife they enjoy, living in this location.

I’ve lived all over the country, and I can tell you that nothing comes close to the wildlife we have here.”

Support for highway wildlife overpass CANMORE, Alberta – Banff municipal officials have announced their support for another wildlife crossing over the Trans-Canada Highway, this one east of Banff National Park.

If built, it would be the seventh overpass along with 38 underpasses in an 82-kilometer (51-mile) highway segment in the Canadian Rockies.

The Rocky Mountain Outlook explains that highway fencing coupled with overpasses and underpasses has resulted in 80 percent fewer wildlife-vehicle collisions in the park and, for elk and deer alone, 96 percent fewer collisions.

Stressed bear snaps at Lake Louise LAKE LOUISE, Alberta – Can wait staff, hotel clerks and others stressed after a long, busy summer identify with this bear at Lake Louise?

It had encountered people while feeding on buffalo berries. Trying to avoid the throngs of tourists, it swam across the glacier-fed lake.

Emerging from the chilled water, the bear encountered a 24year-old man who was hiking on a horse trail. The hiker immediately called a dispatcher for Parks Canada, seeking counsel in how to react to the unhappy bear. It followed the hiker and, at one point, it rushed the hiker, nipping the man on his leg. It was a scratch, not a bite.

The hiker declined treatment at a clinic, but sometimes bearhuman encounters turn out much worse. The Outlook recalls the death of a hiker who encountered a grizzly on a trail in the Canmore area in 2005.

“Although inadvertently and not on purpose, the bear was very clearly harassed trying to get out of the way of tourists, and eventually something flipped in the bear and it decided to follow a person,” Stephen Herrero, a professor emeritus at the University of Calgary and a global expert on bears attacks and safety, said.

“For a bear in those circumstances, it was either fight or flight.

This bear was exploring its options.”

Aspen opens new luxury hotel ASPEN – Aspen has a new 88-room hotel at the base of the ski mountain, the first new luxury hotel in Aspen in 25 years, reports The Aspen Times.

The W Aspen is the sibling of W Verbier, located in the Swiss Alps. Both are branded as part of the “Mountain Escape” series.

Marriot International is the parent company.

Greg Durrer, general manager of the W Aspen, said the word “escape” is the W brand’s way to describe an alpine resort. “The W brand has a different word for just about everything,” he told the Times.

The 128,000-square-foot building cost Washington D.C.-based developer Northridge Capital $56.5 million, not counting furnishings.

David Jackson, president of Northridge, told a ribbon-cutting crowd that included the Aspen Daily News that his company saw a vacant niche in Aspen.

“We came into Aspen because we saw a niche in the market for younger people that have enough money to spend, but really the Nell or the St. Regis weren’t their place,” he said. Rooms were renting for between $419 and $619 per night in the week leading up to the grand opening.

– Allen Best

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Sept. 5, 2019 n 11

dayinthelif

T

he whimsical days of summer are tember is arguably one of the b through the hills (sans ski boots

c i ture p a y . u ..

B

Treading lig

Plugging in protection above Vallecito Creek.

it lasts longer.

Some of the amazing photos you see in the Telegraph are now available to purchase online, in digital or print.

12 n

(*for personal enjoyment and use only.)

To find out more, go to durangotelegraph.com and click on “shop” and “buy photos.”

Sept. 5, 2019

Dancing up Eureka’s Silver Stage.

The terrain

telegr

High Times

by Stephen Eginoire

e nearing an end, but early Sep- the monsoons at bay, what could be a better excuse to go scramble up best times of the year to romp your favorite mountain or that alpine cliff just waiting to be climbed. s). With plenty of daylight and Here’s a look at some local folks having fun on their local rock piles.

ght on Coxcomb Peak.

What’s better than a face full of flowers on Grizzly Peak?

around Engineer Mountain bathed in September light.

raph

Scrambling down East Trinity Peak.

Sept. 5, 2019 n 13

thesecondsection

An open book After 35 years, Maria’s steps into the future with a familiar face at the helm

by Tracy Chamberlin

M

any things about Maria’s Bookshop have always remained the same – the sense of community, the attention to Southwest stories, and the support for all things local. But, one thing is completely new for the bookshop about to celebrate its 35th anniversary.

For the first time, it’s staying in the family.

Up for sale When word came out last year that Maria’s Bookshop on Main Avenue was up for sale, a sense of unease swept over many in the community.

At the time, Evan Schertz – the son of owners Peter Schertz and Andrea Avantaggio – was studying mechanical engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. He wasn’t set on a specific career path; rather he just loved to learn and understand exactly how things worked.

So when his parents told him about their plans to sell Maria’s, the thought of taking over crossed his mind. But, he didn’t share that with them.

Like an itch he couldn’t scratch, though, the idea never went away and it soon became clear what path he needed to take. The next step, of course, was sharing his thoughts with his folks.

“I was pretty nervous,” he admitted.

Any nerves, however, were quickly calmed. As much as his parents said they were surprised by the announcement, they were also happy about it.

“It was very much a surprise, but a good one,” Avantaggio added. “I’m very proud of him for recognizing the opportunity, for not walking away.”

After sitting down to figure out some of the details, it was time to let everyone else know.

This past spring, Evan and his parents gathered the staff at Maria’s for an early morning meeting.

“I’d been nervous about it for months,” he explained.

Some of the employees were surprised, and others admitted they saw it coming. But what everyone had in common was encouraging words and positive support.

“It was the most encouraging talk,” Evan said. “I got to hear everything about what they loved about working at Maria’s, and about the future of it. It was amazing.”

14 n Sept. 5, 2019

Evan Schertz, right, is taking over Maria’s Bookshop from his parents, Peter Schertz, left, and Andrea Avantaggio. The change in ownership comes just as the shop celebrates 35 years in business. Evan’s favorite book is Shantaram, pictured below. It’s one of many recommendations featured on the shop’s 35th anniversary bookmark./Photo by Stephen Eginoire With backing from the booksellers, it was time to tell the community. And, the response wasn’t much different. “Just about every day since I came back here, somebody has expressed their gratitude, excitement and relief about the future of Maria’s,” he said.

“It’s been heartwarming and encouraging.”

Over the past several months, Evan’s taken on the tasks and the title that come with ownership and management of the bookshop. But, there’s no rush to cut ties.

The plan for the family is to continue to pass the baton over the next six months.

At 22-years-old, Evan’s younger than his parents were when they purchased the bookshop in their 30s.

“I think he’ll probably learn it faster than Peter and I did,” Andrea said.

“It’s more the attitude you bring to it, than the years you bring to it.”

Sometime after the start of next year, Andrea and Peter will step away, and give Evan and the staff some “thinking room,” as she puts it.

“I like to think I’m open to new ideas, but I also

telegraph

know I come with a lot of history,” she explained.

The two soon-to-be-former owners of Maria’s plan to stay in Durango, maybe even take some time to hang out in the garden or go for a bike ride.

“As much of a planner as I’ve always been,” Andrea added, “I’m trying not to plan this.”

Keeping it local For anyone who’s passed through the doors of Maria’s, the reason it has outlasted all the rest is because its owners have always listened to the locals.

“The community has a sense of ownership,” Peter explained. “This is theirs. All we do is reflect that back to them.”

That connection to the community, he said, is a culture created by Dusty Teal.

Teal, along with manager Mary Ann Griffin, who was often considered the face of Maria’s, ran the bookstore for almost 15 years before selling it in 1998.

Those two are credited with building the foundation Maria’s stands on today.

Not only did they actually help lay the bricks for the shop’s current façade, they gave it a name.

Originally called The Bookshop, Teal and Griffin discovered the iconic bird logo created by a famous New Mexican potter named Maria – and the rest is history. 4

Peter and Andrea, who purchased the bookshop from Teal in the spring of ‘98, spent the next two decades solidifying Maria’s as an icon of Durango.

It wasn’t just where to go to keep in touch with the Southwest lifestyle or get advice on the latest page-turner, it had become so much more – a place to purchase gifts, tickets for shows, local fundraisers, school field trips, readings, meetings and even a must-see-stop for tourists.

Locals could depend on it, and visitors could be forever inspired.

Even with the rise of the big-box bookstore chains and the onslaught of internet retail behemoths, it has not only survived it has thrived.

Independent bookstores, like Maria’s, offer something that big business can’t – a relationship to the community, support for local interests, and person-to-person connections.

“When you can walk into a store and have a chat about not just the books, but

The famous canoe hangs from the ceiling in Maria’s Bookshop at 960 Main Ave. Soonto-be-former owner Peter Schertz admitted it might be the one thing he hopes his son, Evan, doesn’t change about the business. But, Evan has said he has no plans to change much of anything – not even the paint color./Photo by Stephen Eginoire

the ideas in those books, Amazon doesn’t give you any of that,” Evan said.

It’s a formula that’s working across the industry. Even with cheap, easy access to the latest best-sellers, small independent bookstores are the ones with increasing sales and growing numbers, according to industry experts.

Keeping the connection between Maria’s and the community is definitely a priority for Evan. “In some ways, it’s a daunting task because it’s been done so well,” he said of his parents. “But in some ways, it makes it easy too.”

It’s what has carried Maria’s through the past several decades and is likely what will take it through the next several.

“My whole life I was steeped in the culture of what Maria’s means to both the people who work here and the entire community,” Evan said. “I was always really proud to be the kid whose parents owned Maria’s Bookshop.”

Now, that mantle belongs to him. n

Don’t stop believing: Maria’s celebrates 35 years Specials for anniversary week include:

n Get 15 percent off any of the books on the “35 Years of Favorites” list, which includes Evan’s recommendation of Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts n With any purchase over $35, customers get a free book from the “special picks” shelf (of course, until they’re all gone) n Stop by any morning during the anniversary week and get one of Barb Mills’ cookies (again, only as long as they last)

$ & &&&

(

What: Meet the Author featuring Chuck Greaves, author of Church of the Graveyard Saints When: Tues., Sept. 10, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave. What: Meet the Author featuring Jane Parnell, author of Off Trail: Finding My Way Home in the Colorado Rockies When: Tues., Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Pine Needle Dry Goods, 858 Main Ave.

'

"' ' %! '&$ & #$

$ '

%

$

#

"

What: Meet the Author featuring Daniel C. Guiet and Timothy K. Smith, authors of Scholars of Mayhem When: Thurs., Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Durango Public Library

For more information about any of the upcoming events or deals, check out www.mariasbookshop.com

Telegraph classified ads can be placed online at www.durangotelegraph.com and cost a mere 10 cents a character. $

(We don’t know how to put this, but it’s kind of a big deal.)

#

To place them the 1990s way: classifieds@durangotelegraph.com To place them the 1970s way: call 970-259-0133

"

$ $#

telegraph

Sept. 5, 2019 n 15

FlashinthePan

Throwing shades

by Ari LeVaux

T

he Turkish eggplant dish Imam Bayildi is named for its ability to separate a man from his consciousness.

Literally, it means “the Imam fainted,” supposedly after taking a bite. Presumably, he fainted because of the dish’s flavor, but there is a competing theory that he fainted upon learning how much olive oil his wife used in preparing it.

Eggplants share the genus solanum with tomatoes and potatoes. Peppers are one branch over in the nightshade family tree.

With a few niche exceptions, like the ground cherry, most other nightshades are poisonous, hallucinogenic, medicinal, inflammatory or any combination of the above, depending on the dosage. This toxicity is thanks to alkaloids, a type of molecule that’s diversely represented in the nightshade family. The alkaloid nicotine is found in potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant, but in much lower concentrations than in their nightshade cousin tobacco.

With one notable exception, every important nightshade comes from the Americas. That exception is the enigmatic eggplant, which was domesticated in Asia.

My friend Ray Risho, a Syrian-American chef, restaurateur and lifelong scholar of Old World cuisines, grew up in an eggplant-friendly household in 1950s Providence, RI. To this day, during the peak eggplant months of late summer and early fall, Risho goes on a seasonal binge, buying and cooking eggplant in various ancient, succulent, fragrant ways. And recently, he showed me how to make Imam Bayildi.

Risho’s rendition is exotic enough to drop you like a kick to the liver but considerably more enjoyable, thanks largely to the Baharat seasonings he mixes with the tomato and onions.

Baharat is a classic spice blend that can be found in most Middle Eastern stores. Risho, a black belt in spice blending, mixes his own. If you are purchasing Baharat or any spice mix, he advises, read the ingredient label carefully. You only want the spices, no flour, salt, sugar, oil or any other filler that would dilute the impact. You can add salt later.

Risho lays eggplant halves in a cast iron skillet, blankets them with a Baharat-seasoned onion and tomato

16 n Sept. 5, 2019

mix, and bakes the skillet, covered, until its contents are a savory pudding “The idea is to get the onions, tomatoes and eggplant to melt,” Risho said. Like the imam, we presume.

I watched him prepare a pan. As he put it in the oven, I took my leave and went home to prepare my own.

When it was done, and the kitchen filled with Baharat aerosols, I could not wait for it to cool to a reasonable temperature. Risking heat damage to my mouth, and

with dainty nibbles that grew larger as the pan cooled, I dove in.

The Baharat spices are magical in this dish, pulling it together into a tightly woven yet luxuriously soft magic carpet ride of a meal. If I had passed out and woken up on the floor, it wouldn’t have surprised me in the least. The only surprise would have been if I’d stopped chewing.

Imam Bayildi is hardly the only dish this mix will spice up. It’s used in dishes throughout the Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula.

Since learning the dish from Risho, I tweaked it, adding garlic and lemon, both of which appear in other renditions of Iman Bayildi.

Imam Bayildi Serves 6 2 lbs eggplant, trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise

telegraph

1 lb tomatoes cut into ribs (see below) 1 lb onion cut into half ribs 2 tablespoons Baharat (recipe below) 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 3 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon tamarind paste 1 tablespoon dried mint 1 head garlic, chopped coarsely ¼ cup lemon juice Slice off a thin piece of skin on the underside of each eggplant half so it sits flat.

Fill a cast-iron pan or other baking dish with eggplant halves, trimming as necessary so they fit in the pan as snuggly as possible with no empty spaces. If there are lots of gaps, cut up eggplant pieces to fit.

With a sharply pointed knife, score a crosshatch pattern into the up-facing sides of the eggplants, about a quarter-inch deep, so the cut halves look like they have been overlaid with graph paper.

To make onion ribs, cut an unpeeled onion in half from end to end, and lay one of the halves flat-side down. Slice off both ends, slip off the skin, and slice thinly along the axis between the two trimmed ends. Finally, make one slice across the middle, 90 degrees from the others, so all the ribs get cut in half. Cut the tomatoes to ribs, but don’t cut them in half.

Combine the tomatoes and onions.

Add the salt, olive oil, Baharat powder, lemon juice, garlic, mint and tamarind syrup, and stir it into a caramel-hued mix. Spread this mix evenly atop the eggplant. Bake covered at 350 for two hours. It should be succulent and soft but not collapsed and mushy.

Baharat Makes ½ cup 1 tablespoon whole cumin seed 1 tablespoon peppercorns 1 tablespoon coriander 1 tablespoon cloves 2 tablespoon nutmeg 2 tablespoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon cardamom Toast cumin, peppercorns, coriander, cloves and cardamom in a dry pan. Grind and mix with the other ingredients. n

TopShelf

Donkey doo, Futurebirds and a skankin’ good time

by Chris Aaland

to search. Twenty-six brewers have already confirmed their participation, including all five Durango-based breweries and fafter suffering through a painful summer of Rockies basevorites from across Colorado and the West. ball, Centennial State sports fans can finally embrace hope This time around, Ska czar Dave Thibodeau has booked a when their beloved Broncos take the field at 8:30 p.m. triple threat of punk and ska bands, including the Aggrolites, Monday night against the evil and insipid Oakland Raiders. The the Toasters and Mustard Plug. The Aggrolites have been Donks are 0-0 and even flirted with mediocrity during a 2-3 prearound since 2002, releasing seven albums along the way, includseason. The good news? The defense looks solid – arguably as ing their brand-new “Reggae Now!” The Toasters are seasoned good as the Super Bowl 50-winning vets and were one of the first Ameriteam’s No Fly Zone. The bad news? can groups in ska’s second wave in Joe Flacco is old, battered, bruised the early ’80s. They’re also veterans and teaching a young backfield and of the Ska Anniversary Bash. Musan even younger receiving corps. tard Plug is a ska/punk outfit from Setting a .500 bar for this team Grand Rapids, Mich., that’s been acseems about right. My prediction is tive since 1991, including a couple a 7-9 season – and that depends on of Warped Tours. It’ll certainly be a a healthy Joe. skankin’ good time.

But recent news out of Denver is Summer is winding down, but absolutely infuriating. Altitude that doesn’t stop Steamworks from Sports, the regional network owned embracing a final flavor for the seaby Kroenke Sports & Entertainment son. They’ll roll out a barrel of and home to the Avalanche, Nuggets, Raspberry Limeade firkin at 3 Rapids, Mammoth and Denver Unip.m. Friday. “It’s the end of the versity Pioneers, has been dropped by summer season, so we wanted to do DirecTV, Dish and Comcast. Their something light and refreshing to contract with these three major carrisend off summer in style,” head ers has expired and negotiations have brewer Ken Martin said. The Raspstalled. I’ve had Oct. 3 circled on my berry Limeade is brewed with a Colcalendar for months. That’s the date orado Kolsch base, which is already that the Avs – one of the NHL’s darlight and crisp with a hint of fruitilings based on a deep playoff run last ness. The kolsch was then ferspring – open the regular season. The mented with raspberry puree, lime Nuggets pre-season begins five days juice and lime zest.

Futurebirds bring contemporary Athens sounds to the later. Many experts are picking the Futurebirds bring contempoNugs to win the excruciatingly diffi- Animas City Theatre at 9:30 p.m. Friday. rary rock to the Animas City Thecult West this year. atre at 9:30 p.m. Friday. Their Who’s to blame? Altitude personalities are suggesting collumusic is a patchwork of influences, including twangy Southern sion on the part of the three providers. AT&T, owners of Dirock (they’ve opened for the Drive-By Truckers), reverb-soaked recTV, point the finger back at Kroenke Sports saying that their psychedelia reminiscent of early My Morning Jacket and fellow latest proposal is a bad deal for customers. In the end, We the Athens residents Phosphorescent, the rhythmic jangle of that People are the ones who suffer. Altitude is certainly a favorite other Athens band, R.E.M., and soaring guitar solos a la Neil of fans in the Rocky Mountain states, but we’re the least popuYoung & Crazy Horse. Local jam band Red Eyed Djinn opens. lated time zone by a long shot. Altitude simply lacks national Cajun is the reason for the season up in Telluride as Dwayne pull. Don’t think Kroenke is losing much sleep over this. The Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers appear at the Sheridan shining stars in his sports empire are the Los Angeles Rams and Opera House at 8 p.m. Saturday. The Dopsie family has been at Arsenal F.C. He covets a Super Bowl title and an English Prethe forefront of zydeco, Creole and Cajun music for the past halfmier League crown … those, and money. You’d think someone century. The youngest of eight children of the legendary Rockin’ who married into the Walmart empire wouldn’t need to haggle Dopsie Sr., Dwayne was nominated for a Grammy in 2018 in the over a few bucks.

Best Regional Roots Music Album category. He’s taken the music I feel like a teen-ager in the 1980s shouting “I want my MTV!” of his father, including the accordion and washboard, into the But here’s the kicker: DirecTV and the Kroenkes don’t give a rat’s 21st century. ass what I want. They want the biggest pieces of the pie and The 23rd annual United Way of Southwest Colorado’s don’t care how much it costs the Average Joe for a bite of crumbs. Radiothon takes place from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Friday at Ska BrewIf left without my Avs and Nugs, I guess I’ll just have to keep ing. Tune in to KRSJ, KIQX and KIUP all day long to find out shouting “Roll Tide” and “Doooooook.” It’s enough to drive one about items up for bid in the live auction. Proceeds benefit to drink … which is a nice transition into this week’s local highUnited Way’s nonprofit partners in La Plata, San Juan, Dolores, lights.

Montezuma and Archuleta counties.

Happy birthday to Ska Brewing, which holds its 24th anniverElsewhere: the Wild Roses perform soul, blues, jazz and sary Brewers’ Invitational Party at 4 p.m. Saturday at the country at tonight’s (Thurs., Sept. 5) Ska-B-Q, which starts at 5 World Headquarters. One big note for the lucky ones who obp.m.; 4 Finger Ring plays tonight’s Plursday at The Starlight tained tickets to this long sold-out soiree: there will be no parkfrom 9 ‘til close; DJ Hakan spins from 9 ‘til close Friday at The ing available at the event (this includes the streets in Bodo), but Starlight; and DJ Side Affex works The Starlight from 9 ‘til close round trip shuttles are available to and from the Durango Transit Saturday.

Center from 3:30-10 p.m. You can also bike or have a sober driver drop you off (thanks, Shelly!) You’ll also need to remember your Roll out the barrel and lend me your ears? Email me at chrisa@go 21+ ID (even old farts like me). Also, note that all bags are subject brainstorm.net. n

A

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Sept. 5, 2019 n 17

onthetown Submit “On the Town” items by Monday at noon to: calendar@durangotelegraph.com

Thursday05 Baby Meetup with Durango Café au Play, 9:30-11:30 a.m., 2307 Columbine. 749-9607.

Drop-in Tennis, 4 p.m., Durango High School, 2390 Main Ave. Thursday Afternoon Social Club for veterans, their spouses and supporters, 4-6 p.m., VFW, 1550 Main Ave. Jason Thies performs, 4-8 p.m., Doubletree Hotel, 501 Camino del Rio.

23rd annual Radiothon, fundraiser for United Way of Southwest Colorado, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., live broadcast on local stations from Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St. www.uwradiothon.org.

Free yoga, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Lively Boutique, 809 Main.

Drop-in Tennis, 9 a.m., Durango High School, 2390 Main Ave.

15th annual Style ‘N’ Stones Jewelry Show and Sale, noon-6 p.m., United Methodist Church, 2917 Aspen Dr.

Trailwork with Trails 2000, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Three Springs trail system. www.trails2000.org.

Trailwork with Trails 2000, 4:30-7:30 p.m., SkyRaider Trail. www.trails2000.org.

Fruit Glean Happy Hour, hosted by Good Food Collective, 5-7 p.m., meet outside the Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave. info@goodfoodcollective.org.

STEAM Lab: Lego Club, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Durango Public Library.

Sunny & The Whiskey Machine performs, 5-8 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

Spanish Speaking Parents & Littles Fridays, 4-6 p.m., Durango Café au Play, 1309 E. 3rd Ave., Room 201. durangocafeauplay.org.

Sue Keller performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Ignacio Farmers & Artisans Market, 4-8 p.m., Fridays thru Oct. 4, ELHI Community Center. 563-4600.

Open Mic Night, 6 p.m., Eno Wine Bar, 723 E. 2 Ave.

Sue Keller performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. The Blackwell Brothers perform, 6 p.m., Mancos Brewing Co.

Sitting Meditation, 5:30-6:15 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave.

Durango Farmers Market, featuring live music, 8 a.m.-noon, TBK Bank parking lot, W. 8th Street. www.du rango farmersmarket.com.

Zumba Gold, 9:30-10:15 a.m., La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave.

Firkin Fridays, featuring “Raspberry Limeade” on tap, 3 p.m., Steamworks Brewing Co., 801 E. 2nd Ave. www.steamworksbrewing.com.

Men in Heels, fundraiser for the Women’s Resource Center and the Gena Rych Scholarship, 5:30 p.m., 679 E. 2nd Ave. 946-3130.

at the trailhead at Highland Mary Lakes near Silverton.

Register at mk@sjma.org.

Henry Stoy performs, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Jean-Pierre Restaurant & Wine Bar, 601 Main Ave. VFW Indoor Flea Market, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 1550 Main Ave. 247-0384.

WholeExpo 2019, the Four Corners showcase of holistic and ecological products, services and seminars, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., event also runs Sept. 8, La Plata County Fairgrounds. www.wholeexpo.com.

The Assortment performs, 4-8 p.m., Doubletree Hotel, 501 Camino del Rio. 14th annual Harvest Dinner, 5-9 p.m., Smiley Building Lawn, 1309 E. 3rd Ave. www.local-first.org.

Sue Keller performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Carute Roma performs, 6 p.m., Mancos Brewing Co.

nd

Heritage Days Family First Friday, 6 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Light Show Public Skate, 6:30-9 p.m., Chapman Hill. 375-7395.

Trivia Night, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio. www.powsci.org.

Friday Nights at Fox Fire, featuring music from You Knew Me When, 6-9 p.m., Fox Fire Farms in Ignacio. fox firefarms.com.

Robby Overfield performs, 7 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Jose Villarreal performs, 7 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., DJ Hakan, 9 p.m.-close, Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Comedy Cocktail Open Mic Stand Up, 8 p.m., Eno Wine Bar, 723 E. 2nd Ave.

Community Acoustic Music Jam, 7 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Disco Night, 6:30-9 p.m., Chapman Hill Skating Rink.

375-7395.

DJ Side Affex, 9 p.m.-close, Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Open Mic & Stand-Up, 8 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave. Karaoke, 8 p.m., Wild Horse Saloon, 601 E. 2nd Ave.

Dustin Burley performs, 7 p.m., The Office, 699 Main.

Sunday08

Karaoke, 7 p.m.-close, VFW, 1550 Main Ave.

Durango Flea Market, 8:30 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds.

Plursday featuring 4 Finger Ring, 9 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Futurebirds perform with special guest Red Eyed Djinn, 9:30 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr. www.animascitytheatre.com.

Henry Stoy, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Jean-Pierre Restaurant & Wine Bar, 601 Main Ave.

Friday06

Saturday07

Traditional Irish Music Jam, 12:30-4 p.m., Irish Embassy, 900 Main Ave.

Durango Early Bird Toastmasters, 7-8:30 a.m., LPEA, 45 Stewart St. 769-7615.

Glacial Geology Field Seminar with MK Gunn, hosted by San Juan Mountains Association, 7 a.m., meet

“Wine not Whine” wine tasting event to benefit4

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Lisa Parker’s Puppies, 4-7 p.m., Four Leaves Winery, 528 Main Ave. Blue Moon Ramblers, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Trail Run, BBQ and world premier screening of “Ultra Addict,” hosted by Colorado ultra-running legend and recent Ultra Trail Mont Blanc winner Courtney Dauwalter, 6 p.m., Backcountry Experience, 1205 Camino del Rio. Matt Rupnow performs, 7 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave. Xavier Rudd performs with Gene Evaro Jr. and Bobby Alu, 7:30 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr. www.animascitythe atre.com.

Riding the wave: surfer, activist, musician Xavier Rudd comes to town What: Xavier Rudd with Gene Evaro Jr. and Bobby Alu When: Sun., Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Animas City Theatre Tickets:: animascitytheatre.com, 18 and over “Australia’s Sexiest Vegetarian” Xavier Rudd comes to the Animas City Theatre on Sunday night, but the multi-instrumentalist is much more than meets the eye. Over his seven-LP career, Rudd has gained legions of followers not just for his indie-folk soul-surfer sounds, but his message. He is known for his activism in championing such causes as the environment, animal rights, peace, veganism and preserving Aboriginal culture, including his own Wurundjeri heritage.

For Rudd, writing music and living his life are one and the same. “I’m literally just singing about the things that are going on around me,” he says.

Hailing from Australia’s surf spot Torquay, Rudd kickstarted his career in 2002 with his

Xavier Rudd

classic album “To Let.” The ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) award nominee is touring to promote his first album in six

years, “Storm Boy.” The album’s title track best encapsulates the album, which he likens to a postcard of a sundrenched life outdoors. He describes the album as tipping its hat to his love of reggae and blues while being “pondering” and “more personal” than previous efforts. Most notably, he’s fallen in love since his last album. “It’s definitely a theme on the record,” he said. “Life feels strong and solid for me now … and this record is in a different space.”

All of this aside, Rudd, who is embarking on his biggest tour to date, said making music is about connecting with others. “It’s a huge compliment for me when there are people in other countries, in other languages, singing my lyrics and singing my songs,” he said.

Joining Rudd on tour is Gene Evaro Jr. and Australia’s “rhythm master” Bobby Alu. To check out a clip of Rudd’s new video for “Follow the Sun,” go to animascitytheatre. com.

Monday09 Yoga Storytime, 9:30-10:45 a.m., Smiley Building Studio 10, 1309 E. 3rd Ave. Watch Your Step class, 10:15 a.m., Durango Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. Sue Keller performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Classic Movie Mondays, featuring “The Defiant Ones,” 6 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

“Welcome to Gwichyaa Zhee,” free documentary screening, 6:30-8 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr. www.animascitytheatre.com.

Rob Webster performs, 7 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave. Trivia Night, 7 p.m., Blondies in Cortez.

Contiki Party with the Aussies, 9 p.m.-close, Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Tuesday10 Zumba Gold, 9:30-10:15 a.m., La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. Drop-in Tennis, 4 p.m., Durango High School, 2390 Main Ave.

Speed Networking for Professional Women, hosted by the Professional Women’s Network, 5-6:30 p.m., The Underground at the Irish Embassy, 900 Main Ave. pwndurango.com.

Matt Rupnow performs, 5 p.m.-close, event runs each Tuesday, Pura Vida, 160 E. 12th St. Sue Keller performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Trivia Factory, hosted by Ben Bernstein, 6:30-8:30 p.m., The Roost, 128 E. College Dr. DJ Crazy Charlie, 6:30-10:30 p.m., Billy Goat Saloon, Gem Village.

Leah Orlikowski performs, 7 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave. Latin Dance Nights, 8 p.m., Wild Horse Saloon, 601 E. 2nd Ave. salsadancedurango@gmail.com.

Purgatory Sports Shop Rides, coed and ladies’ mountain bike rides, 5:30 p.m., 2615 Main Ave. www.purgatoryre sort.com.

Open Mic Night, 8 p.m.-close, Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Rotary Club of Durango meets, presentation from Hal Doughty, chief of Durango Fire Protection District, 6 p.m., Henry Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave. 385-7899.

Wednesday11

Adult Board Game Night, 6-8 p.m., Durango Public Library.

Book launch and signing with Chuck Greaves, author of Church of the Graveyard Saints, 6:30 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave. www.mariasbookshop.com.

Mesa Verde Back Country Horsemen meet, featuring presentation on Canyons of the Ancients with Ranger David Sanders, social time 6:30 p.m., meeting 7 p.m., First National Bank in Cortez. www.mesaverdehorsemen.com.

telegraph

Fired Up Stories, storytime featuring firefighters and EMTs from Durango Fire and Rescue, 10:30-11:15 a.m., Durango Public Library.

BookMarks Discussion, featuring Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, 2 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

“New paradigms for timber and CLT in the built environment,” a community workshop hosted by Timber Age Systems, 2-4:30 p.m., Durango Rec Center. info@tim beragesystems.com.

More “On the Town” p. 204

Sept. 5, 2019 n 19

AskRachel Interesting fact: I read up on what defines kosher food, thinking I could have a concise, enlightening interesting fact for y’all. I was wrong, and now I need a nap.

Dear Rachel, Every big company in the world now is trying to hook me with some kind of rewards program.

The grocery store promises to give me better prices in exchange for my phone number. Credit cards promise to give me cash back on my purchases. Come on, I even have a punch card for smoothies. Is this all a win-win scenario? Or am I willingly being taken advantage of, all in the name of better prices?

– Penny Pincher Dear Valued Customer, Oh, you’re totally being taken advantage of. Corporations aren’t in the habit of giving away anything. If you’re getting something, they’re getting something more. Take credit card rewards. You’re literally paying more for products so that stores can cover the credit card fees from whence your 2 percent cash back comes. It’s all a big scam, and we’re feeding off each other like vultures in a circle jerk. All of it except your smoothie card, that is. That sounds pretty cool.

– Thanks for shopping, Rachel

Dear Rachel, Forget the chicken and the egg question. I have more pressing matters. Namely, is it OK to

eat eggs with chicken? I never considered that it wouldn’t be OK. Then someone posed the question rhetorically, and I can’t shake it. The more I think about it, the weirder it seems to eat an animal at the same time as its unfertilized offspring. Yet I know vegetarians who eat eggs, so eggs aren’t actually animals. I need you to clear this up for me.

– Carnivore’s Dilemma Dear Cracked, Why wouldn’t it be OK? Chicken is delicious. Eggs are delicious. Ergo, chicken enchiladas with a fried egg on top is the only way to go. Unless you’re kosher, which I imagine that meal isn’t. Or is it? There’s no hooves, and you’re not mixing animals. Clearly, I don’t actually know what defines kosher, but I know my salt is, and I put that stuff on everything. So the real question for Ask Rabbi needs to be, is kosher salt still kosher if I put it on my chicken-and-egg-salad sandwich?

– Bagock, Rachel

Dear Rachel, Why will people fight hell, high water and traffic for cheaper gas? I’m talking, like, 2 cents cheaper. On a whole $30 fill up, you save, what, 24 cents? I’m not saying it’s not important to save money. I’m just saying, I think sometimes you burn 24 cents in gas trying to make it to the station across the street. Not to mention the lost time and stress. What the hay motivates people to do the crazy when it comes to gasoline?

– Top It Off

OntheTown

“Timeless West,” paintings from Jim Rey and sculpture from Star Liana York, thru Oct. 4, Sorrel Sky Gallery, 828 Main Ave. www.sorrelsky.com.

Kennebec Market, featuring local farms, baked goods, handmade products and more, 2-6 p.m., each Wednesday, Kennebec Café in Hesperus. 759-7345.

“Inside Out: Visions from the Artist’s Mind,” thru April 2020, Southern Ute Museum, 503 Ouray Dr. www.southernutemuseum.org.

“Conversations & Drinks with Nikola Tesla,” presentation and performance by Doug Mishler, 3-4 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio.

Karaoke, 8 p.m., Thur-Sun, 8th Ave. Tavern, 509 E 8th Ave.

from p. 19

Sue Keller performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Thank the Veterans potluck, 5:30 p.m., Peter Neds performs, 7-8:30 p.m., VFW, 1550 Main Ave. 828-7777.

Loki Moon – Raw Experiments, 6-8 p.m., Eno Wine Bar, 723 E. 2nd Ave.

Susan Marie Frontczak portrays former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, presented by Colorado Humanities and History Live, 7 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. Devin Scott performs, 7 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave. Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m., The Roost, 128 E. College Dr. Karaoke, 8 p.m., Blondies in Cortez.

Upcoming “Exploring Innovative & Fire-Retardant-Treated Local Building Materials,” workshop hosted by Timber Age Systems and the Colorado State Forestry Service, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Sept. 12, Durango Public Library. Register at info@timberagesystems.com.

A living history portrait of Nikola Tesla, played by Doug Mishler and presented by Colorado Humanities and History Live, 7 p.m., Sept. 12, Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. Free Legal Clinic, 4-5 p.m., Sept. 13, Ignacio Community Library. 563-9287.

“By Any Memes Necessary,” game night fundraiser for KSJD Radio and The Sunflower Theatre, 7 p.m., Sept. 13, Sunflower Theatre in Cortez. www.sunflowertheatre.org.

Karaoke with Crazy Charlie, 8 p.m.-close, Wild Horse Saloon, 601 E. 2nd Ave.

Veterans Breakfast, 9-11 a.m., Sept. 15, Elks Club, 901 E. 2nd Ave. 946-4831.

Ongoing

Writers’ Workshop, 2 p.m., Sept. 15, Ignacio Community Library.

“Dynamic Disequalibrium,” works by Tim Hamza and Paul Pennington, exhibit runs thru September, Animas Chocolate Co., 920 Main Ave.

Community Cycle Rides, free and open to all levels and abilities, hosted by Adaptive Sports Association, 5:30 p.m.,

20 n Sept. 5, 2019

telegraph

Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com Dear Phillip, The gasoline cha-cha is a time-honored ritual! Who among us did not have a mom who mapped the gasoline prices within a 5-mile radius and planned our playdates along the routes with the cheapest gasoline? It’s basically free money. Sure, it’s not very much money, but it adds up almost as quickly as my free smoothies. (Two down, eight to go!)

– High octane, Rachel

Sept. 16, meet at La Plata County Fairgrounds northeast parking area. 259-0374 or program@asadurango.com.

Jarabe Mexicano performs featuring Ballet Folklorico del Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m., Sept. 16, Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. www.durangoconcerts.com.

Eminence Ensemble performs with Pherkad, 9 p.m., Sept. 19, Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr. www.ani mascitytheatre.com.

Steamers and Dreamers Steampunk Convention, presented by Aztec Vintage Social, 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Sept.

21, Minium Park, Aztec. 505-801-0373.

“Timeless West,” paintings from Jim Rey and sculpture from Star Liana York, artist reception, 5-7 p.m., Sept. 20, during Fall Gallery Walk, Sorrel Sky Gallery, 828 Main Ave. www.sorrelsky.com.

Eminence Ensemble, part of the Silverton Summer Sounds series 6 p.m., Sept. 20, Columbine Park, Silverton. www.silvertonconcerts.com.

Deadline for “On the Town” submissions is Monday at noon.

To submit an item email: calendar@durango telegraph.com

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): John Muir (1838–1914) was skilled at creating and using machinery. In his twenties, he diligently expressed those aptitudes. But at age 27, while working in a carriage parts factory, he suffered an accident that blinded him. For several months, he lay in bed, hoping to recuperate. During that time, Muir decided that if his sight returned, he would thereafter devote it to exploring the beauty of the natural world. The miracle came to pass, and for the rest of his life he traveled and explored the wilds of North America, becoming an influential naturalist, author and early environmentalist. I’d love to see you respond to one of your smaller setbacks – much less dramatic than Muir’s! – with comparable panache, Aries.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Of all the children on the planet, 3 percent live in the U.S. And yet American children are in possession of 40 percent of the world’s toys. In accordance with astrological omens, I hereby invite you to be like an extravagant American child in the coming weeks. You have cosmic permission to seek maximum fun and treat yourself to zesty entertainment and lose yourself in uninhibited laughter and wow yourself with beguiling games and delightful gizmos. It’s playtime!

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The ama are Japanese women whose job it is to dive to the sea bottom and fetch oysters bearing pearls. The water is usually cold, and the workers use no breathing apparatus, depending instead on specialized techniques to hold their breath. I propose we make them your inspirational role models. The next few weeks will be a favorable time, metaphorically speaking, for you to descend into the depths in quest of valuables and inspirations.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Renowned Cancerian neurologist Oliver Sacks believed that music and gardens could be vital curative agents, as therapeutic as pharmaceuticals. My personal view is that walking in nature can be as medicinal as working and lolling in a garden. As for music, I would extend his prescription to include singing and dancing as well as listening. I’m also surprised that Sacks didn’t give equal recognition to the healing power of touch, which can be wondrously rejuvenating, either in its erotic or non-erotic forms. I bring these thoughts to your attention because I suspect the coming weeks will be a Golden Age of non-pharmaceutical healing for you. I’m not suggesting that you stop taking the drugs you need to stay healthy; I simply mean that music, nature, and touch will have an extra-sublime impact on your well-being.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If you visualize what ancient Rome looked like, it’s possible you draw on memories of scenes you’ve seen portrayed in movies. The blockbuster film “Gladiator,” starring Russell Crowe and directed

by Ridley Scott, may be one of those templates. The weird thing is that “Gladiator,” as well as many other such movies, was inspired by the grandiose paintings of the ancient world done by Dutch artist Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912). And in many ways, his depictions were not at all factual. I bring this to your attention, Leo, in the hope that it will prod you to question the accuracy and authenticity of your mental pictures. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to get fuzzy and incorrect memories into closer alignment with the truth, and to shed any illusions that might be distorting your understanding of reality.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I don’t know if the coming weeks will be an Anais Nin phase for you. But they could be if you want them to. It’s up to you whether you’ll dare to be as lyrical, sensual, deep, expressive and emotionally rich as she was. In case you decide that YES, you will, here are quotes from Nin that might serve you well. 1. It is easy to love and there are so many ways to do it. 2. My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to find peace with exactly who and what I am. 3. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me. Anything I cannot transform into something marvelous, I let go. 4. Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. 5. It was while helping others to be free that I gained my own freedom.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “When you’re nailing a custard pie to the wall, and it starts to wilt, it doesn’t do any good to hammer in more nails.” So advised novelist Wallace Stegner.

I hope I’m delivering his counsel in time to dissuade you from even trying to nail a custard pie to the wall – or an omelet or potato chip or taco, for that matter. What might be a better use of your energy? You could use the nails to build something that will actually be useful to you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “I hid my deepest feelings so well I forgot where I placed them,” author Amy Tan wrote. My Scorpio friend Audrey once made a similar confession: “I buried my secrets so completely from the prying curiosity of other people that I lost track of them myself.” If either of those descriptions apply to you, Scorpio, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to secure a remedy. You’ll have extra power and luck if you commune with and celebrate your hidden feelings and buried secrets.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21): “No Eden valid without serpent.” Novelist Wallace Stegner wrote that pithy riff. I think it’s a good motto for you to use in the immediate future. How do you interpret it? Here’s what I think. As you nourish your robust vision of paradise-on-earth, and as you carry out the practical actions that enable you to manifest that vision, it’s wise to have some creative irritant in the midst of it. That bug, that question, that tantalizing mystery is the key to keeping you honest and discerning. It gives credibility and gravitas to your idealistic striving.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The coco de mer is a palm tree that grows in the Seychelles. Its seed is huge, weighing as much as 40 pounds and having a diameter of 19 inches. The seed takes seven years to grow into its mature form, then takes an additional two years to germinate. Everything I just said about the coco de mer seed reminds me of you, Capricorn. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you’ve been working on ripening an awesome seed for a long time and are now in the final phase before it sprouts. The Majestic Budding may not fully kick in until 2020, but I bet you’re already feeling the enjoyable, mysterious pressure.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If you throw a pool ball or a bronze Buddha statue at a window, the glass will break. In fact, the speed at which it fractures could reach 3,000 miles per hour. Metaphorically speaking, your mental blocks and emotional obstacles are typically not as crackable. You may smack them with your angry probes and bash them with your desperate pleas, yet have little or no effect. But I suspect that in the coming weeks, you’ll have much more power than usual to shatter those vexations. So I hereby invite you to hurl your strongest blasts at your mental blocks and emotional obstacles. Don’t be surprised if they collapse at unexpectedly rapid speeds.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In the 13th century, the Italian city of Bologna was serious about guarding the integrity of its cuisine. In 1250, the cheese guild issued a decree proclaiming, “If you make fake mortadella … your body will be stretched on the rack three times, you will be fined 200 gold coins, and all the food you make will be destroyed.” I appreciate such devotion to purity and authenticity and factualness. And I recommend that in the coming weeks, you commit to comparable standards in your own sphere. Don’t let your own offerings be compromised or corrupted. The same with the offerings you receive from other people. Be impeccable.

telegraph

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Order yours today at: durangotelegraph.com or stop by our office and pick one up in person: 777 Main Ave., #214 Durango, CO

Sept. 5, 2019 n 21

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 classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133 n 777 Main Ave., #214

Classes/Workshops

Professional and accurate. Come by for a free consultation. BPX Durango, Inc. 970749-6063.

Approximate office hours: Mon., 9ish - 5ish Tues., 9ish - 5ish Wed., 9ish - 3ish Thurs., On delivery Fri., 10:30ish - 2ish please call ahead: 259-0133.

Piano Lessons w/fun, expert teacher. Any level or age.

Lawrence Nass 769-0889 Lowest Prices on Storage!

Inside/outside near Durango and Bayfield, RJ Mini Storage. 970-259-3494

Announcements

Harmony Organizing and Cleaning Services Home and office 970-403-6192

ForRent

Himalayan Kitchen 992 Main Ave., 970-259-0956, www.himkitchen.com. Bringing you a taste of Nepal, Tibet & India. Try our allyou-can-eat lunch buffet. The dinner menu offers a variety of tempting choices, including yak, lamb, chicken, beef & seafood; extensive veggies; freshly baked bread. Full bar. Get your lunch punch card – 10th lunch free. Hours: Lunch, 11am-2:30 p.m. & dinner, Sun. Thurs., 5-9:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. ‘til 10 p.m.

Closed 2:30 - 5, daily.

The Perfect Gift for your favorite dirtbag. Literature from Durango’s own Benighted Publications. The Desert, The Climbing Zine, The Great American Dirtbags, American Climber, Climbing Out of Bed and Graduating From College Me are available at: Maria’s Bookshop, Pine Needle Mountaineering, the Sky Store, or on the interweb at www.climbingzine.com.

Wanted Artist Seeking Studio Space in Town 500 + sq. ft. Windows that open and a bathroom. 970-247-0648

Mommy and Me Dance Class Come join the fun! Now registering for classes. Call 970-749-6456. mom myandmedance.com.

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

22 n Sept. 5, 2019

Bookkeeping, Payroll, Taxes & IRS or State Related Issues We specialize in saving you money.

telegraph

Who knew a movie about a mean criminal could be so much fun?

– Lainie Maxson

BodyWork erinzambroski.com Craniosacral, Reiki $40/h, therapeutic massage $85/h safe healing container 623-680-8790

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

Yoga Classes with Kathy Curran For students of all levels starting September 9. Drop ins welcome. Smiley Building, Room #32. 970-259-4794. www.4cornersyoga.com

Music Lessons w/Jeff Solon Sax flute clarinet harmonica beginning piano. Improv on any instrument.

Composition arranging theory special projects all ages, levels, + styles. Returning to your musical passion after a long absence? Let’s talk. jeffsolon.com call/text 970-946-1992

‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’

Massage “Special” 1 hr. - $50 / 1.5 hrs. - $75 - foot detox$35/ in town Durango/free parking/call or text Nancy R. @ (970) 799-2202

Loving Hearts Couples Workshop Loving Hearts Adventure workshop, Sept. 27-29th local, fire circle, practical tools and more. www.lovingheartsadven tures.com 970-749-6120

Yoga for Young Women Ages 12-18. Fridays 4:00-5:00, starting September 13th. Smiley Building, Studio 10. Details at wildlotusyoga.yolasite.com or call Diane at 970-759-6807

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MurderInk

Leader of the pack Man Booker Prize finalist Patrick McGuinness tries hand at crime fiction with thrilling results

by Jeffrey Mannix

“M

urder Ink” strives to find crime fiction with literary merit as well as thrilling conspiracies. Not an easy task in a genre that radiates in the shadows of pulp magazine fiction, a defamation that’s been pinned tenuously and unfairly to the crime fiction genre since the 1950s. But in “Murder Ink,” we’ve been introduced to the literary prize-winners way before prizes were awarded, and we’ve read many of the best books the genre has to offer in crime fiction writing and plotting. And this genre has been attracting better and better novelists over the past 10 years in the United States and has always spawned the best mystery writers in Europe and the United Kingdom. This includes luminaries like Georges Simenon, Pascal Garnier, Marcellus Emants, Carlos Emilio Gadda and many I can’t now recall save for the inim-

itable and recently deceased Andrea Camilleri, with his iconic Detective Salvo Montalbano from Vigàta, Sicily.

Today I’d like to introduce a book of crime fiction that really has no equal and that blindsided me into a literary-induced coma from sunset to sunrise. Throw Me to the Wolves, by Patrick McGuinness, was released last April and circulated down my stack of forthcoming releases because of its hideous cover and the books already queued for reading. Serious readers like myself are loathe to admit that a book’s dustcover has any influence on us (it’s even cliché that you can’t tell a book by its cover), but with a gun at our temple, we’d all admit that we have chosen and avoided books because of their covers. So, in my process of screening new books to bring real artistry to “Murder Ink,” I picked up Throw Me to the Wolves to give it the compulsory dozen pages before it followed its cover onto my donation pile with the other books that don’t live up to the hype.

We’d give you the shirts off our backs ...

But there was no such fate for Throw Me to the Wolves. It is a fascinating and peculiar trip back and forth between boys in an elite boarding school in England and their eccentric professor, whom they all adored. Said professor is interrogated by detectives – one of whom was his student 35 years ago – over the murder of his female neighbor.

McGuinness’ previous novel, The Last Hundred Days, was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. His memoir, Other People’s Countries: A Journey into Memory, won the U.K.’s coveted Duff Cooper Prize, and he is a distinguished professor of French and comparative literature at Oxford University. McGuinness doesn’t pay the mortgage writing crime fiction – this is his first foray into the black arts – and I suspect Throw Me to the Wolves will be ignored as an interloper, at least in the United States. That’s a pity. This is a magnificent book: a heartwarming story, characters you can smell, loyalties twisting in the gut, media “monstering,” laziness overlooked, and justice evanescent and on its way to disappearance.

I hope McGuinness had enough fun and makes enough money writing Throw Me to the Wolves that he will write another mystery. He has a way with words that even the best fiction writers don’t have a grip on. Writing a police procedural with a plot in plain sight is a place for him to practice his triple axel. He’s thrilling.

Don’t miss Throw Me to the Wolves. And don’t forget to ask Maria’s Bookshop for the 15 percent “Murder Ink” discount. n

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