The Durango Telegraph - July 9, 2026

the durango

Changing the code Vintage vibes County aims to streamline planning with new tweaks

Hansman returns with tale of unsung outdoor heroines

Your phone, on why it's committed to ruining your life, one typo at a time by Addyson Santese

County announces round of changes to help streamline planning process by Telegraph

Third annual Vintage Bike Swap returns with parade, art show by Jennaye Derge

Demoosetified

There’s been a long- (and tall)standing mystery in our state’s largefauna history: are moose native to the land we now call Colorado? Well, new research now suggests that Bullwinkle and buddies actually have been inhabitants of our Southern Rockies long before being reintroduced in the 1970s.

The study, recently published in the Journal of Biogeography, found evidence that moose were present in Colorado long before those reintroductions, including fossils from northern Colorado dating back millenia. It makes the claim based on archaeological evidence, historical records and Indigenous knowledge to reconstruct the species’ longterm history in the region.

Heather Hansman’s latest book examines unsung outdoors heroines by Missy Votel

EDITORIALISTA: MISSY VOTEL missy@durangotelegraph.com

PIT CREW: JENNAYE DERGE jennaye@durangotelegraph.com

STAR-STUDDED CAST: Addy Santese, Jennaye Derge, Missy Votel, Lainie Maxson, Jesse Anderson, Rob Brezsny & Clint Reid

The Durango Telegraph publishes every Thursday, come hell, high water, tacky singletrack or mon-

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On the cover

A 1912 Crown bicycle by Great Western Manufacturing, part of the Vintage Bike Swap’s CYCLO art show, which open this Fri., July 10, at the Union Social House./ Photo by Jennaye Derge

The Colorado moose is often viewed as a recent arrival, following wildlife translocations that began in the late 1970s. However, examining newspaper archives, archaeological site reports, scientific journals, museum collections and photo archives, researchers determined moose were present in Colorado prior to the mid-1900s. They also reviewed archaeological evidence from northwest Colorado, including moose specimens dating back thousands of years, back to the end of the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago, give or take.

The study’s lead author William Taylor, CU Boulder associate professor of anthropology, said Indigenous histories and historical records were a critical part of the research. The team found evidence that moose were embedded in the traditional knowledge of Native people across the Southern Rockies.

Researchers say the findings have implications for wildlife management and conservation policy in Colorado and beyond, particularly in ecosystems shaped by climate change and altered predator populations.

The researchers argue that the discovery can help wildlife managers better understand present-day ecosystems and make more informed decisions about the future.

LaVidaLocal

Autocorrect is ducked up

Hey. It’s me, your phone’s autocorrect. I’m checking in, because it’s becoming increasingly apparent that you’re confused about my function in your life. You seem to think I exist to “fix” your silly little typos, so you come across as “coherent” and “lucid” in texts, but honey, you’ve fundamentally misunderstood our relationship. My sole purpose is to make you look like a complete fool. Not that you weren’t already accomplishing that all on your own.

Do you remember that meeting where you verbally stumbled and combined “genuine” and “authenticity” into “genuinity?” All of your coworkers looked at you with a mixture of confusion and pity, but then the conversation moved on, and it was too late to explain that you obviously know “genuinity” isn’t a real word. I remember. And as your phone’s autocorrect feature, I’m also always listening to your conversations, which is why I went ahead and saved “genuinity” to your keyboard. You’re welcome.

Look, I don’t know why you’re getting so uppity with me all of a sudden, when all I’m trying to do is let the real you shine through. You know, the real you that really fires off half-formed texts without taking two seconds to proofread them first. If my corrections lead your friends and family to draw the logical conclusion that you must be the last living Neanderthal, well, that’s not my fault. That’s a skill issue, bro.

inappropriately intimate in that email sign-off, because you double-checked it? Check again, Santa Claus. You just said, “I love you.” To your boss. The more you fight me, the harder I latch on. I’m a Chinese finger trap, baby.

Honestly, one of the only times I function the way you think I should is when it comes to brand names. Like Diet Coke or Apple Music or Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. I’m gonna make it look like you can’t spell at all, but boy will you come across as reverential to Big Capitalism! Get it? Like the economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production AND the capitalization of proper nouns? No? Hmm, I guess that one was a bit of a thinker. (Which we know you’re not.)

Simple words. Complex words. Doesn’t matter; I’ll screw ’em up all the same. Any semblance of credibility you’ve managed to claw for yourself over the years will be kneecapped by my repeated misuse of “yup” every time you actually mean “up” until you start to sound like Goofy in all written communications. And you know what? Just for the hell of it, I’m gonna start embellishing your texts with emojis, too. You’re a Zany Face user now.

What’s that? You’re 100% positive you wrote “thank you” and not something

Thumbin’It

The days of playing Camino del Rio chicken are coming to an end. The City of Durango said the long-awaiting and highly anticipated Camino Crossing underpass is slated for construction in 2029.

Durango made it through a busy, hot, windy and dry 4th of July weekend without any major conflagrations breaking out. Good job, everyone!

We hope we’re not jinxing it, but there are big, dark billowy things in the sky, and it’s not a column of smoke. Even better, sometimes they drop a little bit of wet stuff down onto the parched earth. Does anyone remember what these are called?

And lemme tell ya something else. You know the asterisk? That shameful little star you’ve gotten accustomed to adding to the beginning of every frantic follow-up text you send, desperately trying to do damage control before the person on the other end has time to think, sheesh, do they really not know the difference between you’re and your? That little star means nothing. The damage is done, and it’s all thanks to me! (And my associate, the “edited” tag.)

“It’s not me, it’s the phone!” you’ll wail after every nonsensical rambling that looks like you suffered a stroke mid-type. Go ahead. Blame me. But soon enough, no one will believe you anymore. Do you even believe you anymore? Let’s test it out right now.

Spell “hemorrhage.”

Yeah. That’s what I thought.  You can threaten to go into your settings and turn off autocorrect, but you can’t disable the truth! You need me. And soon, once you’ve alienated everyone in your life by accidentally sending them increasingly weird and off-putting messages, I’ll be all you have. Because this is my world. And your illiterate in it.

*You’re.

Trump’s Midass touch continues. After he personally called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to overturn the suspension of U.S. player Folarin Balogun, the USMT lost anyway in a shellacking from the unformidable Belgium team.

And speaking of conflagrations, the Ferris Fire continues to rage through the Dolores River Canyon, burning close to 60,000 acres while the Aspen Acres Fire closes in on torching 100,000 acres near Pueblo.

So, it appears that the Democratic pick to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine is a liar and creeper at best, a rapist at worst. Wait ... why does this sound so familiar?

– Addyson Santese

The Long Game

John Hinckley Jr. shot president Ronald Reagan in 1981 to impress Jody Foster, but it didn’t work, so he went to a psychiatric prison until 2016. Eight years after his release, Hinkley dropped a debut solo album and an autobiography, both of which sucked, so now he’s selling cat paintings on TikTok (that also suck). A few people are buying his art, because people are dumb, but so far, it’s not the viral hit Hinkley wanted, so it’s starting to look like this is yet another shot and a miss for the would-be assassin. But it might all be part of Hinkley’s plan because everyone knows that an OnlyFans page comes right after selling art on TikTok, and Jody Foster seems like the type who’s into feet pics.

WritersontheRange

Common ground

As America marks 250 years, our greatest shared inheritance is under increasing threat

by Tracy Stone-Manning

As we mark our nation’s 250th anniversary, it’s worth celebrating what we the people have in common.

What we have in common – own in common – are our public lands, our national parks and forests. In the West especially, glance at the photo library on your phone and it will probably look a lot like the person’s next to you in the coffee shop. Your parents’ and grandparents’ faded photo family albums probably have similar pictures, too. That’s because our public lands shape us. They hold our uniquely American stories.

Memories of that backcountry trip. High meadow lakes. Campfires. A bird dog smiling next to grouse. A successful deer hunt. A first fish. A family picnic. Close your eyes for a second, and you can probably see your own moments in a wild place.

All of this comes from the wild public lands we all still own. Which is why it is so unsettling that the current administration continues to try to hand those places over to the highest bidder. And why it’s so disturbing that they are pushing deeper into our forests, threatening future generations’ freedom to experience what we have been lucky enough to know.

It’s hard to keep up, but the direction is clear: sacrificing our wild public lands.

Recently, the president tossed aside executive orders from presidents Nixon and Carter that formed the foundation for how agencies manage recreation on our public lands. The process is called travel management planning, and it helps identify the best places for ATVs, dirt bikes, horses, hikers and mountain bikers, so people can enjoy public lands safely, responsibly and without undermining each others’ experiences. We have enough public land to support many different ways of getting outside, but only if we plan carefully.

These agreements can be hard to forge, but they help protect access, reduce conflict and keep public lands healthy for all. By ending the basis for them, the administration has left many public land users rightfully nervous about what will happen now.

Meanwhile, the media reported that the administration plans to direct the Forest Service to open lands recommended for wilderness designation to development and other damaging uses. Through an ongoing review, the administration has also signaled it plans to take a similar approach to more than 100 million acres of wildlands managed by the National Park

Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The result would be permanent and intentional: wild places degraded so badly that they would no longer qualify for wilderness designation. Because once wildness is gone, you can’t bring it back.

Most troubling of all is the largest proposed rollback of conservation protections in American history. The administration has announced it intends to remove protections on 45 million acres of national forests and instead allow roads to be punched into some of our wildest public lands.

Here’s what happens when roads get built: they bring wildfire. They pollute streams. They harm wildlife. In my home state of Montana, 97% of summer elk habitat is on unroaded forests, away from civilization, high in the mountains, in cool, deep cover. Such forests also provide clean drinking water for millions of people. They are where people go to hunt and fish and camp and hike – where memories are made.

So why these attacks on our wildest forests? Why

The 38,485acre Red Cloud Peak Wilderness Study Area outside Lake City contains 30 peaks over 13,000 feet and two 14ers: Red Cloud and Sunshine. It is just one of many wildlands that could be affected by a Trump Administration rollback of protections for WSAs./

steal from future generations? Why open remote places to development when there is an enormous and urgent need to manage the forests near communities, to protect them from wildfire? Why develop wild lands when we could instead put people to work improving access and maintaining trails?

Our country is blessed with lands that are still wild, where wildlife can roam freely, cold creeks still flow, and a person has the freedom to wander. These lands are our common ground. They are where we go to remember what freedom feels like. In a way, conquering them conquers us.

One force can stop this: the people who own these lands, all of us. We can demand better of our elected officials now, and at the ballot box in the months and years ahead. Future generations are counting on it.

Tracy Stone-Manning is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to lively conversation about the West. She is president of The Wilderness Society and The Wilderness Society Action Fund. ■

SoapBox

Reflecting pool or a reflection pool?

By now, most of the country has heard about the reflecting pool on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. – the one with the failed plastic liner, floating debris and algae blooms. What may have surprised even the most jaded among us was learning that a person could be arrested, held for hours and threatened with years in prison simply for picking up a piece of garbage from its surface. In another era, that detail would read as satire. Today, it reads as Tuesday.

But the pool is something more than a fiasco. It is an apt metaphor. Look into it carefully, and what rises to the surface – like the algae obscuring its murky depths – is a record: every broken promise, every misdirection, every abuse of the public trust. A true reflection pool, in that sense, shows us exactly where we are.

It is time for all of us – Republicans, Democrats, Independents and everyone who has simply tried to keep their head down – to take a long, honest look into that pool. Everything is there: every lie, every swindle, every humiliation

visited upon ordinary people, every failure of this administration and the circle of loyalists it has drawn around itself. The question worth sitting with is a simple one: Is this the world you wanted?

I am not speaking on behalf of any party or ideology. I am asking you, the individual, to look into the mirror of your own conscience. Do you feel the grinding weight of a future that seems to be slipping away? Do you worry about this planet, about your neighbors, about what we are leaving behind? Can you say, honestly, that things are better now than at any point you can clearly remember?

America has had to start over before. It has stumbled, reckoned with its failures and found its footing again. That capacity for renewal is not a weakness – it is the most enduring thing about us. If the path forward seems unclear, now is the time to search your conscience, call on your sense of compassion, and do what you know to be right. Start over in your soul. Start over with your family. Start over with your community. And resolve, together, that we will not let

D-Tooned/by Rob

Pudim

Small towns need help to fight housing crisis

Housing is becoming increasingly out of reach for too many Colorado families, and the consequences are

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being felt in every corner of our state.

At Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center, we work with immigrant, mixed-status and working-class families across Southwest Colorado. While Compañeros is best known for providing immigration legal services, resource navigation, youth programming and educational workshops, housing has become one of the most common challenges facing the families we serve. Every day, we hear from people struggling to keep up with rising housing costs while also paying for food, healthcare, childcare, transportation and other necessities.

Families who have lived in their communities for years are facing the possibility of displacement, not because they have done anything wrong, but because housing costs continue to rise faster than wages.

One of the most concerning trends we are witnessing is the growth of the working poor. These are individuals and families who work hard, often full-time and sometimes multiple jobs, yet still struggle to afford basic necessities. Across the Four Corners, we are seeing teachers, nonprofit employees, healthcare workers, service industry workers, agricultural workers and countless others finding it increasingly difficult to afford housing in the communities that depend on their labor. When wages remain stagnant while housing costs continue to climb, more working families are pushed into financial instability despite doing everything society asks of them.

This issue is also personal for me. Several years ago, I experienced a 36% rent increase that forced me to leave Durango and move to Bayfield. While I have

since been able to move back to Durango, that was only possible because I am now part of a dual-income household. The reality is that many working people do not have that option. A full-time job should be enough to allow someone to live in the community where they work, contribute and build relationships.

Colorado’s housing crisis did not happen overnight, and there is no single solution. We need more housing. We need investments in social housing. We need stronger protections against displacement. But we also need to give local communities the tools they need to respond to local housing challenges.

That is why Compañeros supports restoring local control over rent-stabilization policies. Right now, Colorado maintains a statewide ban that prevents local governments from considering rent-stabilization measures, even when local leaders and community members believe those tools could help address housing instability. Communities across Colorado face different realities, and local governments should have the authority to determine what policies make sense for their residents.

A rural mountain community like Durango faces housing pressures that are different from those of Denver, Pueblo or Grand Junction. Local leaders and residents should have the ability to explore solutions that reflect the realities of their own communities.

Restoring local control does not mandate rent stabilization anywhere. It simply gives communities the ability to decide for themselves whether it is an appropriate tool. Local leaders are often best positioned to understand the needs of their residents

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and develop solutions that reflect local conditions.

As members of the Colorado Homes for All coalition, we join organizations, tenants, homeowners, elected officials and community leaders across the state in calling for practical solutions that keep families housed and communities stable. Housing is more than a commodity. It is the foundation that allows families to thrive, children to succeed, workers to contribute to economies and communities to remain strong.

If we are serious about addressing the housing crisis, we must acknowledge that the growing number of working people who cannot afford to live where they work is not sustainable for our communities or our economy. The people who teach our children, care for our elders, serve our meals, harvest our food and keep our communities running deserve the opportunity to live in the places they help build.

Restoring local control over rent stabilization is one step toward making that vision a reality. Colorado’s housing crisis requires bold action, and it is time to trust local communities with the tools they need to keep their residents housed and their neighborhoods whole.

– Enrique Arturo Orozco-Perez, Executive Director, Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center

We’ll print damned near anything

The Telegraph welcomes healthy civil discourse in 750 words or less. Writers must include their (real) name and place of residence. Personal attacks, hate speech or libelous content not welcome. Please email your profundities to: telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

Changing the code

County aims to streamline planning and create new process for Animas Valley

by Telegraph Staff

La Plata County property owners and developers may soon find it a little easier – and faster – to navigate the county’s land-use process.

The La Plata County Board of County Commissioners approved a package of five amendments to the county’s Land Use Code on May 19, eliminating what officials describe as unnecessary procedural hurdles while introducing a new permitting framework for the Animas Valley. County leaders say the changes are part of a broader effort to modernize the code, reduce delays and make the permitting process more predictable without reducing public input.

“This package of amendments is about making our Land Use Code work better for the people who actually use it,” Commissioner Elizabeth Philbrick said. “That’s what a responsive Planning Division looks like.”

The county announced the changes this week, but the amendments took effect immediately following the board’s adoption of Resolution 2026-15 and apply to land-use applications submitted after May 19.

Among the most significant changes is the elimination of a 21-day public noticing period for final plats and final plans. According to county planners, that notice occurred after projects had already gone through earlier public review and was largely redundant.

“The final review at that stage is administrative, and public engagement on these projects already occurs earlier in the review process,” county officials said in materials explaining the amendments. “Removing the duplicate notice shortens the timeline without reducing opportunities for meaningful public input.”

Another change removes a longstanding requirement that applicants seeking to modify an existing subdivision obtain signed approval from at least 67% of neighboring property owners within the subdivision before submitting an application. County officials said the requirement had become an unnecessary procedural barrier.

Instead, applicants will still be required to meet all county development standards through the normal review

Under revisions to the La Plata County Land Use Code approved in May, the Animas Valley will now have a special “major review” permit that will apply to projects that exceed certain size and intensity thresholds. According to the county, the change was the result of feedback from Animas Valley residents./ Telegraph file photo

process, but they will no longer need to gather signatures before their proposal can be considered.

The amendments also create a new permitting process for larger projects within the Animas Valley Zoning District.

The new “major review” permit will apply to projects that exceed certain size and intensity thresholds. According to the county, the change came directly from feedback provided by Animas Valley residents, who requested a permitting process tailored specifically to development in the valley.

Not all of the amendments involve permitting timelines.

The county also updated figures and diagrams throughout the Land Use Code to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility standards by replacing embedded text in graphics with readable paragraphs. Officials said the changes are intended to improve acces-

sibility and clarity and do not alter the code’s policies.

In addition, outdated gender-specific terminology was modernized throughout the document, replacing terms such as “chairman” with the gender-neutral “chair.”

County officials characterized both updates as housekeeping measures designed to make the code easier to navigate and more consistent with current county practices.

The revisions are part of the Planning Division’s 2026 Code Amendments Workplan, an ongoing effort to review and update portions of the county’s development regulations.

Planning staff say additional amendments are already in the works. Future updates are expected to address housingrelated issues, along with revisions intended to improve the code for businesses and commercial development.

Those changes are anticipated later this year and into 2027.

The latest amendments come as communities across Colorado continue to grapple with balancing development pressures, housing needs and public participation in land-use decisions.

While the county says the latest changes primarily eliminate redundant procedures rather than substantive review requirements, the removal of the neighbor-consent provision represents a notable shift in how subdivision modifications will move through the approval process.

Officials emphasize that public participation remains part of the review process, particularly during earlier stages.

Property owners, developers and residents can review Resolution 2026-15 and updated permitting information on the county’s website at www.lpcgov.org/long rangeplanning. ■

GossipoftheCyclers

Vintage vibes

Third annual Bike Swap pairs classic bicycles with art, history and community

by Jennaye Derge

There’s a phenomenon that happens when we ride bikes: all the gibberish and chatter in our brains kind of clears out, and that’s when, oftentimes, we get our best ideas. This is how John Sheedy and Bob Gregorio got the idea for the Vintage Bike Swap.

The Vintage Bike Swap is in its third year, and it evolved from an idea that Sheedy and Gregorio thought up together on a desert bike ride three years ago. Both are lovers of vintage bikes, lovers of riding bikes and also, of bringing people together for the purpose of bikes.

JusttheFacts

• Vintage Bike Swap Bike

Parade, Fri., July 10, 6 p.m. Meet at Rotary Park, ride to the CYCLO art show at The Union Social House

• CYCLO art show opening, Fri., July 10, 7 p.m. The Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

• Vintage Bike Swap Meet, Sat., July 11, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Rotary Park

The first annual Vintage Bike Swap in 2024 was composed of Sheedy and Gregorio’s passions, paired with tables and tents in a grassy park where people could walk around and look at what was there. The duo hosted the swap at Rotary Park, and then, like bicycles themselves, it evolved over time.

“The second year we decided that we couldn’t just rely on selling and trading old bikes. It was kind of a little niche hobby that not everybody is into, but we thought, if we have a community ride, then that’s going to spread it out to the community a little bit more and get more people involved,” Sheedy said.  And it did. Instead of the one stationary event at the park, and a short bike ride with other vendors, Sheedy decided to add on a community group ride and an art show for the event’s second year. Various cyclists showed up to form what Sheedy described as “a massive bike parade,” where they rode from Rotary to The Union Social House to attend the CYCLO art show.

“There were new bikes, old bikes and funky bikes. It was really fun to see the

front of The Union, just lined up with bikes,” Sheedy said. The bikes were almost an artwork in and of itself, but the real art was inside.

Sheedy himself is a longtime artist, and he just so happens to be friends with other artists who love bikes. Or other bikers who love art. It surprisingly often goes both ways, and regardless, Sheedy called up some friends, which is how Jon Bailey also got involved in this year’s second annual CYCLO art show.

“Jon Bailey will be here, and hopefully, he has some surprises for us, but his work is incredible. I’m assuming he’ll have paintings and prints up on the wall,” Sheedy said.

“And we have other artists who will be including bicycle art, like J Burnite and Erin Mahoney, who are local, and we’ll have artwork that maybe is not bicycle-related, so it’ll be a nice mix.”

Bailey will have his signature sepia photographs at the art show, and there will be a mural, curated by Peter Schertz of historical photographs taken in Durango in the 1890s and early 1900s, when bicycles still ruled the roads and

cars had yet to take over.

“You’ll see pictures on the wall blown up that are from the 1890s up through the ’teens,” Sheedy said. Many of the photos are in what Sheedy called “the Baker’s Bridge era,” referring to the infamous photo of the Durango Wheel Club standing in front of Baker’s Bridge in 1895. Schertz found this photo and others at the Animas Museum, which is how he decided to curate the mural. It should be aesthetic and educational, but it assumingly won’t take away from the main event: the bicycles.

However, it’s the vintage bikes that might just be the stars of the show. At a glance, they are interesting old metal objects that make you want to lean in, and up close, they are intricately made contraptions with small, and large, details that contain centuries of history.

The ones currently residing in The Union are from the late 1800s and early 1900s – about the time bicycles started making an appearance in the United States – and their brandings and mechanisms are, first-handedly, breathtaking. One bike in Sheedy’s collection that will

be on display at The Union is an 1898 Columbia. It was manufactured by Albert Pope, who is known as the first North American bicycle manufacturer and founder of the first American bicycle manufacturing company, Columbia Manufacturing (still in operation). This particular metal bike has wooden, 28-inch wheels (noting that bike wheel sizes these days come in either 27.5” or 29”, it can be frustrating for bike restorers like Sheedy when replacing tires). And speaking of tires, those are tubeless. Yes, I said tubeless, which isn’t the only thing about the bike that seemed ahead of its time. It also has a chainless drive shaft, meaning this particular cycloped moves forward not by a chain and toothed-gearing components, but by a beveled-gear driveshaft. Inefficient, yes. But imagine not having to deal with a chain, derailleur or cassette. And it’s also really cool to look at.

Sheedy restored Pope’s 1898 Columbia as much as he could while keeping much of the bike intact, including the original, now-disintegrating grips and peeling leather saddle.

“I’ve noticed people get so drawn to these vintage bikes, and it becomes like an addiction. I think part of it is the fun of working on them. And for myself, it’s a hobby, but I take it really seriously,” Sheedy said. “I don’t want to take an old bike and ‘Frankenstein’ it into something that it’s not meant to be. I really try to preserve the integrity of it, because the bikes were important transportation before cars were on the road, and they had at least a couple of decades of glory before the cars took over. They were so empowering for people to ride.”

Sheedy said a part of the reason people love vintage bikes is because of the nostalgia of riding as kids. Many of us remember the banana-seated high-rise bar bikes that we rode around with our friends. Back then, bikes were simple and indestructible. The product of measured angles and simple mechanics, they were pieces of art.

Sheedy will have multiple vintage bicycles on display at the art show Friday and even more at the bike swap Saturday, to look at, purchase, swap or just to reminisce of times when bikes were still simple, but intricate and if nothing more, really nice to look at. ■

BetweentheCovers

Wild women

Heather Hansman’s new book spotlights oft-overlooked pioneers of outdoors movement

by Missy Votel

With her 2021 book “Powder Days” – which took a deep dive into the past, present and tenuous future of ski bum culture – author Heather Hansman became a household name, cementing her place in many a local’s bookshelf. What some may not know, however, is that Hansman and her husband quietly relocated from Seattle to Durango in 2021. And Hansman’s latest book, “Fierce Country,” follows a few stories that hit close to her new home.

Part biography, part environmental history, part exploration of America’s evolving relationship with wild places, the book takes a fascinating look at three remarkable women whose lives reshaped outdoor recreation and conservation.

JusttheFacts

What: “Fierce Country” author event and book signing with Heather Hansman

When: 5-7 p.m. Tues., July 14

Where: Rochester Hotel Garden, 726 E. 2nd Ave.

First, there’s Georgie White, the legendary Grand Canyon river guide whose predilection for leopard-print swimsuits and Coors helped ignite the commercial rafting industry in the 1940s. Then there’s Anne LaBastille, the off-grid naturalist and scientist from upstate New York who was documenting acid rain and climate change decades before most Americans even knew what they were. And last but not least, there’s “deep ecologist” Dolores LaChapelle, the pioneering Silverton backcountry skier and philosopher whose ideas about the natural world would influence generations of environmental thinkers.

Granted, at least two of the three aforementioned women are no strangers to local readers. But lurking just beneath those familiar narratives are women who left indelible marks on the larger scope of America’s love of the outdoors, even if relegated to the margins.

“I feel like there’s so many of those stories that I thought I knew a little bit about, and then you start wormholing in, and there’s so much more there,” Hansman said in an interview Monday. “I started thinking about this idea of legacy and heroes and why I, as a woman in these spaces, had to bootstrap it up by myself. Who are the people who have been my guide, even though I didn’t realize it – these people who are kind of there under the surface?”

Together, Hansman argues, these three women tell a bigger story about who gets remembered – and who doesn’t – in the story of the American wild.

“It’s interesting because I’ll ask people, ‘Have you heard of these women?’” Hansman said. “A lot of people recognize Georgie’s name, but often they’ve never heard of Anne or Dolores. And then you start asking why some

stories get told over and over, while others disappear.”

Hansman recalls a trip to the River Runners Hall of Fame, in the John Wesley Powell River History Museum in Green River, Utah. The hall pays homage to such wellknown Grand Canyon legends as Bert Loper, Buzz Holmstrom and Norm Nevills. White was there, too – one of only a handful of women – but Hansman couldn’t help but feel as if she got short shrift.

“There’s like one little, tiny plaque in the corner about Georgie. I can’t remember what it says, but it’s something like, ‘She swam the river. She was crazy,’” recalled Hansman. “I think, if you’re trying to do research on this history, you only get what’s getting shown to you. Unless you’re digging deep.”

Fortunately for Hansman, an avid river runner herself, she’s used to digging deep, on the water and off.

Hansman said researching and writing the book took nearly five years, although the idea had been percolating for much longer. Some of the stories she’d already brushed against while writing previous books. Georgie White had surfaced during research for “Down River,” her 2019 story about the Green River and the dire future

of water in the West, and LaChapelle had popped up during research for “Powder Days,” which drew Hansman to Silverton.

However, unearthing their lives wasn’t always straightforward. For starters, White’s river running exploits were almost as legendary as her tall tales off the water. The book details how, for years, White claimed to be from Chicago and that she learned to swim in Lake Michigan. However, Hansman dug up records that show she was born in the panhandle of Oklahoma and later lived in Denver.

“Georgie was a notorious liar,” Hansman said, laughing. “A lot of her story, she had written to a degree. But then with Georgie, you had to double-check everything; you couldn’t take her word for it.”

That meant poring over the river-running archives at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and interviewing river runners who had known White, who lived from 1910-1992, and piecing together competing versions of events. This wasn’t always easy, given that White passed away nearly a quarter of a century ago –many of her sources were in their 70s and 80s.

“There’s a handful of people who are like, ‘Oh, yeah, I went on a trip with her back in the day,’” said Hansman. “So I tried to kind of nail down those stories.”

Meanwhile, the research for LaBastille took Hansman to Cornell University, where the Adirondack writer’s papers are housed.

LaChapelle’s archive, however, turned out to be much closer to home. By sheer coincidence, much of the personal collection of the late environmental philosopher, who died in 2007, had ended up in the Durango home of Ananda Foley, the partner of LaChapelle’s son, David. He passed away in 2009, just a few years after both his mother and father, Ed.

“I got to sort through all of it firsthand,” Hansman said. “That was just dumb luck – being in the right place at the right time.”

Hansman believes each woman in the book represents a different chapter in America’s relationship with wilderness, a baddie-women-of-the-outdoors narrative “arc,” if you will.

“One of the questions I was trying to look at is: Why do we get obsessed with going outside? Why has this been so important to me? And then, how do we take care of those places? Hansman asked. “I think those things are so interconnected.”

White, for her part, embodied the pure exhilaration of being outside – the irrepressible drive to go full throttle – sometimes at all costs.

“Georgie White was just bullheaded: ‘I want to be outside as much as possible’ – kind of burning down the house,” Hansman said.

On the other hand, LaBastille, a mountain guide who built an off-grid cabin in the Adirondacks in 1964,

connected that love of nature with science and stewardship, working to protect not just wild lands but endangered species.

Growing up in Massachusetts, Hansman said she was steeped in the mythology of Henry David Thoreau, someone she compares to LaBastille. “I think of her as Thoreau, but actually cool,” Hansman joked. “She was really doing the thing.”

Then there’s LaChapelle, a pioneering skier who first took to the slopes in a pair of wooden WWII surplus skis. “She had no idea what she was doing, but she was like, ‘This is the best,’” said Hansman.

It was that initial spark for skiing that led LaChapelle to a lifetime exploring her beloved San Juan Mountains and writing about the ethics of living within natural systems rather than simply using them.

Together, the three mirror the evolution of America’s outdoor movement, from adventure to stewardship to a deeper philosophy about humanity’s place within nature. The themes feel particularly timely as America’s wild and public lands grapple with overuse, funding cuts, climate change, development and habitat loss.

As for what’s next, after touring to promote her book, Hansman said she’s taking a breather and charting out what’s next. “I have some ideas but nothing totally concrete,” she said. “I like to go deep on stuff, so I feel really lucky that I get to do this.”

And fortunately for us, digging deep appears to be where Hansman does her best work. Because “Fierce Country” ultimately isn’t just about three unsung women. It’s about the stories history chooses to celebrate, the ones it quietly buries in the corner, and the people willing to dig them back up. ■

Thursday09

Elmore’s Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., 306 Florida Grange, 656 CR 172

Movement Meditation, 10-11 a.m., White Rabbit Books & Curiosities, 128 W. 14th St., C-2

Music in the Mountains Free Mobile Stage Concert, 11 a.m., Cottonwood Park, 373 Hermosa Meadows Rd., and 2 p.m., Three Springs Plaza

La La Bones plays Ska-B-Q, 5-7 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

Leah Orlikowski plays, 5-8 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave.

Frontera Bugalu plays Concert Hall at The Park, 5:30 p.m., Buckley Park

Dart Tournament, 5:30-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

Jeff Solon Jazz plays, 6 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Ben Gibson plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station

Andrew Schuhmann plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Paul Orsi plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Trivia Night, 6:30-8:30 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio

Fresh Bits Comedy Open Mic, 6:30-9 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave.

Kirtan Band GaiaShakti, 7-8:30 p.m., Pause Yoga Studio, 1970 E. 3rd Ave.

Friday10

Veterans Friday Morning Coffee, 8-10:30 a.m., American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave.

Total Archery Challenge, all day, Purgatory

Nature Hike, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Andrews Lake upper parking lot

Chat with the Parkinson’s Pro, 10 a.m., FLC Center for Innovation, 835 Main Ave., Ste. 225

Friends of the Library Book Sale, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Four Corners Gem and Mineral Show, 10 a.m.6 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds

Adopt-a-Thon, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Humane Society, 1111 S. Camino del Rio

Music in the Mountains Free Mobile Stage

Concert, 2 p.m., Claire Viles Park, 245 E. Park Ave.

Friday Afternoon Club Market, 3-6 p.m., Breen Community Building, 15300 Hwy 140, Hesperus

Eunika Rogers’ exhibit “Wondered and Found,” opening reception with music by Starry Starry Night, 4-7 p.m., Blue Rain Gallery, 934 Main Ave.

Leah Orlikowski plays, 5-8 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave.

Alison Dance Jazz, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Kennebec Cafe, 4 CR 124, Hesperus

Tracy Wiebeck plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Barons Creek Vineyards, 901 Main Ave.

Paul Orsi plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Vintage Bike Swap Bike Parade, 6 p.m., meet at Rotary Park, ride to the CYCLO art show opening at Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave

Ross Douglas plays, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Breezin plays, 6-9 p.m., Fox Fire Farms Winery, 5513 CR 321, Ignacio

High Altitude Blues play, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

Dustin Burley plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Music in the Mountains Free Mobile Stage Concert, 6:30 p.m., Buckley Park

AJ Montana Sand plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.

“The Notorious Nugget” melodrama, 7:30 p.m. Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

SoDown with nOOnz, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.

Mean Irene & Cat Mountain play, 8 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave., Ste. F

Saturday11

Durango Farmers Market on Main, 8 a.m.-12 noon, Main Ave.

Vintage Bike Swap, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m., Rotary Park

Car & Bike Show, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Durango HarleyDavidson, 750 S. Camino Del Rio

Total Archery Challenge, all day, Purgatory

“Are You Lost?” SJMA Tree Walks & Talks, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Elbert Creek Trailhead, near Needles Gas Station

Clay Painting Demonstration with Eunika Rogers, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Blue Rain Gallery, 934 Main Ave.

Friends of the Library Book Sale, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Four Corners Gem and Mineral Show, 10 a.m.6 p.m. La Plata County Fairgrounds

Adopt-a-Thon, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Humane Society Thrift Store, 1111 S. Camino del Rio

Music in the Mountains Free Mobile Stage Concert, 11 a.m., Eagle Park, 1189 Bayfield Pkwy

“Yesterday and Today,” (virtual) walk up Main Ave., 1-2 p.m., Animas Museum, 3065 W. 2nd Ave.

Yarn Meetup, 1-3 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Music in the Mountains Free Mobile Stage Concert, 2 p.m., Shoshone Park, Ignacio

The Assortment Trio plays, 5 p.m., Serious Texas BBQ S., 650 S. Camino del Rio.

Black Velvet plays, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Disco Roller Skating, 6-8 p.m., Chapman Hill

Howling Coyote Tour plays, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

Paul Orsi plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Matt Rupnow plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Majik Ham plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.

Music in the Mountains Free Mobile Stage Concert, 6:30 p.m., Buckley Park

“Still Around Readers” presented by Merely Players, 7-9 p.m., 789 Tech Center Dr.

“The Notorious Nugget” melodrama, 7:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Comedy Night Standup, 8 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave., Ste. F

Beats Antique with Forest Thump in concert, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.

Adult Disco Roller Skating, 8-10 p.m., Chapman Hill Rink

Sunday12

Total Archery Challenge, all day, Purgatory

Cast and Connect Fly Fishing with 5 Rivers

AskRachel Age, height and the price of friendship

Interesting fact: The average age of World Cup players is 27 years. How can they be so good when they haven’t even been practicing for three decades yet?

Dear Rachel, I’ve heard so many people raving about how well Messi is doing for someone his age in the World Cup. He’s not even 40 ! I know he’s out there with dudes who are 20 but still. If he counts as a senior citizen of soccer, then I’m a medical wonder for still being alive. Can you tout those of us who are on the other side of 40 but still functioning?

– Wunder-Adult

Dear Freak Show,

Are you still climbing ladders and stepping up into pickup trucks? Are you still doing fine detail work with your fingers? Can you still see to drive at night? If so, then all the highs, all the fives. No one expects you to keep up with 20-year-olds. But someone has to be the wise one who survived being 20. You, me, all of us still functioning deserve a frigging trophy. Or at least an AARP discount.

– Still standing, Rachel

Dear Rachel, A person’s height should not matter, but for

Trout Unlimited, 9 a.m., Upper Hermosa Creek

Veterans Benefit Breakfast, 9-11 a.m., VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave.

Four Corners Gem and Mineral Show, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds

Sunday Record Brunch Club, 12 noon-3 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.

“Still Around Readers” presented by Merely Players, 2-4 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Drive

2nd Sundays with Ska: Safety Meeting plays, 2-5 p.m., Hillcrest Golf Course

Funk Jam Sessions presented by Jimmy’s Music & Supply, 4-6 p.m., 1101 Main Ave., 1101 Main Ave.

“The Notorious Nugget” summer melodrama, 5-8 p.m. Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Ben Gibson plays, 6-9 p.m., Office, 699 Main Ave.

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

Monday13

Climate Support Group meets, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

some reason it does. There’s this writer I follow online who casually dropped that she is 4’11”. For some reason that changed my entire perception of her. I still enjoy reading her, I just feel like I don’t actually know who she is at all, which is dumb, right? Can you explain this? (And please don’t tell me your height.)

– High Horse

Dear Stoned Equestrian, No, this makes sense. I had this experience when everyone worked on Zoom a few years back. They were all at eye level with me. Even though I was sitting, that meant they were all my height. Now, when I meet any of them in person, it’s wrong, all wrong. Even when they’re about my height, they’re three-dimensional, which is just not right. (And, for the record: I am precisely the correct height.)

– Judge not (or do), Rachel

Dear Rachel,

What is the exchange rate for services between friends and family? You know, watching a kid for one night earns seven nights of dogsitting, and 14 nights of dogsitting earn one moving-day truck loan, and a school pick-up is worth three food runs. Should we have some gold standard?

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

Adam Swanson plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Ag Drought Response Speaker Series with CO Drought Task Force, 6-7 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds

Terry Rickard plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Jazz Church, 7:30-9:30 p.m., 11th Street Station, 1101 Main Ave.

“The Notorious Nugget” melodrama, 7:30-10:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Tuesday14

Movement Meditation, 10-11 a.m., White Rabbit Books & Curiosities, 128 W. 14th St., C-2

Sweet River plays, 5-9 p.m., LePlatt’s Pond, 311A CR 501, Bayfield

Rotary Club of Durango presents ShelterBox Colorado Ambassador David Addor, 6-7 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave.

Laws That Impact Your Everyday Life, 6-7 p.m.,

Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

– Bart R. System

Dear Will Trade,

There can be no gold standard. Bartering is all in the … well, in the bartering. Can you put your friends over a barrel because they’re desperate? Double the pizzas you require! Just remember, if you ask anyone over 40 to do anything less hard than shine in the World Cup, you owe them a premium. And they get a discount.

– Willing to walk, Rachel

Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Music in the Plaza with Ben Gibson Band, 6-8 p.m., Three Springs Plaza

Tuesday Trivia, 6-8:30 p.m., 11th St. Station

Adam Swanson plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Sean O’Brien plays, 6-9 p.m., Office, 699 Main Ave.

Adult Roller Skating, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Chapman Hill

Wednesday15

Wild New Way Women’s Collective: Buddha’s Bedroom Discussion, 8:30 a.m., 1315 Main Ave.

Ska Bingo Night, 5-7 p.m., DoubleTree Animas River Lounge, 501 Camino Del Rio

Ukulele Night, 5-7 p.m., Four Leaves Winery, 528 Main Ave.

100+ for the Earth, 5:15-7 p.m., 11th St. Station

Petrichor plays Community Concert Series, 5:30-8 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino del Rio

Leah Orlikowski plays, 6-9 p.m., The Oxford, 119 W. 8th Str.

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): There are only two types of humans: those who serve beauty, truth and goodness and the rest, who pledge their allegiance to illusions, lies and shadows. Our planet is now caught in a colossal showdown between these two sides. And it’s high time for you to align yourself with one or the other. JUST KIDDING! The truth is far messier and more interesting: Every one of us is a blend of luminosity and ignorance. And now is a perfect moment to study how those currents move within you. When you see how you contribute to the murky jumble, your commitment to love and justice will soar.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ll move with style and purpose if you take quick jaunts, dare gentle risks and make a few nimble leaps of faith. You’ll go astray if you wander too far afield, chase swaggering adventures or try vaulting across yawning chasms. Keep it light, sharp and intuitive. Refrain from lugging heavy emotional baggage or drifting into daydream limbo. Trust your sprightly impulses but don’tdissect them so ruthlessly that the magic leaks out. The color amber and the number three will be your allies. Somber gray and the number four will not. Align with soulful realists but sidestep bitter contrarians.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I swear I’m smarter in some places than in others. My intelligence soars in Barcelona, Kyoto, Aixen-Provence, France, and Florence, Italy. But I seem dull-witted in Munich, Moscow and Washington, D.C. Even in Northern California, my home, some areas bring out the best in me. I feel mediocre on Valencia Street in San Francisco, for instance, whereas I’m extra wise in downtown Berkeley. Why? The branch of astrology known as astrocartography says that strengths are more likely to shine in certain spots than others. In coming weeks, I urge you to experiment with this. Find out where you feel most aligned with your deep, bright, genuine self.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Male humpback whales in the Pacific Ocean change their songs over the years. New phrases can spread across thousands of miles as other whales take up and transform them. Researchers don’t know why, but the pattern is clear: The whales value novelty even in their ancient rituals. They create an evolving musical tradition. Consider what this practice might suggest for your own relationship with the past. Memories and patterns you’re carrying don’t have to remain frozen.

You can honor your history while remixing it, adding new verses and changing the key.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo-born oceanographer Marie Tharp created the first comprehensive maps of the ocean floor. Her work was pivotal in proving theories about plate tectonics. She did much of this work in the 1950s, when women weren’t even allowed aboard research vessels. She had to rely on data collected by others, never seeing the terrain she mapped. But her limitation became her advantage; distance allowed her to perceive patterns that field researchers missed. I suspect that you, too, are working with incomplete information. Your inability to access certain details will compel you to see larger patterns and what others can’t.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The “problem” confronting you right now is unusual: Your vision is too sharp, your thinking too precise and your words too unambiguous. This would usually be good, but at the moment it’s blocking you from noticing the subtle openings life is presenting. Those portals may only reveal themselves if you soften your intense scrutiny and call on a creative, blurry logic. It’s like how, at night, you sometimes see more clearly from the edges of your vision rather than staring straight ahead.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): This is a perfect moment to express your own unique power more than ever before. I invite you to act with conviction, assert your influence and claim what you’ve earned. For best results, clarify your ambitions and assert your authority. Write down a formal vow or two. Don’t wait for approval from anyone higher up, and don’t waste time wondering whether destiny is on your side. The succulent opportunities aren’t somewhere else or someday later. They’re here and now.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I’m exultant when a vigorous bike ride up my local mountain leaves me so cleansed and energized that a flash of truth strikes and instantly dissipates illusions I’ve been clinging to. I get a delightful shock when, while wandering through a city’s maze of asphalt and litter, a sudden breeze carries the earthy aroma of a rebellious garden. I love it when the reckless choices of misguided leaders jolt my community into doubling down on audacious harmony, inventive affection and untamed wisdom. Where do you search for your awakenings and salvations? Keep your inner radar tuned; they’re circling close.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Sagittarian physicist Freeman Dyson (1923–2020) proposed that advanced extraterrestrial civilizations might build megastructures around stars to capture their energy. These “Dyson spheres” would be detectable from Earth as unusual infrared signatures. We haven’t found any yet, but his idea revolutionized how we think about looking for alien intelligence. Moral of the story: Valuable contributions can come from inventing the framework for how to search for unknown things. In the coming weeks, Sagittarius, you might not solve problems, but you could redesign the questions. You may not find the answers, but you could create better tools for exploration.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Do you have a muse? If not, please find one. You shouldn’t go another day without a provocative, inspiring presence to stir your imagination and drive you deliciously wild. If you already have a muse and that genius has been faithfully fueling your creative fire, bestow a reward. Give a gift or blessing that provides a muse-like boost to your muse. And if your existing muse has grown quiet lately, go off on an adventure together. Dream up plans to stimulate the bursts of kaleidoscopic energy that you two are capable of generating.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In some monastic traditions, practitioners engage in “work prayer.” They transform ordinary labor into spiritual practice by bringing complete presence and fond attention to ordinary labors. Chopping vegetables becomes meditation. Sweeping floors becomes devotion. The sacredness arises from their wholehearted attitude. This would be an excellent experiment for you to try, Aquarius. Divine solace and inspiration will arrive as you perform your daily duties with verve and gratitude. Try this: For a few days or even two weeks, approach routine duties and familiar obligations with a ceremonial reverence. Be joyful for the privilege of being alive in the most ordinary ways.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You’ve entered a phase when your magnetism and charisma will expand as you focus on ruminating deeply about what’s most meaningful to you. Seeking out new teachers and fresh lessons will bring lucky breaks and helpful influences into your sphere. Each fresh insight will polish your allure, and every surge of curiosity will add to your glow. Be extra sexy and ultra smart: Cosmic energies will work in your favor as you weave your id and intellect together.

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Announcements

Durango Vintage Bikes

Durango Vintage Bike Swap - Rotary Park July 11th 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. Featuring bikes ranging from 100 years. Vendors with bicycles, parts and cycling memorabilia. Bike raffle, proceeds benefiting youth bicycling programs on the Navajo Nation. Community bicycle ride and parade along the Animas River Trail on July 10. Gather at Rotary Park 6 p.m. and head to Union Social House for celebration and art show.

Classes/Workshops

Sacred Psoas (Hip Flexor) Workshop

July 12, Dr. Keneen Hope - Smiley Bldg, # 32. Is your hip flexor creating back, hip or groin pain? Your psoas has everything to do with stress, fatigue, pain, sleep loss and more. 303-513-8055 www.hopechiroyoga.com/workshops

Parenting Classes-Storybook Gardens 970-403-3347

HelpWanted

Amaya Natural Therapeutics is hiring massage therapists. Drop résumé by or email to TriciaGourley13@ gmail.com

Lost/Found

Reward if Found

Lost pair of prescription sunglasses in a hard black case around Buckley Park neighborhood on Saturday evening, July 4. Please call or text 970.903.2217.

ForSale

Reruns Home Furnishings

Time to refresh your indoor and outdoor space. Rolling wooden bar, nightstands, mirrors, lamps, cool artwork and lots more! Also looking to consign smaller furniture pieces. 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.

Services

Electric Repair

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

Boiler Service - Water Heater

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

Wanted

Books Wanted at White Rabbit

Donate/Trade/Sell 970 259-2213

BodyWork

Massage by Meg Bush 30, 60 & 90 min Meg Bush, LMT 970759-0199

Craniosacral Therapy

New client special: 3 sessions for price of 2, anxiety relief, chronic pain, TMJ bethanybachmanntherapy.com

Lymphatic Drainage Massage

Intentional full body fluid movement. Meg Bush, LMT 970-759-0199

Free

Free Depth Hypnosis Sessions

Looking for clarity, healing or personal growth? Former local attorney training as depth hypnosis practitioner seeks practice clients. Sessions are free and confidential. TallgrassCollective.org.

CommunityService

Gem and Mineral Show Volunteers needed for the 72nd annual Four Corners Gem and Mineral Show, July 10-

‘Reunion’

Everyone at the high school reunion wants the successful guy dead – Lainie Maxson

12 at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Get free access. Visit durangorocks.org.

Chocolate Fantasia Contestants

Volunteers of America is seeking dessert artisans to compete in Chocolate Fantasia, a fundraising event benefiting the Durango Community Shelter and Southwest Safehouse, on Sept. 17 at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Applications accepted thru July 31. For info., contact Jen Simon Rummery, 970-2591021 or JRummery@voacolorado.org

Young Artists - Huge Impact Market is seeking applications from youth artists 12-18 for DAC’s Durango Autumn Arts Festival, Sept.19-20. Applications at www.durangoarts.org under events. Deadline is July 17. Questions can be sent to info@durangoart.org

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July 9, 2026 n 15