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FREE Sept. 17, 2026 Vol. XXV, No. 36 durangotelegraph.com
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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
(Still) saving the HDs
Making her mark
Bring on the motors
After 40 years, the SJCA’s work may never be done p8
Louisa Palmer on selling art and creating her own p10
Trump proposal would open federal lands to OHVs p11
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lineup
4 La Vida Local
Minion opinions How a reformed hater learned to love the silly little yellow suppositories by Addyson Santese
4 Sign of the Downfall 4 Thumbin’ It 5 Writers on the Range
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6-7 Soapbox 8 Local News
The long haul
10 Between the Beats
As SJCA turns 40, new director takes on ever-changing (and not) landscape
11 State News
by Missy Votel
12-13 Stuff to Do
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13 Ask Rachel 14 Free Will Astrology
Making her mark
Louisa Palmer on selling others’ art and being an artist in her own right
15 Classifieds
by Stephen Sellers
15 Haiku Movie Review
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On the cover A pika peeks out from its rocky enclave recently in the San Juan Mountains. The smaller cousins to rabbits have become a bit of a poster child for climate change lately. The extremely heat-sensitive critters face severe survival threats from drought and hotter temperatures in their alpine habitat. #savethepikas./ Photo by Alex Krebs
Start your engines Trump proposes to roll back OHV restrictions on federal lands by 2028 by Michael Booth / The Colorado Sun
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EDITORIALISTA: MISSY VOTEL missy@durangotelegraph.com PIT CREW: JENNAYE DERGE jennaye@durangotelegraph.com STAR-STUDDED CAST: Addyson Santese, Stephen Sellers, Michael Booth, Lainie Maxson, Jesse Anderson, Rob Brezsny & Clint Reid
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Call it a draw?
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RegularOccurrences
What’s the latest on the saga to halt the demolition of the old Big Picture High School for police parking? Depends on who you ask. According to a release last week from the City of Durango, the 6th Judicial District Court on Sept. 10 denied a “developer's request to halt progress on the city’s new Police Department.” The “developer” in question is Charles Shaw, owner of the adjacent Smiley Building and opponent of what he sees as major changes to the scope of the City’s plans to redevelop the old 9-R Administration site for a city hall and police department. Last week, Shaw sued the City to pause the demolition until voters, who approved using half of the City’s half-cent sales tax to fund it, could weight in. And while yes, technically, the court did deny Shaw’s emergency injunction, it was on the grounds that the demolition is not imminent. The city has not yet filed for a building permit and there is no set date. City Attorney Mark Morgan said the ruling was a win for the City. “We are pleased with the decision,” he said. “The judge found no merit in the emergency alleged by Charles Shaw.” In the case, lawyers for the City said demolition of the building has been contemplated since 1995 and as recently as 2023, when the Durango Fire Protection District owned it. Shaw previously attempted to buy the property in 2021 but was unsuccessful. However, Shaw also said he was generally pleased with last Thursday’s ruling, saying the court agreed there was merit to his case. He also said the court is requiring the City to notify him when and if the City issues a demolition permit, giving him an opportunity to return to court if necessary “The court agreed that we have a reasonable probability of succeeding on our claim,” Shaw said in an email. “In other words, the court recognized that changing from restoration to demolition may go beyond what voters authorized. The court also agreed that demolition before the case is resolved would cause irreparable harm.” The court also rejected the City’s motion to get Shaw to pay its attorney fees. Shaw said the judge also reminded the City – which referred to Shaw as a “disgruntled developer” – that Shaw’s character was not relevant to the case. “I hope the City takes that to heart and focuses on the merits of the case rather than personal attacks on me,” Shaw said. Meanwhile, the City said a groundbreaking date for the project cannot be set until the master site plan is approved by the Community Development Commission. That is expected to happen at the commission’s October or November meeting. Sept. 17, 2026 n 3
LaVidaLocal Try it, you might like it I am a chronic hater. I love to hate things. For example, I hate the way everything is described as some kind of “core” nowadays. I hate the word “maxxing” in all contexts. I hate anything that’s pitched as a retelling or reboot. The entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things.” Every single song ever written and recorded by Imagine Dragons. Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” which bored me so deeply, I walked out in the first hour and got ice cream instead. I hate Thanksgiving. But historically, there’s nothing I’ve hated more than Minions. Yes, Minions. The yellow suppository-shaped creatures biologically compelled to serve history’s most evil villains. (Loose definition of evil here.) Ever since they hit the scene in 2010, I have despised the Minions, and by extension, Minions fans. I’d see a sticker of one of those ridiculous overalls-wearing TicTacs waving at me from the back of someone’s sedan and think to myself, would you look at this dumb idiot. Here’s someone ready to broadcast their low IQ to the world with one misaligned decal! Because that’s what Minions symbolized to me. Overprocessed Facebook memes with captions like “It takes skill to trip over flat surfaces!” and “Exercise? I thought you said extra fries!” Lowest common denominator humor. Brainlessness. Any human being who considered “BANANA!” to be the funniest line uttered in the history of film was not a human I could relate to. I was a resolute, steadfast Minions hater. Then my brother came to town. Unlike me, my younger brother (whom I deeply respect) is not a cynical misanthropist. He enjoys things. Many things. And he begged me to see the new “Minions & Monsters” movie with him. (For essential context, we are both adults in our 30s.) Five days of imploring and one rush of big sisterly affection later, I caved. I watched a Minions movie without a gun to my head.
And it was delightful. In an hour and 29 minutes, my superior sense of self crumbled. I giggled. I grinned. I guffawed. I fell in love with a squishy, nerfed version of Cthulhu called Goomi. I was shaken to my core. Then I watched more. To start, I went back to the source material, “Despicable Me” (which was honestly a C+ movie at best). Then, completely of my own volition, I searched for the Minions spinoffs on all my streaming services, which I watched totally solo. I found God, and his name is Bob. Now, two months later, I’m sending Minions reaction gifs to my husband. I’m looking up English-to-Minionese translations. I’m in the shower, speculating about whether the Minions would have served Hitler if they weren’t canonically trapped in an ice cave from 1812 to 1968. Hell, the theme of this year’s Snowdown is “Chillin’ With My Villains,” and there’s a strong chance I’ll slap on a pair of goggles, a yellow turtleneck, and some dungarees to hit the streets! And I won’t taint their honor by trying to make it a sexy Minions costume either. I’ll go as God and Universal Pictures intended – a completely neutered male. I resent that the Minions have had such an impact on me, I felt compelled to write about them in a public forum. And yet, the fact remains. I. Like. Minions. Which leads me to one obvious question. If I was able to find the Minions so enjoyable after hating them for so long, what else have I been missing out on? Don’t get me wrong. I’m still a hater at heart, and I’ll continue to find new things to hate. Like Polymarket. Or the cultural inescapability of Tom Holland and Zendaya. Or the way every product advertisement on earth has a “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” movie tie-in. (See my former point.) But now, before I hate on something too hard, I’ll think about the bumper sticker I saw in the movie theater parking lot right before my brother and I went in to see the Minions: try it, you might like it. – Addyson Santese
Thumbin’It Are we dreaming or did Trump’s stacked Supreme Court just rule against his diabolical scheme to throw the midterm elections into chaos? Since he is the sorest loser in the history of the universe, we’re sure this is not the last of this, but for now, whew. An Albuquerque woman was recently reunited with her dog Jake, who had gone missing after a car accident that killed her wife near Cortez six months ago. He’s a lot skinnier, but apparently no worse for the wear, and happy to be home. We’re not crying, you’re crying. Better late than never, the monsoons seem to have arrived in full force to the Southwest. We know they’re wreaking havoc on roads and such, but we’re holding out for a late-season gift from the river gods.
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SignoftheDownfall: In the latest traumatizing bear news, a bear in distress recently had to be put down and was found to have trash bags and cleaning wipes blocking its intestines. They will eat anything, people – so lock it up! (On a separate note, maybe we could carpet bomb town with acorns? Just a thought … ) Not to sound like a broken record when it comes to, uh, broken records, but 2026 was Colorado’s hottest summer on record. And no, we’re not talking action at The Beach. And speaking of climate change, Trump continues to pretend it doesn’t exist and just rolled back pollution standards for coalfired power plants, saying it will “unleash” American energy. It will also unleash more smog, mercury and lead into the air and contribute to some 30,000 deaths. But hey, more “hot” summers.
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Does that make it “airmen?” September can be a solemn month, what with 9/11, Kirkaversary and the end of summer. So maybe it’s time to lighten the mood by remembering that time firefighters braved a massive semen explosion at a bovine artificial insemination facility in Australia seven years ago on Sept. 17. More than 100 vials of cow semen were turned into projectiles after a fire caused multiple cryogenic containers to explode. Nobody died, so it’s not like we need to hold a candlelight vigil, but it’d still be nice to observe a moment of silence for whoever had to go out the next day and collect 100 more vials from a bull that was probably super tired.
WritersontheRange
A roadless test case Stripping protections from Oregon’s Blue Mountains may be bellwether for other forests by Keats Conley
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icture a clear stream where spawning salmon undulate over clean gravels, pressing upstream through waters the iconic fish once vanished from entirely. That’s Lookingglass Creek, in the Umatilla National Forest in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. A little east of there, in the Wallowa National Forest, Huckleberry Mountain sustains rare species like the Wallowa rosy finch, and to the south, on the Malheur National Forest, there’s an Alaska yellow cedar forest hundreds of miles inland from its core range. These three national forests in eastern Oregon share something in common: They are intact roadless forests now on the verge of losing the protections that have kept them free from industrial logging and new roads. These lands are also common ground shared by tribal members, hunters, anglers, wildlife watchers and anyone who values a quiet trail into the backcountry. Roadless areas cover nearly 2 million acres of Oregon’s national forests, all currently shielded from clearcuts and roads by the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Enacted 25 years ago, the rule was widely supported because it solved two problems at once. It restrained further road building in national forests that already faced a maintenance backlog in the billions of dollars. And, it also curbed the steady erosion of opportunities for backcountry hunting, fishing and quiet recreation on lands undisturbed by roads. But now, the Trump administration is working to unwind the Roadless Rule and strip all wild forests of these protections, with a comment period to do just that ending Oct. 6. The administration claims that repealing the rule is necessary to combat wildfire, even though wildland firefighters and scientists widely acknowledge that most wildfires start along roads. In defending the move to repeal the Roadless Rule, Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said that management of roadless areas would go through a “thoughtful process” and would not “be a free-for-all.” A new management plan for the Blue Mountains in eastern Oregon and Washington is the test case that reveals whether that promise holds. It does not. The draft plan, covering 720,000 acres of the Malheur, Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla national forests, is the first in the country to be drafted on the assumption that no matter how many public comments come
Joseph Canyon Roadless Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. / Photo by David Mildrexler in or what they say Oct. 6, roadless protections will no longer exist. It gives the public the first real look at what forest management without the Roadless Rule actually means. The picture it reveals is bleak. The plan for the three forests would triple logging levels, open old-growth forests to logging, scrap the road density limits that keep elk and other wildlife secure and substantially weaken watershed protections that keep sediment out of salmon and trout streams. That is hardly a thoughtful process. It’s the free-forall Chief Schultz said would not happen. It also runs against sound science. Roadless areas are well established as invaluable habitats for wildlife. The Forest Service’s own wildlife reports for the Blue Mountains reference roadless areas more than 650 times. The native salmonids that are cultural icons of this region – Chinook salmon, and steelhead, bull and Redband trout – depend on the clean, cold water that roadless forests provide so well. Despite this, the Forest Service’s environmental impact analysis for the new management plan devotes a mere three sentences to how stripping away conservation protections
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for these areas would affect wildlife. This matters even if you’ve never set foot in the Blue Mountains, because what happens here will most likely become the template for other national forests. Eliminating roadless areas sets up national forests for more logging roads that taxpayers can’t afford to maintain, more sediment in the streams that hold favorite fish runs, fewer quiet drainages to hunt elk, and fewer refuges for threatened species that need intact habitat. In the enduring words of former President Theodore Roosevelt, “Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children.” Now is the time to defend that heritage. Submit comments opposing the removal of roadless protections in the Blue Mountains plan by Sept. 30. Keats Conley is a contributor to Writers on the Range, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. She lives in Idaho and is senior policy and planning specialist at Defenders of Wildlife. When she worked for the Forest Service, she served on a specialized forest planning team. ■
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SoapBox What every voter should know Claims that American elections are rigged or stolen rank among the loudest in politics right now. If that worries you, you deserve an answer based on facts, not talking points. Misinformation about elections doesn’t just mislead voters; it erodes democracy and trust. Voter fraud is real, but rare, and safeguards consistently catch and prosecute it before it changes an outcome. The strongest evidence comes from a source with every reason to find the opposite. The Heritage Foundation, a leading conservative think tank, maintains the country’s most comprehensive database of proven U.S. election fraud cases. Heritage staff had to search back decades to assemble it. The small numbers of fraud that they found is telling. Researchers at the Brookings Institution ran Heritage’s own data in October 2024. In Arizona, over the course of more than 25 years, fraud came to just 0.0000845% of all ballots cast. In Pennsylvania, Heritage found 39 cases across 30 years and more than 100 million votes. Nationally, Heritage’s database
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D-Toon/by Rob Pudim documents roughly 1,500 cases over five decades – nowhere close to anything large enough to change a major election. Mail voting draws most of the fraud talk, so let’s start with who uses it. Nearly one in three Americans voted by mail in 2024. That includes one in five registered Republicans and one in four registered Democrats. More than 905,000 military members and Americans living abroad returned mail ballots in 2024, according to the States United Democracy Center. Voters 65 and older cast nearly 40% of their ballots by mail, and in Colorado, every registered voter gets one automatically. Mail voting isn’t a partisan tool; it’s how seniors vote when driving is hard, how ranchers, 40 miles from a polling place, vote and how service members and Americans living overseas vote. Mail voting faced a threat. On March 31, President Trump signed Executive Order 14399, which directs the Postal Service to build a federally approved list of mail voters and refuse to deliver ballots from anyone not on it. The Constitution gives states and Congress authority over election rules, not the president. This puts millions of legitimate voters at risk
of losing access to mail ballots. On Aug. 11, a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the Postal Service from implementing the order. On Aug. 24, the Supreme Court stayed a separate in-
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junction in a case brought by state attorneys general, holding only that the challenge came too early and declining to rule. The Massachusetts court then vacated its Aug. 11 injunction on that
same narrow reasoning. USPS made its final rule effective Aug. 21. Plaintiffs refiled, and on Aug. 26, the court granted a 14-day temporary restraining order against the new rule. Twenty-four states and D.C. filed suit the same day. Then, in a reprieve for now, Mon., Sept. 14, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of those plaintiffs, saying that the Postal Service may not enact changes ahead of the 2026 General Election. Slow results are not evidence of fraud. In Colorado, ballots have to reach the county clerk by 7 p.m. Election Day. The clerk’s office then has a set period to finish counting, receive qualifying military and overseas ballots, and let voters fix signature problems. Bipartisan teams of election judges review ballots that entire time. The La Plata County Clerk and Recorder publishes the process, and you can watch it happen. Election night numbers are “projections.” The “certified count” may vary from projections, but as any sports fan will tell you, it’s not over until it’s over. After the 2020 election, Trump’s vice president, attorney general and senior campaign staff stated under oath that they saw no fraud large enough to change the result. Trump and his allies filed more than 60 post-election lawsuits. Courts (including courts with judges Trump appointed) dismissed, withdrew or settled all but one case. That case was about voter ID deadlines, not fraud. No scheme exists that could rig a national election. Isolated problems do happen, but signature verification, poll watchers, audits and Colorado’s statewide ballot tracking exist to catch exactly them, and they do. Go to the La Plata County Clerk and Recorder’s of-
fice and walk through how ballots are handled, and sign up for BallotTrax to follow your ballot. The real threat to election security in 2026 is the lack of public trust rather than tampering. Protecting that trust means demanding honesty and refusing to let misinformation fill the space facts should occupy. Your vote counts. And so does the truth about how it’s protected. – League of Women Voters, La Plata County
Feeling good rally vibes So the calendar summer is over, and Durango’s “vibe” sent it out bumpin’! Unlike a few who were not thrilled about the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, I wanted to write about how much we enjoyed joining in on the various weekend gatherings bringing extra energy to town. The Motorcycle Rally remains a valuable tradition that enriches our community. For 33 years, this event has brought significant economic support to local businesses across Durango, benefiting our shops, restaurants and hospitality workers during the holiday weekend. More importantly, supporting events like the rally reinforces the idea that Durango is a fun, welcoming destination for everyone – not just a select few. Embracing a wide variety of traditions and visitors is precisely what keeps our town vibrant, diverse and attractive. Supporting local traditions helps ensure Durango remains a dynamic community for all to enjoy. So even though I don’t own a motorcycle … or a locomotive train … a little rumble feels good for the soul. – Scott Stutman, Durango
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Tell State Patrol how it’s doing As the Chief of the Colorado State Patrol, I have the honor of leading a statewide law enforcement agency that provides a range of services to keep our communities, particularly our roadways, safe. We conduct a public survey every two years to answer a simple question: “How are we doing?” We want to ensure that our organization provides the best service and support to save lives. We also want to ensure we are living up to our core values of honor, duty and respect. The online survey is open through Sept. 25. The Colorado State Patrol is always striving to provide the best service and experience, and with your help, we can be even better. Complete the survey at www.cspsurvey.org. I encourage you to be candid with your feedback so that all the Colorado State Patrol members and I can better understand how we’ve met or exceeded your needs, and more importantly, how we can improve. We want to know how safe you feel traveling on Colorado’s highways and how you view the professionalism of our members and our services. Completing this survey should take about three minutes. It is a statewide survey, so we hope people from every region of the state participate. This will give us the insight we need to move forward. Please share the survey link with your friends and family. Anyone who has interacted with a trooper, port-of-entry officer, emergency dispatcher or professional staff member can help by sharing their experience. Thank you in advance for your participation. What you say matters and helps drive future changes. – Colonel Matthew Packard, Chief, Colorado State Patrol
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LocalNews
(Still) saving the HDs SCJA’s new director Ryan Huggins on why fighting the good fight will never be done by Missy Votel
land needs stewards forever. You have to take that long view: this job is never going here’s no doubt that Ryan Huggins to be done.” has her work cut out for her. As the On the flipside, as stewards of local new executive director of the San lands, that also means we are the ones who Juan Citizens Alliance, she replaced longget to enjoy them, she added. “We’re lucky time director Mark Pearson, who officially enough to be here,” she said, talking about stepped down (for the second and, we prea recent a trip to the HDs. “There were elk sume, final time) in June. And as the local calving, ponderosas harboring different environmental watchdog group celebrates birds. Part of this job is just getting to see 40 years of accomplishments, from fighting why we love these places so much.” for stricter oil and gas regulations to proFor Huggins, 46, her love of the area tecting roadless areas from development, goes back 25 years. A native of Alabama, there is no shortage of issues – new and old. she first came to Durango in 2001 to visit “I was laughing because I was wearing a a college classmate and found herself re‘Save the HDs’ shirt from the ’90s the other turning on and off over the next few years. day,” Huggins said. After graduating with a degree in earth and She is, of course, referring to the alliance’s environmental sciences from Wesleyan long-standing battle to save roadless areas in University in Connecticut, and stints in the HD Mountains, east of Bayfield, from the the Peace Corps and Alaska, she eventually impacts of drilling. Not only does the SJCA decided to make Durango her permanent continue to fight these long-simmering home. Since moving here about 20 years ago, threats, but it now has the added pressures she has worked in a variety of environmenof climate change and a presidential admintal jobs, including with consulting firms istration that calls it a “hoax,” has gutted and the Southern Ute Tribe. “I did a lot of hard-fought protections for land, air and work with water resources and water rights, water, and is threatening to sell off public which is a really interesting way to learn lands to the highest bidder. To name a few. about a place and understand why things are literally shaped the way they are,” she JusttheFacts said. What: San Juan Citizens Alliance 40th She went on to work in environmental Anniversary Celebration policy and eventually ended up with a When: 5:30-7:30 p.m., Thurs., Sept. 17 large-scale solar company, which she Where: Union Social House, 3062 found particularly inspiring. “It was just a Main Ave. Above: San Juan Citizens Alliance Executive Director Ryan Huggins enjoys a fall really different culture. It was all about hike in the San Juans. Huggins took the helm of the local environmental new ideas, new technology, new people, watchdog nonprofit from Mark Pearson in June. Below: A retro sign that is and that was really exciting,” she said. From there, she and a colleague started “It is quite a time,” Huggins said in an just as relevant today as it was in the ’90s./ Courtesy photos – and later sold – their own business, interview at the Smiley Building, where the which dealt with carbon credit markets, electric vehicles SJCA has its office, recently. She admits that sometimes and biofuels. She didn’t go too far into the weeds with a it can feel like an uphill battle taking on these fights pleb such as myself except to explain that it was based with an administration like the current one. But, she rearound regulations for programs in California, Oregon, fuses to be overwhelmed. Washington and New Mexico (Colorado does not have “What are you going to do? Not fighting feels worse,” such a program.) “It really expanded my knowledge of she said. “Yes, the administration definitely affects us – carbon markets and renewable energy markets, which, but this is my home. I’m always working for the places if you’re a nerd like me, is super interesting,” she said. here and with the people here.” But don’t worry – Huggins isn’t just an environmenAdministrations come and go, she said, adding that tal policy wonk. She likes to get outside and do all the this isn’t the first time the government has talked about things. She and her husband, Steve Pavlik, an engineer, selling off public lands. As a result, she prefers to think recently discovered bow hunting, which is her latest obof the alliance’s work as an ongoing process rather than session. “I grew up in Alabama, but I didn’t get a truck a means to an end. or learn to hunt until I came to Colorado,” she quips. “I think we’re all just feeling so burned out in these Suffice to say, Huggins has the chops for her new role. trying times. But this is our job to be stewards of this So when she heard Pearson was stepping down from the land,” she said. “The oil is here, physically. There are SJCA – where she had been a board member for four minerals in the La Platas; that’s the reality of it. So, the
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years – she applied for the job. “It really felt like I had something to offer,” she said. “I feel pretty lucky. Coming in and having the expertise, relationships and knowledge is so helpful.” One thing she’s learned from her work over the years is that environmentally sound decisions also need to make economic sense, particularly for big industry players. “Utilities now are getting a ton of power for renewables because it’s good economics,” she said. “It’s not just enough to say, ‘We’re going to reduce our emissions.’ That alone doesn’t move the needle. Bottom line, it needs to save their operations money.” But, the flip side of the economics coin, she said, is working to reduce the demand for oil and gas, and thus the financial incentive for drilling, in the first place. “How do we get more people to not use oil, so that the prices are not as competitive? That’s how you win long term,” she said. But, it’s also about coming to the table and finding common ground on issues. “Yes, laws are changing; yes, rules are changing, but we can sit down and have a conversation,” she said. “We never get everything we ask for and hopefully, whether it’s oil and gas or coal, they’re not getting a carte blanche to do wha-
tever they want. It’s saying, ‘Can we meet in the middle?’ And doing that respectfully.” Looking ahead to the next 40 years, Huggins sees one of her biggest challenges as keeping people engaged and educated, particularly when it comes to newcomers to the area. “People need to understand that we don’t just have public lands. They got created, and they’re managed and developed under these processes. The more every user understands how wildlife is using this land, how managers are making decisions, where we are in oil and gas development, the better,” she said. “We do want to be around for another 40 years, because the need isn’t going to go away. There’s no, ‘We’re done.’ And I think having that level of awareness, people understand what it takes to have these places.” She laughs when talking about her personal vision for the future, which was part of her final job interview. The last slide in her presentation was a photo of one of her favorite spots in the Weminuche, over which she superimposed baby elk with unicorn horns, farting rainbows. “That is the future I want. It’s probably not going to be exactly that,” she laughed.
More than a decade ago, Northern New Mexico’s Shiprock was barely visible through the haze of two coal power plants. Thanks in part to the work of SJCA’s Energy and Climate Program Director Mike Eisenfeld, the skies are much clearer now with the closure and demolition of the nearby San Juan Generating Station. In addition to the SJCA’s 40th anniversary, Eisenfeld recently celebrated 20 years with the alliance./ Courtesy photo But, a girl from Alabama can dream, can’t she? “Being with other people makes me excited. We’re all here because we love it.
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You have to keep that positive energy going,” she said. “So much is out of our control, but it feels good to show up in this way every day.” ■
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BetweentheBeats
Bridging two artistic worlds Artist and gallerist Louisa Palmer on finding her style, making time for art and AI (just say no) by Stephen Sellers
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or this week’s “Between the Beats,” I sat down with one of Durango’s favorite new visual artists, Louisa Palmer. A Rhode Island transplant, Louisa has one foot in the art world as a gallerist and the other in bold, colorful illustration, with a style entirely her own. I sat down with Louisa recently to talk about where that style comes from, building a life around making art, and how to start taking yourself seriously as an artist. SS: You’ve worked at Blue Rain Gallery downtown for the last year. What does your day to day look like there? LP: As a gallerist, I’m there to represent the artists, market them and sell their work. My job is essentially talking with people about artists and their artwork, and it’s deeply fulfilling in a way I hadn’t anticipated. We show Southwest contemporary work, as well as Native artists. Becca Kolbe and I are a tiny team here in Durango, with our mothership gallery down in Santa Fe. I encourage anyone who hasn’t stopped in to come by. I’m always happy to talk about the artists, new work and upcoming exhibitions. SS: You’re also maintaining your own artistic practice. What are you making right now? LP: I like to do a lot of different things. I’ve been in Durango almost five years, and for most of that time, I was semi or fully employed as an artist. Transitioning to a 40-hour-a-week job while still being a part-time artist means getting creative about carving out time. I’m making original paintings and getting new pieces into Studio &, where I’m represented. I’m also a freelance digital illustrator, doing show posters, merchandise design and festival posters, usually around arts, music and community gatherings. SS: Your work has a really recognizable visual language. Where does that come from? LP: I’m constantly influenced by folk art design from different cultures and communities. I have Norwegian and Germanic heritage, so I pull design qualities and folk motifs from there. I’m
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Above: Louisa Palmer at the Blue Rain Gallery, where she works as a gallerist. Left: Palmer’s work, “Primavera.” As an artist, Palmer says she takes cues from folk art and does not shy away from bold colors./ Courtesy photos really inspired by symmetry and by how understandable folk art can feel. Animals and people might be depicted stylistically rather than realistically. I also love traditional tattoo styles, especially that bold line and big color. American traditional tattooing is a folk art form in itself. I’ve never been shy about color. I’m constantly taking photos of signs, landscapes, somebody’s cool out-
fit, whatever catches my eye, and building color palettes from those images. SS: What does it mean to think of yourself as an “emerging artist?” LP: At Blue Rain, I’m surrounded by emerging, mid-career and very successful artists. I identify most with the emerging artists because they’re still experimenting, finding their style and trying to expose themselves to a larger
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collector base. I definitely still feel like I’m in that stage. SS: What’s it like being an illustrator in 2026, when we’re also seeing so much AI-generated imagery? LP: I laugh at a lot of it because some of it is so obviously bad. There’s no human quality to it. I love looking at art and realizing somebody painstakingly labored over all those details. With an illustration I make, I might work on it over and over, refining and refining. With AI, sometimes it feels like somebody pressed a button and it threw something up. There wasn’t enough of a journey. That said, I sympathize with the person who wears 40 different hats and needs to make a poster. AI is easy and accessible. But it’s equally disappointing when Durango is filled with so many talented artists who could execute that work extremely well. SS: What advice would you give someone who wants to start taking themselves seriously as an artist? LP: First, it’s never too late. You haven’t missed the boat. I can think of artists who started fine-art careers well into their 50s and 60s. Then, build a body of work. Maybe that’s 15 to 20 pieces that showcase your skill, development and visual language. Photographing your work well is hugely important, too. Build a simple website. It can be a bio, portfolio and CV. Social media is helpful, but it’s not mandatory. And if you want gallery representation, research galleries before approaching them. Durango has 11 galleries, and they’re all different. Go inside. See what they showcase, the price points and whether your work actually fits. That extra step really shows. SS: What’s on your radar for your own work? LP: I’ll have new original paintings headed to Studio & in the next month or two. You can find all of my artworks and original prints there. Then in November, I’ll have a piece in Blue Rain Gallery’s second annual “Be My Icon” invitational, featuring emerging regional and local artists. It opens the first Friday of November. For freelance work, people can find me on Instagram: @lou__pal. I’m chronically online, so just DM me your idea, and we’ll go from there. ■
StateNews
Bring on the OHVs Trump proposes opening federal roads, trails to motorized use by Michael Booth / The Colorado Sun
F
or years now on Colorado’s federal dirt roads and single-track, there’s been an uneasy truce between recreational drivers and preservationists: By default, off-road vehicles are banned unless there’s a special exception. The Trump administration now wants to flip that switch the other direction: Federal roads and trails would be open to Jeeps, crawlers, dirt bikes and other all-terrain vehicles unless specific protections are carved out after extensive negotiations and legal action. The potential flip, which would take place by 2028, has vehicle clubs zipping up and tying down for long-sought trips, while environmental groups are left reeling and hoping for reversals in Congress or the courts. Coming just after rescission of the 25year-old Roadless Area Conservation Rule that barred road building and logging across millions of acres of national forests, “the administration is now attempting to open up our national forests to more offroad vehicle use that will degrade the landscape and disturb wildlife and other land users,” Thomas Delehanty, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain office said. “Some places in our national forests are meant for quiet, undisturbed recreation and protecting sensitive wildlife, including endangered species.” Conservation and recreation “are not mutually exclusive,” countered Chad Hixon, director of the Trails Preservation Alliance, a coalition of off-roading groups that has fought for access to more of Colorado for years. “From a motorcyclist’s perspective, there are 28,000 miles of singletrack in Colorado,” Hixon said. “Only 2,800 of those are open to motorized vehicles. So we are interested in expanding that where appropriate.” Revisiting an old conflict The new assumption of open travel, proposed as a Federal Register publication to start the change process, could impact nearly 200 million acres of forest land, according to a national environmental coalition. That’s on top of the “roadless rule” change that will open up 45 million acres to potential new roads for wildfire fighting, drilling and explora-
OHVs in the Flat Tops mountains near New Castle in July 2023./ Photo by Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun tion. (Colorado will be allowed to keep its separately negotiated roadless rule exemption, according to Trump administration officials.) The switch was flipped to “protected unless you hear otherwise” in 2005, under the George W. Bush administration. Environmental groups and clubs for nonmotorized recreation backed the protections to carve out space for endangered species and migrating animals to thrive, reduce conflicts with hikers, bikers and horses, and to wall off quieter backcountry spaces. Motorized recreators have long argued that public lands managers dismiss how many people access open spaces through vehicles, and that they can use backcountry roads and trails without ruining the environment. They also say providing more legal spaces eases pressure on the limited-use areas currently allowed and can head off illegal uses by rogue drivers. “Access can deter people from doing the wrong thing,” Hixon said. Long-term drought and climate change in the West, environmental groups responded, make the reopening of roads and trails even more dangerous. “Putting hot engines deeper into dry forests during longer and hotter fire seasons will increase wildfire risk, and West-
ern communities will pay for it,” Center for Western Priorities communications director Kate Groetzinger said. She added that the existing travel management planning process allows the public to weigh in on where vehicles do and don’t belong. “Repealing this rule hands that decision to political appointees in Washington, D.C., who have decided that every road, trail and meadow should be open to motorized use, no matter the conflicts with other users or wildlife,” she said. Hixon said he does not expect federal officials to complete the new rule language and get it through the public comment and revision process before 2028. Nevertheless, he said mapping tools are much more precise now than during the last great debate over trail access in the early 2000s, and many more important wildlife studies have been done defining what still needs protection. Many parties will weigh in now, and the results will not be a chaotic “go anywhere” policy, he said. “That’s not what this does,” he said. “It’s not just a freefor-all.” The Colorado Sun is a nonprofit, awardwinning news outlet covering Colorado. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky. ■
telegraph
Hairstyles come and go, but Tina will always be the right choice.
Sept. 17, 2026 n 11
StufftoDo
Thursday17 Thursday Morning Cribbage, 8-10 a.m., Just the Drip Coffee Shop, 1600 Florida Rd. Elmore’s Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., 306 Florida Grange, 656 CR 172 Old Fort Farm Tour, 10:30 a.m.-12 noon, The Old Fort at Hesperus, 18683 Hwy 140 Mancos Valley Farmer’s Market, 4-6:30 p.m., Boyle Park, Mancos Books and Blankets, gathering for friendship and books, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Sunnyside Library, 75 CR 218
Submit items for “Stuff to Do” by Monday at noon at: www.durangotelegraph.com/send-us-your-stuff-to-do/
Spanish Conversation Hour, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Sunnyside Library, 75 CR 218 Spanish Conversation Hour, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave. th
San Juan Citizen Alliance’s 40 Anniversary Celebration, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave. Dart Tournament, 5:30-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave. Nathan Schmidt plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Julian Blue plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Barons Creek Vineyards Durango, 901 Main Ave. Matt Rupnow plays, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave. Chuck Hank plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Roma Ransom plays, 6-9 p.m., Fox Fire Farms Winery, 5513 CR 321, Ignacio Andrew Schuhmann plays, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave. Dustin Burley plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Stand Up Comedy with Susan Rice, 6:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.
“Constructs & Extracts,” artist talk & demo with Maureen May, 1-2:30 p.m., Durango Creative District Community Gallery, 1135 Main Ave. Silent Book Club, 1-3 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave. The Centered Circle, music, movement and healing, 1-4 p.m., Wellness Retreat and Education Center, 12943 Hwy 550 Friends of SW La Plata Library District Meet & Greet Tea, 2-3 p.m., Fort Lewis Mesa Library, 11274 Hwy 140, Hesperus Indivisible Durango General Meeting and film screening “Democracy Under Siege,” 3-5 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave. Tibetan Buddhist Practice Group, 4 p.m., Dreams of Tibet, 988 Main Ave.
Mountain Honey plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Authors in the Parklet with Gretchen Collins, 4-6 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.
Get the Led Out performs, 7:30 p.m., FLC Community Concert Hall
Larry Carver & Jack Ellis play, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
The Howard Brothers with Joys Familiar play, 8-10 p.m., The iNDIGO Room, 1315 Main Ave.
“The Early History of Electric Power in SW Colorado,” 6-7:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center
Saturday19
Nina Sasaki & Dan Carlson play, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
Jeff Solon Jazz plays, 6 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
Pancake Day, with Kiwanis Club of Durango, 7 a.m.-2 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds
“Astonished by Beauty: The Enduring and Elemental Importance of Natural History,” 6-7 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Durango Farmers Market with music by Wiebeck and Leavitt, 8 a.m.-12 noon, TBK Parking Lot, 259 W. 9th St.
Roma Ransom plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Chocolate Fantasia fundraiser for Volunteers of America, 6-9 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds
Bayfield Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 noon, Pine Valley Church, 1328 CR 501
Ben Gibson plays, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
Rockin Randy plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
“Cast and Connect,” 5RTU fly fishing meetup, 9 a.m.-12 noon, South Mineral Creek/Silverton, meet at PJ’s market to carpool/caravan
Matt Rupnow plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Andrew Schuhmann plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Trivia Night, 6:30-8:30 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio
Stories in the Park, 10-11 a.m., Santa Rita Park picnic shelter, 111 S. Camino Del Rio
Pine Needle’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, 6-9 p.m., Pine Needle Mountaineering, 835 Main Ave.
“Ordinary Days,” 7:30 p.m., Fort Lewis College Black Box Theatre
“Tree Walks & Talks: Sky Island, Trees From Another Time,” 10 a.m.-12 noon, La Plata Canyon Parking area at gate
Sunday20
Durango Autumn Arts Festival, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., E. 2nd Ave.
Veterans Benefit Breakfast, 9-11 a.m., VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave.
Boys & Girls Club Community Book Buying, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.
Durango Autumn Arts Festival, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., E. 2nd Ave.
Veterans Friday Morning Coffee, 8-10:30 a.m., American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave.
Annual Community BBQ Picnic, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Animas Valley Grange, 7271 CR 203
Sunday Record Brunch Club, 12 noon-3 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Oktoberfest VFW Fundraiser, 4-7 p.m., VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave.
Purgatory Oktoberfest, 12 noon-4:30 p.m., Purgatory Resort
Oktoberfest, 12 noon-5 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Artist Mark Keathley Reception, 5-8 p.m., Sorrel Sky Gallery, 828 Main Ave.
Acoustic Jam, 1-2 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Sunday Irish Jams, 12:30-3 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice, 3000 Main Ave.
Cult Movie Federation of Mancos screens “King Kong” (1933), 7 p.m., Mancos Opera House Bluegrass Jam, 6:30-9 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice, 3000 Main Ave.
Friday18
12 n Sept. 17, 2026
telegraph
Durango Flea Market, 7 a.m.-3 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds
AskRachel
The ‘code’ war, cousin traps and who’s Bobby? Interesting fact: The Brits have a lot of weird words for things, but “kirby grip” for bobby pin is sure up there. Dear Rachel, I am too young to have lived through the Cold War and all the nuclear scares. I’m pretty freaked out right now about the end of humanity through AI, though. Is this comparable to what my grandparents went through? Are we going to have to start hiding under desks and stuff, or what are we going to do to top the nuclear scares this time around? – End Is Nigh Dear Bill Nigh the End-Times Guy, I have complete faith in human beings to destroy human beings. Will it be AI? I don’t think so. Not with the number of times that stupid AI overview can’t even count to three correctly. If it does destroy us, I’m just disappointed that we’ll go out in such a cheap-ass way. It will literally be something like “Oops, I misunderstood your prompt, I thought you WANTED me to release the nuclear codes on X. My bad, I will do better next time.” I really want to go down from something more impressive than an obsequious plagiarism machine. – I feel fine, Rachel
Dear Rachel, My cousin comes to visit me every two months. This summer, the flies drove her nuts. (I blame the neighbor.) So she bought these window-mounted fly traps. But they caught only three flies. Not worth it, so I took them down. Now, I have anxiety about telling her they don’t work. Do I need to put them back up every two months for the rest of my life? How can I tell her kindly that her gift sucked? – Shoo Fly Dear Infested, Dude. Grow some moth-balls. She didn’t make the darn traps, just tell her they didn’t work, but you appreciate the thought. Too much? Remember we’re coming up on winter, and, at least for now, winter is still the time when all the bugs die. So, for six months you don’t have to hang the stupid fly traps. Then maybe get yourself a new neighbor for Christmas. – Don’t bother me, Rachel
Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com
Dear Rachel, My granddaughter asked me why a bobby pin is called Bobby. I told her I don’t know, but Rachel will. Help me out … I hope she grows up smart like you. – Grumpy Grandpa
Dear Grampy Grundpa, Hey, I know this one! Bobby pins are named for the bob hairstyles that were en vogue in the Roaring Twenties, when short hair was in style for possibly the first time ever, and we needed new ways of holding hair in place. You could get two handmade pins for 35 cents. Speaking of which, someone asked me why we aren’t getting another Roaring Twenties today. We are! But only for the rich people, the ones bilking us on AI. Maybe you can teach your granddaughter how to pick locks to data centers with her bobby pins. – Also worth 35 cents, Rachel
“The Cost of Cruelty,” presented by The Center for Health Progress, 1 p.m., Wells Group, 1130 Main Ave.
Lunch Buffet Fundraiser for Nepal Flood Victims, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Himilayan Kitchen, 992 Main Ave.
Tuesday Trivia, 6-8:30 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
“Ordinary Days,” 2 p.m., Fort Lewis College Black Box Theatre
ASL Learners Group, 5:30-7 p.m., Sunnyside Library, 75 CR 218
Sean O’Brien plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Chuck Hank play, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Wednesday23
Funk Jam, 4-6 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave. Ben Gibson plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Blue Moon Ramblers play, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Farm Stand, 3-6:30 p.m., Twin Buttes, 165 Tipple Ave.
Tuesday22 “A Musical Journey Down Memory Lane,” 12:15 p.m., La Plata County Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave.
Monday21
Clinic Defense at Planned Parenthood, 1 p.m., Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, 46 Suttle St.
Meditation and Dharma Talk, 5:30 pm, Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave., Ste. 109 or online www.durangodharmacenter.org
Cultivating Creativity Rock Painting, 3:30 p.m., Cancer Support Community SW Colorado,1701 Main Ave.
Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.
Wild New Way Book Club “The Vital Spark” by Lisa Marchiano, 5-7 p.m., Four Leaves Winery, 528 Main
“Creating Historical Fiction from History,” with local author Jenn James Wheeling, 6-7:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Adam Swanson Ragtime plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Terry Rickard plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Jazz Church, 7:30-9:30 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
“Creating the Best Garden You’ve Ever Had in Your Entire Lifetime – Guaranteed(ish)” with Tom Bartels and Darrin Parmenter, 4:30-6 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave. Meditations on Compassion, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave., Ste.109 CO HD59 Candidate Forum presented by League of Women Voters, FLC’s Political Engagement Project and Restore the Balance, 6-7:30 p.m., FLC Noble Hall Trivia Night, 6-8 p.m., Zia Cantina, 2977 Main Ave.
Rotary Club of Durango presents The Durango Neighborhood Coalition, 6 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main “Hornos, Chuckwagons and Hardtack: The 1876 Table,” a look at how people ate in 1876, 6-7:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
telegraph
Adam Swanson Ragtime plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Chuck Hank plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. (Almost) Weekly Comedy Open Mic, 7-8 p.m., American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave. Sept. 17, 2026 n 13
FreeWillAstrology by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): Realities you’ve been oblivious to will soon pop into view. Hints and signals you’ve been unconsciously pushing away will start flocking toward you. A lingering emotional numbness will thaw, and surges of feelings will pour into your awareness. Warning! At first, it may feel like an overload: too much sopping wet data arriving too quickly for you to interpret. If you’re willing to be patient and focus on slowly metabolizing the influx, though, the apparent chaos will ultimately weave itself into a luminous web of new understanding. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In Peru’s Andean mountains, farmers cultivate a diversity of potato varieties, continuing a tradition rooted in the crop’s domestication thousands of years ago. Each variety thrives in slightly different soil, altitude and climate. By planting many types at once, the farmers ensure that at least some crops will flourish no matter what conditions arise. I suggest you apply this way of thinking to your own life in the coming weeks. Diversify your efforts instead of depending on a single expectation. Plan for multiple small initiatives that will evolve. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In biology, many organisms survive harsh or unpredictable conditions by entering dormancy. This is a reversible state of reduced metabolism and development. Seeds, spores and the dormant stages of some small animals can remain viable for years until cues such as water, temperature, light or nutrients signal that conditions are favorable again. Then they can resume growth, development or activity, often rapidly. I suspect you may experience a comparable upsurge in the coming weeks, Gemini. A project or aspiration that seemed inert may reawaken and reignite. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Novelist Kurt Vonnegut advised us to try some task that scares us every day of our lives. That may be a viable experiment for a Scorpio like him, but is it a wise prescription for us Cancerians, who like to feel secure and protected? Normally, I would say no. I’d recommend that you and I dare ourselves to wrestle with one of our fears no more than once per month. But the coming weeks may warrant a departure from our typical rhythms. I suspect we can fortify our long-term safety and peace through more frequent encounters with unpredictable episodes that rouse our hidden reserves of courage.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The ancient Greeks believed that the goddess Harmonia presided over the blending of opposites into balanced beauty. Her dad was the god of war and her mom the goddess of love, so she had a lot of practice. In her line of work, tension between different forces could produce elegant unity. In alignment with astrological omens, I’ve appointed Harmonia to be your guardian angel in the coming weeks, Leo. I urge you to call on her dynamically and frequently. Rifts and splits and divisions that have never before been possible to heal are now swayable by the collaborative efforts of you and the goddess. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): If I were writing this horoscope for the Gun Lovers’ Gambling Porn website, I might counsel my Virgo readers to maintain strict control over their wickedness, debauchery and decadence. Why? Because now is a time when vices and sins are even more likely to sow chaos and spawn big messes. However, since you are reading my oracle in a more genteel publication and are almost certainly a refined person, I’m confident there will be minimal uproar if I dare you to tap into your raw animal energy and unruly instinctual nature. I believe it’s time to at least experiment with wilder aspects of your deep self. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The Real You and the Semi-Real You have been embroiled in a showdown with the False You. This is as tough and heroic a struggle as you’ve had to deal with in some time, though it has often been subtle and partially cloaked. I am of course rooting for the Real You and the Semi-Real You to emerge victorious, though I also hope you don’t feel the need to humiliate and crush the False You. That part of you has sometimes served a valuable purpose. And what will become of the Semi-Real You after this drama? I suggest you give it a modest place in your repertoire. Like the False You, it sometimes proves useful. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Hummingbirds are the only birds capable of sustained reverse flight. This requires extraordinary wing flexibility and energy expenditure, but it gives them access to nectar that forward-only fliers have more difficulty sampling. Let’s treat this as a useful metaphor for you in the coming weeks, Scorpio. It may be that your progress and success won’t always come from advancing. Some rich resources may require the equivalent of reverse flight. Consider returning to conversations you thought were finished, revisiting places you’d mentally filed away as “done” and extracting value from sources you’ve already passed by.
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In chemistry, catalysts are substances that accelerate reactions without being consumed in the process. A tiny amount of catalyst can dramatically transform how quickly elements combine. An example is the enzyme catalase in our cells, which breaks down hydrogen peroxide (a byproduct of our metabolism) into water and oxygen millions of times faster than it would decompose on its own. I believe you are now in a phase when your catalytic powers are at a peak, Sagittarius. Be careful where you point that potency of yours! Make sure you really want to change what you’re capable of changing. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Every species adapts to its surroundings. Even harmful microbes evolve over time in order to survive. Syphilis, for instance, was once ferociously swift and deadly, but that limited how far it could spread. So a gentler strain gradually evolved that allowed its hosts to live longer and pass it on more widely. Let this serve as a metaphor for how you handle your dark moods, odd compulsions and bouts of craziness. Befriend the mild, manageable versions and give them space to be felt and understood. Over time, the harsher, more destructive versions will lose ground and fade. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Paleontologists know that some dinosaurs traveled in herds with a specific formation: the most vulnerable members gathered in the center, protected by stronger individuals on the perimeter. It was a savvy way to run things, ensuring the group would thrive. I hope you’re willing to borrow some dinosaur wisdom, Aquarius. The coming weeks will be a good time to apply it to your own life. Who or what needs protection? What vulnerable projects or relationships deserve to be surrounded and shielded? Are you willing and able to use your strength to guard what’s tender and growing? Be a shepherd, a steward, a defender. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In ancient times, Hawaii’s Coconut Island was renowned for its healing powers – but on one condition. Those who sought its medicinal help couldn’t just expect the local spirits to do all the work but had to take part in awakening the magic. Legend tells us that a seeker could be cured by swimming three times around the island. This participatory approach to healing mirrors your current situation, Pisces. You are close to a source of renewal, but if you hope to unlock its full strength, you must coax it out with your ingenuity.
classifieds
Deadline for Telegraph classified ads is Tuesday at noon. Ads are a bargain at 10 cents a character with a $10 minimum. Prepayment is required via cash, credit card or check. (Sorry, no refunds or substitutions.)
Ads can be submitted by emailing: classifieds@ durangotelegraph.com Classes/Workshops Yoga for Grief 8-Week Series Learn yogic tools to address grief symptoms and support the grieving process. Thursdays, 6-7:30 pm, Oct. 1 - Nov. 19. Pre-registration required; 8 people max. Details at birdsongyogatherapy .com/events.
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
submissions through Oct. 1 for its 9th annual festival in June 2027. Established and up-and-coming playwrights are encouraged to submit works to be considered for the festival, which takes place June 22-27, 2027. Selected playwrights will workshop their new plays with professional directors and actors before presenting staged readings to live audiences. The number of submissions is capped at 200. Visit durangoplayfest.org/submit-aplay for guidelines and information. Dog Fosters Needed Parker’s Animas Rescue urgently needs
BodyWork Stressed Out?! Treat yourself to a hot stone massage, Kristara Waldron, LMT. 10 years practicing in Durango. Text or book online today! thistleandfrog.com • 716.338.2858 Massage by Meg Bush 30, 60 & 90 min Meg Bush, LMT 970759-0199
Wanted
HaikuMovieReview ‘Little Brother’ Eric André might be the luckiest moron in entertainment
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ForSale Snow tires for sale 225/65R17 Sumitomo Ice Edge used snow tires Good condition $75 per tire Text 5057282057
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CommunityService Durango PlayFest Seeks Submissions Durango PlayFest, a week-long play development festival, is accepting play
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16 n Sept. 17, 2026
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