The Durango Telegraph, June 27, 2024

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June 27, 2024 Vol. XXIII, No. 25 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

All downhill

The river wild

Stuck on repeat

Reflections on cats, Botox Natty Ice and turning 30 p4

Local recounts epic night as ‘sleepy San Juan’ raged p8

The best new album releases of 2024 (so far) p10

2 n June 27, 2024

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lineup

Crossing the rainbow bridge into cats, eight-step skin regimes and nice wine

5 Writers on the Range

4 La Vida Local

Thirtysomething

by Addyson Santese

6-7 Soapbox

5

8 Top Story 10 Kill Yr Idols

On the line Proposed Bears Ears communications tower dishonors indigenous tribes

11 Flash in the Pan

by Mark Maryboy / Writers on the Range

12-13 Stuff to Do

8

13 Ask Rachel

Oh, what a night!

Local recounts harrowing time on San Juan during 20k flash flood

by Missy Votel

15 Classifieds

10

15 Haiku Movie Review

Half-way there

On the cover A baby Northern Flicker keeps a wary eye on the outside world from the safety of its nest recently./ Photo

by Alex Krebs

Looking for some new music? Here are the best releases of 2024 (so far)

boilerplate

by Jon E. Lynch

EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel missy@durangotelegraph.com ADVERTISING SALES: telegraph@durangotelegraph.com STAFF REPORTER: Scoops McGee telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

T

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

14 Free Will Astrology

STAR-STUDDED CAST: Addyson Santese, Mark Maryboy, Jon E. Lynch, Rob Brezsny, Ari LeVaux, Lainie Maxson, Jesse Anderson & Clint Reid

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Ear to the ground: “I like this – it’s the only time I can drink and drive.”

– Ah, golf. Can we really call it a sport?

Return to Hogwarts

thepole

4

RegularOccurrences

Durango is the confluence of a lot of things: mountains and desert; new West and old. And next month, it will also be the confluence of good medicine.

From July 10-13, Fort Lewis College hosts the 14th annual International Good Medicine Confluence, a gathering of “natural healers, nature lovers and culture-shifters from all over the world.” FLC will be turned into a “virtual Hogwarts” as 43 teachers offer more than 100 classes ranging from “Medicinal Plants & Their Actions” and “Home Medicine Making” to “New Science & Ancient Wisdom,” “Mushrooms,” “Mead Making and Botanical Cocktails” and our personal favorite, “Alchemy.”

This will be the fifth time the event has been held in Durango, and local herbalists, locavores and folklorists will be joining in, including: Katrina Blair, of Turtle Lake Refuge; Marija Helt, herbalist and occasional contributor to the Telegraph; and Elliot Brinkley, owner of Dancing Willow Herbs.

The four-day event will also include a Kid’s Village; a “Plants & Faeries Masquerade Ball;” and a daily Healer's Market, featuring herbal and natural products, books, healing services, jewelry, clothing, books and more.

There will also be bonus plant walks and field trips for attendees on Sun., July 14.

The Confluence is hosted by Jesse Wolf and Kiva Hardin of planthealer.org, a website dedicated to herbalism, natural healing, plant lore and artisanal skills. They also publish Plant Healer Quarterly and Herbaria Monthly, which were founded in 2007 and have about 46,000 subscribers.

In addition, Jesse is a poet and musician who has written several books on herbalism and ecology. He also founded the Animá Sanctuary, a nature-informed retreat surrounded by the Gila National Forest in southwest New Mexico.

“Folks have been speaking of (The Confluence) for over a year as a ‘Return of The Tribe,’ acknowledging the pent-up hunger to convene physically again with kindred plant healers, visionaries and practitioners,” Jesse and Kiva wrote in an email. “It is a vastly diverse and widely dispersed clan of clinicians, activists, artisans and home medicine makers … it is for you impassioned natural healer of bodies, psyches and planet that these events are dedicated.”

The Healer’s Market is open July 10-13 from 7:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. in the FLC Ballroom and is free and open to the public.

More info and tickets for the rest of the event can be found at: www.goodmedicine confluence.com.

June 27, 2024 n 3

opinion

LaVidaLocal 30, flirty and writhing It doesn’t seem like it now, but my days are numbered. In a little over two months, I (a currently young woman) will turn 30.

According to society, this birthday is less like a milestone for women and more like the first pebble down the mountain in the inevitable slip into obsolescence. With the dramatic irony of a Greek tragedy, I will at long last know the secret to self-acceptance and happiness, yet simultaneously fade from existence as I join the ranks of expired women.

When I turn 30, my body will go through drastic changes. Along with having stiff shoulders every morning when I wake up, I’ll also dematerialize by roughly 10% each year until my 40th birthday, at which point my corporeal form will disappear entirely, scattered to the winds like the Great Sphinx of Giza’s nose. Coincidentally, I’ll also develop a keen interest in cats at this point in my life.

Unfortunately for me, the battle for my youth began long before these last few looming months, and I’ve been an inattentive soldier. I neglected to start a regime of preventative Botox in my 20s, which means by the time I turn 30, I’ll already be 10 years behind in the lifelong struggle to chase what I looked like as a teenager. Thankfully I have adult acne to remind me of bygone days.

Another physical shift will be the constant low-level whine that will envelop my entire existence like the drone of a mosquito. Initially, I’ll attribute it to hormone-induced tinnitus, but I’ll recognize that there’s a shrill, distinctly feminine quality to the nagging sound. That’s when I’ll realize the sound is actually the howl of my ovaries, yearning for purpose. I’ll be taken to my knees by the gutpunch desire to have children the moment I encounter a pair of baby Carhartt overalls or tiny Converse, and God help me if I cross paths with a preemie onesie.

The absolute fervor to reproduce will possess me like Pazuzu in “The Exorcist,” but

I’m told it’s not all bad, because I’ll finally get good at sex when I turn 30.

Although I don’t have children or an eight-step skincare routine yet, I’m going into the big 3-0 strong by already being in possession of a husband, a house and a job with health insurance. This is good news, because if you don’t have at least three out of five of those societal expectation boxes checked off before your birthday, they just take you out back and shoot you.

Similar to the way that dogs can smell when death is near, other people will start to take notice of my rapid decline. Once I cross that great rainbow bridge into 30, young people will have the police on speed dial, ready to report me to the authorities for age-related infractions. Should I make the social faux pas of using slang created after the late 1900s or wear crew socks instead of Millennial-appropriate ankle socks, the police will rush to my house and arrest me. Again, if I’m lucky, they’ll shoot me.

And last but not least, this big birthday will bring about some significant personality changes. I will finally “know myself” at 30, but that’s because I will paradoxically become an entirely new person – someone who suddenly enjoys the taste of asparagus and prefers a nice 2013 Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru over a Corona. That’s right, I’ll know wines in my 30s, and I’m going to be insufferable about it. If you’re planning to attend my 30th birthday party (also known as my celebration of life), please don’t bring anything as debase as Natty Ice. To complete my metamorphosis from girlhood to utter nonexistence, there’s one final step in the process. I have to take the prerequisite Instagram photo of myself holding up giant pink number balloons while I wear a bodycon dress (paying homage to my fleeting bodily form), and then a gust of wind will lift me from the earth. I’ll wave a fond farewell to my youth as I’m ferried into the ethers by 3 and 0, never to be seen or heard from again.

– Addyson Santese

SignoftheDownfall:

Thumbin’It A surprise bonus week of good boating flows on the Animas, with tropical storm Alberto delivering a late-season boost.

The birth of a rare white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park, which, according to the Lakotas, portends better times but also serves as a warning that more must be done to protect the earth. Let’s start by not all getting in our cars and rushing to Yellowstone to get selfies with the white buffalo.

The first sign of success in Colorado’s wolf reintroduction, with wildlife officials confirming at least one wolf pup has been born in Grand County – the first among the wolves reintroduced last year.

4 n June 27, 2024

Oh, Canada! We feel your pain. Edmonton losing the Stanley Cup to Florida after a heroic comeback is a travesty of game on the largest scale. Nothing to do now but drink Kokanees and wait till next year.

OK, we know – Alberto wasn’t kind to everyone, with flash floods washing away boats and camps on the San Juan and stranding hikers and campers in Moab.

Well, it appears Lauren Boebert is not going away – at least not far enough.

The carpetbagger won the Republican primary for Colorado’s heavily red 4th Congressional District, likely meaning a few more years of Boefoonery.

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The Ghost Sipperer A 31-year-old “psychic medium” from the U.K. named Zarah Flemming made the ghoulish claim last week via a viral social media post that her drink-chugging, barhopping ways should be blamed on dead people. Basically, Zarah says that when she’s in a bar, the voices in her head tell her to finish her drinks quickly and leave, because there are people at other bars who need messages from the great beyond, and personally, I’m just relieved to find out someone else suffers from this affliction, too. Her friends and family are worried, mostly because they don’t want to have to pick up her bar tab when she leaves without closing it out.

WritersontheRange

A looming threat Proposed cell tower will be ‘spear in the heart’ of Bears Ears

by Mark Maryboy

M

y Navajo homeland is the great expanse of land between four sacred mountains in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah.

It is our place of origin, and Navajo spiritual traditions are rooted here. Even when we were forcibly removed from our homeland by the federal government’s Army in the 19th century, our spiritual and cultural connection to these lands has never been extinguished.

Utah Navajos still make use of this historic homeland, which is now known as the 1.35-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument, designated by President Obama in 2016. It is where we practice our ceremonies; gather herbs, firewood and cedar poles; hunt for game; rejuvenate our spirits; and caretake our sacred places. Because the monument closely involves us, Navajo and other tribes in the area have been pushing for tribal management.

For many years, the Navajo and other local tribes – Hopi, Uintah, Ouray Ute, Zuni and Ute Mountain Ute – worked together to gain federal protection for this land. But what we gained is now threatened by developments that defile and dishonor the cultural and spiritual significance held by Navajo and other Native peoples.

The most recent example is the plan to build a 460-foot telecommunications tower on a parcel of land owned by a Utah state agency, the Trust Lands Administration. The land that would house the tower is in the heart of the Bears Ears National Monument.

Bears Ears National Monument, historic homeland for many area tribes, is slated to receive a 460-foot cell tower on a parcel of land owned by the Trust Lands Administration./Courtesy photo If erected, this alien-looking tower will be a spear in the heart of the Bears Ears area. I am also saddened to think there will likely be more inappropriate developments on Utah Trust Lands within Bears Ears, now that the state has derailed a proposed land exchange between the Trust Lands Administration and the federal government.

The land exchange would have helped ensure that Navajo homelands are managed to protect our cultural and spiritual traditions. Now these lands – our heritage – face death by a thousand cuts.

The company placing the telecommunications tower has applied for and received a conditional use permit from

San Juan County, Utah. But the company must also apply for and receive a variance from the county, because any tower higher than 35 feet is prohibited.

So far, it has not applied for a variance.

The National Park Service opposes the tower and has submitted comments to both the Utah Trust Lands Administration and San Juan County. The federal agency said the tower would blight the viewshed, diminish the area’s dark skies, and harm habitat for several threatened and endangered bird species.

For more than a century, my people have had to fight for our rights. In 1868, when Navajos were finally allowed to return from forced exile, we were confined to a reservation south of the San Juan

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River. It was much reduced in size from our original homeland.

The prime lands higher up near the water and lush vegetation of Bears Ears were denied us. Nevertheless, these lands have always been a part of our cultural traditions, despite a documented history of racial injustices levied against Utah Navajos.

At every level, from county to state to the federal government, that history includes violations of voting rights, education and civil rights. All had to be litigated in federal court. Through all of that, Utah Navajos have fought to conserve and protect the public lands we traditionally used.

These lands need to exist as nature intended – to regenerate traditional plants and provide homes to wildlife that in turn sustain Navajo cultural traditions.

The Utah Trust Lands Administration and the federal government have a chance to do the right thing for Bears Ears. I urge the state of Utah and the federal government to restart discussions about a land exchange.

Otherwise, more out-of-place and inharmonious developments such as this 460-foot blinking tower could come to dominate the Bears Ears landscape.

Mark Maryboy is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He served from 1984-2000 as a San Juan County, Utah, commissioner, and from 1990-2006, he was a delegate to the Navajo Nation Council. ■

June 27, 2024 n 5

SoapBox

D-Tooned/by Rob Pudim

Improving access to healthcare Coloradans are proudly among the healthiest and most active people in the nation. But that’s not to say that access to healthcare, a foundation of community health and wellness, always comes easy. Especially in rural areas like the Western Slope, significant barriers persist. Many residents are accustomed to long drives and longer wait times to see a doctor, difficulties finding a primary care provider and few options for mental health, maternal health and other vital services.

The Legislature has worked hard to improve access to high-quality healthcare for all residents. No matter where a person lives, the color of their skin, who they love or how much they earn, they should be able to get the best possible medical care when and where they need it.

We made progress this year with the Improving Perinatal Health Outcomes Act, expanding maternal health programs, especially for minority and marginalized women and the Prior Authorizations Requirements Alternatives Act, putting more control over healthcare decisions in the hands of physicians and patients; we also increased funding to the Rural Colorado Health Care Workforce program expanding opportunities for healthcare workers to start careers in rural Colorado. I am proud of the victories Colorado has delivered for hardworking families, though more can be done.

It’s clear that when it comes to making healthcare

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more affordable and accessible, we see no quick fixes.

Our healthcare system is complex and deeply integrated. Health needs and the challenges answering them vary significantly from county to county, especially in a state as diverse as ours. I urge our federal lawmakers to bear that in mind, particularly now as some members of Congress are pushing enormous cuts to patient care in the form of slashing reimbursements to local hospitals.

Our hospitals are a critical access point to our healthcare. Emergency departments ensure individuals and families can get medical attention any time, day or night, every day of the year, because crises don’t wait for an “open” sign. Emergency services are just a fraction of the life-saving services hospitals offer; NICUs, trauma centers, burn units and inpatient mental health beds are often only available 24 hours a day through a local hospital.

What’s more, no matter the circumstances, our hospitals are indiscriminate; they treat every individual who comes through their doors.

In rural communities, the needs hospitals meet are even more pronounced. About 38 percent of Colorado counties are maternity care deserts; 54 counties are considered mental health shortage areas. One in five Coloradans said they could not get the mental health care they needed last year, and though about three in five Latino residents experienced a mental health issue, nearly 30 percent postponed seeking help.

Colorado’s hospitals help fill these gaps, ensuring that expectant mothers can safely deliver their babies and that individuals experiencing mental health crises get into a continuum of care. They are equipped to

provide complex, coordinated care to address even the most serious conditions, and indeed they do. On average, hospitals’ patients arrive sicker, require longer stays and are more likely to be older, lower-income and to have put off preventative care.

Improving healthcare access in Colorado will require holistic solutions. We cannot cut our way to better care on the backs of hospitals.

I encourage Washington leaders to support our hospitals, work toward full-picture solutions and avoid top-down cuts to patient care. By doing so, we will make healthcare more accessible and more affordable in Colorado and across the country.

– Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango

Don’t rule out a third choice With such controversial candidates for the office of the U.S. president, isn’t it time that we reconsider other options? The theory that voting for a third-party candidate only deflects the outcome is totally false if enough citizens make that choice, and the choice would be far easier if the candidate’s, in this case Robert Kennedy’s, platform is honestly publicized rather than intentionally misrepresented. Kennedy is not being allowed to participate in the debates, but we can still examine his platform: more affordable housing; sensible immigration policies; a balanced budget; ending waste, fraud and corruption; improving education and healthcare; and diplomatic solutions for current wars. His town hall meeting recently concentrated on the deterioration of the health of U.S. citizens, with

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well documented information on the effects of poor diets due to the marketing of food manufacturers and pharma, more interested in bottom lines than in our health.

Also misrepresented is Kennedy’s being an anti-vaxxer. Instead, he simply objects to a vaccine developed without adequate research, resulting in lawsuits involving the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, most specifically for myocardia, with approximately 11,000 cases already compensated, not to mention current lawsuits against pharma developers for misrepresenting the vaccine.

The two-party system should be a thing of the past.

Let’s not rule out the plausibility of a third-party candidate who is offering more hope than the more visible candidates swimming in corruption and controversy to the extent that the only reason to vote for one is being saddled with the lesser of two evils.

– Katherine R. Bitner, Durango

“We’ll print damn near anything” The Telegraph prides itself on a liberal letters policy. We have only three requests: limit letters to 500 words; letters must be signed by the writer; and thank-you lists and libelous, personal attacks are unwelcome. Send your profundities by Monday at noon to tele graph@durangotelegraph.com

June 27, 2024 n 7

TopStory

The river wild Local recounts harrowing night the ‘sleepy San Juan’ roared to life

by Missy Votel

C

hances are, a lot of us have had some wild nights on the San Juan River. But none were probably quite as epic as what Durangoan Forrest Jones and his crew experienced the night of Fri., June 21.

Jones and son, Rico, 14, joined old Fort Lewis College buddy Trevor Metzger, who now lives in Golden, and nine others for what was supposed to be a leisurely float down the normally docile but scenic Lower San Juan.

However, as we’ve all likely seen by now from social media reports, the San Juan was anything but tame that Friday, as a storm and ensuing flash floods catapulted the San Juan near Mexican Hat, Utah, from a lazy 1,000 cfs to a raging torrent of 20,000 cfs in a matter of hours.

Like many trips, Jones and friends put on under deceivingly sunny skies on Wed., June 19, from Mexican Hat. Experienced boaters, Jones and Metzger, however, both knew it had rained the week before and that the ground was probably saturated and they needed to keep an eye on the weather. The following day, they were met with rain, followed by sun. They set their camp high

A telling morning-after photo: Jones’ boat was moved to higher ground when the river rose, then, when the water dropped, was marooned about 30 feet from the river. / Courtesy photo

Forrest Jones, right, and son Rico after the mayhem had passed and the full solstice moon was rising over the canyon walls./ Courtesy photo above the water line that night just to be safe. On Friday, it was a similar scenario, although the afternoon thunderstorms seemed especially fierce. The group decided to camp at False John’s, a camp about 20 miles from Mexican Hat and a few miles up from the popular John’s campsite. After setting up camp, they hunkered down in their tents to wait out the storm.

“We were watching the water levels,” Jones recounted. “There was a rock in the river, and the water would surge over it.”

Finally, around dusk, Jones ventured out to get a wish light (don’t worry, it was biodegradable) from his dry box to light in honor of the solstice. When he set the

8 n June 27, 2024

lantern free, the wind immediately slammed it down into the river. When he went to pick it up, he noticed the water had risen about a foot higher than when he first grabbed the lantern off his raft moments earlier.

And the rock in the middle of the surging river was now totally submerged.

That’s when Jones, a kayaker and boatman with 10 years experience guiding on the Upper Animas, and crew sprang to action.

“We began to move the dish washing station because the water was lapping up to it, and by the time we did that, the water was halfway to the kitchen,” he said.

Fortunately for the group, they had camped on higher ground, far enough away from any side canyons or washes. Still, what ensued was a fast and furious couple hours of securing boats and relocating gear.

“It was a frenzy to move everything – boats, stuff that was drying in the tamarisk, the groover,” he said.

The good news is, they saved the groover. The bad news: by now it was completely dark, forcing them to salvage gear from the rising tide by the light of their Petzls. As they feverishly worked to haul the boats in by their strained ropes to higher ground, they were met with an eerie sight no river person ever wants to see: socalled ghost ships.

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“We shined our lights to see three empty boats, one with a pirate flag, come rocking by. They were tied together, and we were like ‘holy sh**,’” Jones said.

From there on, they saw a constant parade of flotsam (or was it jetsam?) including Yeti coolers, dry boxes, and an inverted raft. It was all the detritus from a group of 23 camped upstream at Lime Creek, the epicenter for the flood. That group lost everything but thankfully survived.

Bear in mind, though, deep in the remote canyon where cell phone signals are nonexistent, Jones and his group had no idea what was going on upstream. They just knew things were about to get real.

Thankfully, as a former student in Walt Walker’s Outdoor Pursuits program at FLC, Jones was prepared for all manner of natural episodes on the San Juan, from high winds to flash floods. He ran to his boat, grabbed the two throw bags and extra bowline has always brought “just in case” but never used – and began the work of securing the boats, which by now were about 30 feet into the rising current. It required all hands on deck to heave the boats to higher ground and tie them to a sturdy tamarisk. (Jones prefers the half-hitch, and if you don’t know your knots, now might be a good time to learn).

He credited the group’s experience and preparedness – Metzger actually got to use his river knife for the first

time in 20 years for something other than limes when he was forced to cut a raft line.

But Jones also credited the group’s fast action, calm headedness and ability to work together when the proverbial mud hit the alluvial fan. “We had an amazing group that responded quickly. There were no arguments. We would make a decision and move on it,” he said.

And then, almost as quickly as it started, the waters began to recede. In all, Jones estimates the entire episode lasted about an hour and a half (but no one really knows, since it’s river time and watches are frowned upon.) Judging by the mud line and debris lodged in surrounding trees, he estimates the water rose an astonishing 8 feet in that time.

“It came up really fast and dropped really fast,” he said.

So fast, in fact, that the next morning – after a futile, sleepless night to the sounds of crashing boulders and the raging river – his raft was marooned some 30 feet from shore, requiring an arduous portage back to the river. The river by now had dropped to a more manageable 8,000 or 9,000 cfs – a muddy, frothy, black mess. The group contemplated staying put but decided to forge ahead.

“We decided we gotta go help. We have no idea what’s going on, but we saw five boats go by, people might need help,” Jones said.

Fortunately, around the same time BLM San Juan River Ranger Chad Niehaus was putting on at Mexican Hat with a member of the Bluff Fire and Rescue team. Although officials had been expecting a rain event later in the weekend and had warned rafters to take precautions,

Niehaus said the storm arrived much earlier and more severe than expected.

“We knew something was coming, but we certainly weren’t expecting what happened,” he said.

Niehaus, who has been a ranger on the San Juan for four years, said there have been two other comparable 20k events in recent memory: in 2003 and 2016.

Fortunately, his patrol to Clay Hills on Sat., June 22, showed all parties – there were an estimated 70 people on the upper and lower sections – accounted for and unscathed. “All the groups patted their heads to show they were OK. They were shaken but relieved and had some close calls,” he said.

In all, Niehaus said the ranger station has been notified of seven missing boats, five from the Lime Creek group and two from a group camped on the lower section at Steer Gulch. He said a flyover from Red Tail Aviation showed the boats were located in a massive quagmire of debris at a spot called the “Great Bend,” a few miles below the Clay Hills take out and below the infamous Fatt Falls at Paiute Farms. He described the boats as “tiny pinpricks of color among a sea of brown.”

In other words extraction will be difficult and complicated – and out of the BLM’s hands, as the area is in the Glen Canyon Recreation Area, which falls under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. “We will continue to try to help where we can,” he said, adding that such rescue and recovery operations are a concerted effort between several partner agencies, including the USGS, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and Bluff Fire and Rescue.

“It really is a partnership, with all of us

Ranger Chad Niehaus’ boat during his recon mission on the Lower San Juan on Sat., June 22. The debris was picked up from various campsites that were washed out when the river crested at 20,000 cfs the night before. / Courtesy photo sharing information and trying to figure out how to help,” Rachel Wootton, assistant field manager at the BLM Monticello Field Office, said.

And, for as terrifying and powerful as the flood was, Jones and Niehaus see it as an awe-inspiring gift to experience that rare intersection of human and geological time.

“It’s helpful to go through something like this,” Niehaus said. “It of course makes it much easier when everyone is safe and nobody was injured or lost. But I think we’re in a position to pass along some really detailed, specific and relevant

tips to future boaters.”

Jones is also thankful for the experience, on many levels.

“We were so lucky we didn’t lose anything, not even a dinner plate,” Jones said. “And I feel so lucky to have been there. It was really cool to see that power and intensity.”

And he added a word of caution to other boaters.

“Every time I’m putting that rescue kit in, I’m thinking, ‘I’m such a dork and over-preparing – nothing ever happens on the San Juan,’” he said. “But you know what? We used everything I brought.” ■

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June 27, 2024 n 9

KillYrIdols

On repeat The best album releases of 2024 (so far)

by Jon E. Lynch

I

n less than a weeks’ time, we’ll all be – believe it or not – halfway through 2024. Wrap THAT around yer melon.

Some days, it feels like it’s barreling by at an incomprehensible speed, with little regard to my place in the cosmos.

Which makes sense given our individual insignificance. Other times, it’s as though I’m at the nexus, and the heat of an over-exhausted ecosystem has me firmly tarred in place, held at an utter standstill. Usually it is the former – and at this moment, especially so. Time just zips by, and I tend to use records as place markers and reminders of my recent-ish past.

Years ago, prior to compiling our year-end retrospectives, my good friend and colleague (and an *actual* music journalist) KDUR Station Manager Bryant Liggett and I discussed (devised?) a method for such an undertaking. We posed the question: “Will I still be listening to this record in 10 years?”

It’s been my barometer and relative true north ever since.

Well, that, as well as whimsy and an aggregate of what I’ve given obsessive listens to over the specified period of time.

The following are an amalgam of a few of my favorite releases of the year to date.

• BEAK “>>>>” - A trio out Bristol, England, surprise-released their fourth LP in late May via the English label Invada Records and here in the U.S with Brooklyn’s Temporary Residence Limited. An instantly addictive listen of gloom beats, neo psychedelia, krautrock and paranoia-noir, the record is dense and complex, conceived “in the fallout from the weirdness of the Covid.” With no advance press or singles, front man Geoff Barrow (formerly of Portishead) said upon release, “at its core we always wanted it to be head music (music for the ‘heads,’ not headphone music) – listened to as an album, not as individual songs.”

• Cindy Lee, “Diamond Jubilee” – I’m hesitant to draw more attention to this release out of their seeming aversion for the limelight they’ve been thrust into since April.

Yet, it would be disingenuous to *not* include it. Patrick Flegel (aka Cindy Lee) fronted the Calgary post-punk band Women in the mid-aughts with their brother Matt (who, after an acrimonious onstage breakup went on to form Viet Kim Gordon Cong/now Preoccupations).

“Diamond Jubilee” is the seventh release since 2012 under the drag/alter ego Cindy Lee , and it’s not on any of the widely regarded streaming services, save You Tube as a single two-hour, two-minute track. For those willing to put in the

10 n June 27, 2024

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BEAK>, a trio based out of Bristol, England, released their fourth LP in May. ,extra steps to hear it, you can download the double album as WAV files via Cindy Lee’s GeoCities site (www.geocities.ws/ ccqsk/) and pay what you’re able. Now a quintessential summer record, it’s chameleon lo-fi retro doo wop and pop of the late ’50s and ’60s, surf guitar tones, early The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Julee Cruise (of Twin Peaks fame/aesthetic).

• Kim Gordon, “The Collective” – At 71 years old, Kim Gordon is still the epitome of chic iconic cool. Perhaps best known as the former bassist and vocalist of the defunct rock band Sonic Youth, Gordon has released a slew of solo and collaborative records since the early ’80s. She’s an artist in a multitude of mediums: music, fashion, literature, film, et al. – and once a fan, forever a fan. Her latest release on the beloved major indie label Matador Records is caustic, discordant, chaotic, gorgeously abrasive, bombastic and in-your-face all at once. The backing live band of Camilla Charlesworth on bass and keys, Sarah Register on guitar and keys, and Madi Vogt on drums seems like a lineup not to miss.

Other releases from 2024 worth repeated spins and upvotes include: Armbruster; youbet; Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats; DIIV; American Culture; Girl & Girl; Charley Crockett; Winged Wheel; Ride; SPRINTS; Shawn Hess; Thou; Yummi Wisler Guitar Combo; CLASS Rick White & The Sadies; Gauzuncho; Shallowater; and whatever you’ve got queued for me.

I’m always down for suggestions, so send them my way. And, as always, reach out with questions, comments and gripes.

Especially the gripes. KDUR_PD@fortlewis.edu ■

FlashinthePan

Garlic independence Enjoying the feisty taste of freedom from the tyranny of bad garlic

by Ari LeVaux

S

ometime in the mid-1990s, after a lifetime of servitude to the shriveled heads of garlic that I would bring home from the supermarket, I finally declared myself independent. As a cook and garlic lover, I would no longer stand for garlic heads that contain 47 cloves each, cloves that I had to painstakingly peel one by one in order to get the itty bitty chunks of garlic inside. After every such ordeal, my fingers would appear to have been tarred and feathered by whisps of garlic paper.

But since my independence, I have been fortunate to interact exclusively with big, easy-to-peel cloves. It’s the best garlic that money can buy, and I get it for free because I grow it. It takes about nine months, from September to the following summer, for a clove to grow into a head. And if you are going to invest that much time and effort, you should be planting the good stuff.

The central distinction in garlic botany is between the hardneck and softneck varieties. The cheap stuff from the supermarket is of the softneck persuasion, while the good stuff is all hardneck. The name hardneck refers to the flower-like organ, called a “scape,” that sprouts from the middle of the garlic plant around solstice. It also has larger cloves, fewer cloves per head and peels about as easily as a banana. The scapes must be pulled in order to redirect all of the plant’s energy into the below-ground bulb, so it grows as large as possible. This chore is also the first garlic harvest of the season. Everyone loves scapes. These charismatic and curly growths, green and spicy and full of garlic juice, get the garlic season going in style.

If you want to be independent like me and plant your own garlic, the best place to find hardneck is your local farmers market. You can also order hardneck garlic online, although most farms tend to quickly sell out of the good stuff like Romanian Red, much of which is already sold before the mid-July harvest.

Wherever you get your seed garlic, it will cost you.

Just remember that your initial investment will be off-

set by the fact that you will never have to buy garlic again, while you enjoy the crème de la crème of garlic.

I came into my current variety of choice – Romanian Red – at the Tonasket Barter Faire in the Okanogan Valley of North Central Washington State. Folks had gathered around the pickup trying to figure out what to trade the grower, David Ronniger, for his vibrant heads of Romanian Red. I slid to the front with some crispy Benjamins and paid the man his money for a 50-pound sack.

With this garlic, and a book called “Growing Great Garlic,” by Ron Engeland, also of the Okanogan, I started growing a lot of great garlic in Missoula. I

would give it away and trade it for meat, salmon and pickles, and teach my friends how to grow it. Today, my garlic is all over my home-town of Missoula and can be found as far east as Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes, as far north as Anchorage and as far south as Albuquerque. I have freed so many of my friends from the tyranny of bad garlic that I feel like such a boss.

As you round up your seed garlic and figure out where to plant it, you should also take steps to prepare that ground as necessary. If it’s a fully prepped garden bed that’s ready to go, you can skip this step. But if the location of your new garlic patch is overgrown with weeds, or is currently a piece of lawn, I kill all the plants by laying down a piece of plastic, preferably black. After 8 weeks, the weeds or grass will be gone, and the dirt beneath the plastic will be mostly worm poop, and will turn over like butter. Because I can’t stand to see an empty piece of dirt in my garden, I like to fill it with short season crops like radish, cilantro, spinach and other plants that will be done by late September or peacefully coexist with the garlic I plant around it.

This week, I have been harvesting the scapes from last year’s planting. I yank each one gently, like a blade of grass, as soon as it’s long enough to grab. If you do it right, the scape breaks deep inside the plant, and emerges with a pop, yielding a bright white, extra tender and juicy garlic heart.

There are as many ways to use scapes as there are ways to use garlic itself. Make scape pesto with pine nuts, olive oil and parmesan cheese. Steam the scapes like asparagus or green beans. Use the scapes as skewers to grill meat at your July 4th party.

The other day, I chopped up some scapes and put them in a pan with some radishes I pulled from next year’s garlic patch. I fried the scapes and radish – including the chopped radish leaves – and when they were cooked, I poured in some beaten eggs. I put a lid on the pan and let the eggs cook slowly until they were done to my liking. I seasoned with salt and hot sauce and enjoyed my first fresh garlic of the year. The feisty taste of freedom tastes so good. ■

Trivia Night!

Every Tuesday, 6-8 p.m.

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FREE !

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Open daily @ 11 a.m. • 11thstreetstation.com

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June 27, 2024 n 11

StufftoDo

Thursday27

Live music by Ben Gibson, 5 p.m., Balcony Bar & Grill, 600 Main Ave. Downtown Walking Tour of Durango’s early history, 5 p.m., Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot, 479 Main Ave. Ska-B-Q with music by Kicking Fences, 5-7 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St. Durango Green Drinks with The Good Food Collective, La Plata Food Equity Coalition/Voces de Comunidad, and Great Old Broads for Wilderness, 5-7 p.m., 11th Street Station, 1101 Main Ave. Trivia Night, 5-7 p.m., EsoTerra Ciderworks, 558 Main Ave.

Live music by Leah Orlikowski, 5-8 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave. Live music by Bluegrouse, 5:30-8 p.m., James Ranch Grill, 33846 HWY 550 Palestine Solidarity Summer Film Series, hosted by Durango Palestine Solidarity Coalition, 5:308 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

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

Live music by Adam Swanson, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Bluegrass Jam, 6 p.m., Durango Beer & Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave. Live music by Jeff Solon Jazz, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave. Poetry Open Mic Night, 6 p.m., Create Art & Tea, 1015 Main Ave. Live music by Rob Webster, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Live music by Pete Giuliani, 6-9 p.m., Durango Hot Springs, 6475 CR 203 Concert Hall at the Park featuring Vespus Marimba Band, 6-10 p.m., Buckley Park Trivia Night, 6:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1330 Camino del Rio Durango Playfest Play Reading: “All That Remains,” 7-9:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Friday28

Mountain Archery Festival, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Purgatory Resort San Juan Nature Walk hosted by San Juan Mountains Association, 9-11 a.m., Haviland Lake Veterans Outdoors rafting hosted by Adaptive Sports Association, 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., Santa Rita Park Durango Playfest reading: “All That Remains,” 3-5 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. Quick & Dirty Downtown Walking Tour, 5 p.m., D&SNG train depot, 479 Main Ave. Live Music by Nathan Wheeler, 5-7 p.m., Four Leaves Winery, 528 Main Ave. Live music by Leah Orlikowski, 5-8 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave. Live music by Tracy Wiebeck, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Public House 701, 701 E. 2nd Ave. Artist Talk with John Truitt, “Art on the Spectrum,” presented by Durango Creative District, 5:30-7 p.m., The Lightbox at Stillwater Music, 1316 Main Ave., Ste. C

Saturday29 Durango Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 noon, TBK Bank parking lot, 259 W. 9th St. Mountain Archery Festival, all day, Purgatory Colorado Trail Days, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Backcountry Experience, 1205 Camino Del Rio Durango Playfest play reading “Hop tha A,” 1-3 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. Durango Playfest reading “All That Remains,” 4-6 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. Downtown Walking Tour of Durango’s early history, 5 p.m., D&SNG train depot, 479 Main Ave. Live music by the Tracy Wiebeck Duo featuring Richard Leavitt, 5-8 p.m., Serious Texas BBQ South, 650 S. Camino Del Rio Live Music with the Wild Roses, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave. Live music by Adam Swanson, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Karaoke, 6 p.m., Durango Beer & Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.

Live music by the Ben Gibson Duo, 6 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, 18044 CR 501, Vallecito

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

Live music by Sean O’Brien, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

Durango Playfest reading “Mrs. Einstein,” 79 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

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

Hauntings & History Downtown Ghost Tour, 8-9:30 p.m., D&SNG train depot, 479 Main Ave.

Friday Nights at Fox Fire, 6-9 p.m., Fox Fire Farms Winery, 5513 CR 321, Ignacio

Sunday30

Live music by Mike Testa, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Live music by The Pete Giuliani Trio, 6-9 p.m., Fenceline Cider, 141 S. Main St., Mancos Live music by Jason Thies and Jeff Haspel, 6:30 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice, 3000 N. Main Ave. Live music by the Smelter Mountain Boys, 7 p.m., 11th Street Station, 1101 Main Ave.

Mountain Archery Festival, all day, Purgatory Colorado Trail Days, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Backcountry Experience, 1205 Camino Del Rio Irish jam session, 12:30-3 p.m., Durango Beer & Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave. Durango Playfest reading “Circle Forward,” 1-3 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. Pride Skate, 1-4 p.m., Chapman Hill

Pride Talent Show, 7 p.m., EsoTerra Ciderworks, 556 Main Ave.

Durango Food Not Bombs mutual aid and potluck, 2-4 p.m., Buckley Park

Pride Lip Sync and Trivia, sponsored by Pettyone Productions, 7-11 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Durango Playfest reading “Circle Forward,” 7-9 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music by the Alison Dance Duet, 12-2 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

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

Hauntings & History Downtown Ghost Tour, 8-9:30 p.m., D&SNG train depot, 479 Main Ave.

Board Game Sundays, 2 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Hauntings & History Downtown Ghost Tour, 8-9:30 p.m., D&SNG Train Depot, 479 Main Ave.

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

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

12 n June 27, 2024

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AskRachel

Church state, standard reply and parental discretion Interesting fact: The Louisiana law explicitly outlines the version of the biblical text to be posted in classrooms. No word on whether these may be photoshopped onto Mel Brooks holding the 15, I mean 10 Commandments.

Dear Rachel, Louisiana passed a law that all public schools have the 10 Commandments posted in school rooms. What the hell is going on? Are the people of Louisiana sucking up old pond water? Or did the leaders just miss history class? Your thoughts on this BS. – New Orleans Free Thinker Dear Costless Wonderer, The best part of this law is that kindergarteners will now have a reference to adultery posted in every classroom. They gonna ask questions. Yet it’s illegal in Louisiana to teach about sex until the 7th grade (outside New Orleans, that is). This is going to get interesting.

– Who dat, Rachel

politics and hospital stays than I ever cared to know. Do you think we need to stick to superficial greetings to avoid these fiascos?

– Fine Line Dear Finer Things, I’m right there with you. But not everyone in America understands the subtlety of asking questions we don’t want answers for. That’s why I stick with a simple “Hi there” when people see me, or maybe a “Howdy” with finger pistols if they’re wearing snakeskin tourist boots. But I generally do everything I can to remain unseen, unapproachable or frankly undesirable in any way so no one dares ask me how I’m doing.

– So fine, Rachel

Dear Rachel, I always hear people say how they wish we had real connection instead of just saying “How are you?” “Well, I just asked someone walking by my yard how they were, and now I know WAY more about this person’s family,

Dear Rachel, My mother raised me, and now I provide her tech support. All good. But can we please ban our parents from using apps unrelated to their retirement accounts? My mother was scrolling Insta, and next thing she’s asking me what “hawk tuah” means. This is a problem because I’m so uncool I didn’t know what #hawktuah meant, and now that I do, I definitely don’t want to explain it to her. What’s my most courteous way of bowing out of these questions, Rachel?

– Hawk Talk

Downtown Walking Tour of Durango’s early history, 5 p.m., D&SNG train depot, 479 Main Ave.

Comedy Open Mic, 7-8:30 p.m., Fired Up Pizza, 735 Main Ave.

Sunday Funday, 6 p.m., Starlight, 937 Main Ave. Live music by Ben Gibson, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Blue Moon Ramblers, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Comedy Showcase, 7:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Tuesday02 Rocky Mountain Puppets, 10:30-11:30 a.m. and 12 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 Main Ave.

Durango Playfest play reading “Mrs. Einstein,” 7-9 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

La Plata Dems Club local candidate forum, 121:30 p.m., Zoom www.laplatadems.org/events

Andy Frasco & The U.N., 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.

Live music with Yes, No, Maybe, 5:30-8 p.m., James Ranch Grill, 33846 HWY 550

Monday01

Live music with the Ben Gibson Band, 6 p.m., Three Springs plaza, 151 Heritage Lane

Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St. Live music by Terry Hartzel, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Live music by Leah Orlikowski, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Singo with Devin Scott, 6 p.m., Grassburger South, 360 S. Camino Del Rio, Ste. 300

Live music with Nina Sasaki & Dan Carlson, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave. Live music by Sean O’Brien, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Wednesday03 Youth Drop-in Chess, 1:30-3 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 Main Ave.

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Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com Dear Birds & Bees, You got to have The Talk with your mama! What a beautiful bonding moment. For the rest of us, I mean.

For you, I’m sure it was light and fluffy hell. We should create an alternate 10 Commandments for our modern age. Enough with coveting and adultering; let’s say “Thou shalt not feel obligated to explain memes to thy parents,” and “Thou shalt learn to Google thine own questions before asking anyone outside thine own age bracket.”

– Spit on that thang, Rachel Community Concert Series featuring People We Know benefiting SOIL Outdoor Learning Lab., 5 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio Live music by Terry Rickard, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Civic Winds Jazz Orchestra performs for the 4th, 6:30 p.m., Rotary Park, 1565 E. 2nd Ave. Open Mic, 6:30 p.m., EsoTerra, 558 Main Ave. Ice Cream Social hosted by VFW Post 4031, 6:30-8 p.m., Rotary Park, 1565 E. 2nd Ave. Chicken Sh*t Bingo w/Devin Scott Ukulele, 6:308 p.m., Grassburger downtown, 726 1/2 Main Ave. True Western Roundup, 6:30-9:30 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Deadline to submit items for “Stuff to Do” is Monday at noon.

Please include: • Date and time of event • Location of event E-mail your stuff to: calendar@durangotelegraph.com June 27, 2024 n 13

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): This may sound weird, but I think now is a perfect time to acquire a fresh problem. Not just any old boring problem. Rather, I’m hoping you will carefully ponder what kind of dilemma would be most educational for you – which riddle might challenge you to grow in ways you need to.

Here’s another reason you should be proactive about hunting down a juicy challenge: Doing so will ensure you won’t attract mediocre, meaningless problems.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Now is an excellent time to start learning a new language or to increase your proficiency in your native tongue. Or both. It’s also a favorable phase to enrich your communication skills and acquire resources that will help you.

Would you like to enhance your ability to cultivate friendships and influence people? Are you interested in becoming more persuasive, articulate and expressive?

If so, tend to these self-improvement tasks with graceful intensity. Life will conspire benevolently on your behalf if you do. (PS: I’m not implying you’re weak in these departments, just that now is a favorable time to boost your capacities.)

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Barbara Sher and Barbara Smith wrote the book “I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It.” I invite you to think and feel deeply about this theme during the coming months. In my experience with Geminis, you are often so versatile and multi-faceted, it can be challenging to focus on just one or two of your callings. That may confuse your ability to know what you want. But here’s the good news. You may soon enjoy a grace period when you feel really good about devoting yourself to one goal.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You are entering a phase when you will be wise to question fixed patterns and shed age-old habits. The more excited you get about reevaluating everything, the more likely it is that exciting new possibilities will open up. If you are staunchly committed to resolving longstanding confusions and instigating fresh approaches, you will launch an epic chapter of your life story. Wow! That sounds dramatic. But it’s quite factual. Here’s the kicker: You’re now in prime position to get vivid glimpses of specific successes you can accomplish between now and your birthday in 2025.

14 n June 27, 2024

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): How many different ways can you think of to ripen your spiritual wisdom? I suggest you choose two and pursue them with gleeful vigor. You are primed to come into contact with streams of divine revelations that can change your life for the better. All the conditions are favorable for you to encounter teachings that will ennoble your soul and hone your highest ideals. Don’t underestimate your power to get the precise enlightenment you need.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Border collies are dogs with a herding instinct.

Their urges to usher, steer and manage are strong. They will not only round up sheep and cattle, but also pigs, chickens and ostriches – and even try to herd cats. In my estimation, Virgo, border collies are your spirit creatures these days. You have a special inclination and talent to be a good shepherd. So use your aptitude with flair. Provide extra navigational help for people and animals who would benefit from your guidance. And remember to do the same for your own wayward impulses!

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): At the midpoint of 2024, it’s check-in time. Do you recall the promises you made to yourself last January? Are you halfway into the frontier you vowed to explore? What inspirational measures could you instigate to renew your energy and motivation for the two most important goals in your life? What would you identify as the main obstacle to your blissful success, and how could you diminish it?

If you’d like to refresh your memory of the long-term predictions I made for you in 2024, go here: tinyurl.com/Libra2024. For 2023’s big-picture prophecies, go here: tinyurl.com/2023Libra.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpioborn Gary Hug was educated as a machinist and food scientist, but for many years he worked primarily as an amateur astronomer. Using a telescope he built, he discovered a comet and 300 asteroids, including two that may come hazardously close to Earth. Extolling the joys of being an amateur, he says he enjoys “a sense of freedom that you don’t have when you’re a professional.” I encourage you to experiment with tasks done out of joy rather than duty. Identify work and play that feel liberating and indulge in them lavishly.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your power spots will be places that no one has visited or looked into for a while. Sexy secrets and missing information will be revealed to you as you nose around in

telegraph

situations where you supposedly should not investigate. The light at the end of the tunnel is likely to appear well before you imagined it would. Your lucky number is 8, your lucky color is black and your lucky emotion is the surprise of discovery. My advice: Call on your memory to use as a superpower.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Happy Unbirthday, Capricorn! It’s time to celebrate the season halfway between your last birthday and your next. I hope you will give yourself a fun gift every day for at least the next seven days. Fourteen days would be even better. See if you can coax friends and allies to also shower you with amusing blessings. Now here’s an unbirthday favor from me: I promise that between now and January 2025, you will create healing changes in your relationship with your job and with work in general.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): While sleeping, my Aquarian friend Janelle dreamed that she and her family lived in a cabin in the woods. When dusk was falling, a strange animal put its face against the window. Was it a bear? A mountain lion? Her family freaked out and hid in a back bedroom. But Janelle stayed to investigate. Looking closely, she saw the creature was a deer. She opened up the window and spoke to it, “What can I do for you?” The deer, who was a talking deer, said, “I want to give you and your family a gift. See this necklace I’m wearing? It has a magic ruby that will heal a health problem for everyone who touches it.” Janelle managed to remove the necklace, the deer wandered away and she woke up from the dream. During subsequent weeks, welcome changes occurred in her life. She and three of her family members lost physical ailments that had been bothering them. I think this dream is a true fairy tale for you in the coming weeks, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A psychologist friend tells me that if we have an intense craving for sugar, it may be a sign that deeper emotional needs are going unmet. I see merit in her theory. But here’s a caveat.

What if we are currently not in position to get our deeper emotional needs met? What if there is a barrier to achieving that goal? Would it be wrong to seek a partial quenching of our cravings by communing with fudge brownies, peach pie and crème brûlée? I don’t think it would be wrong. On the contrary. It might be an effective way to tide ourselves over until more profound gratification is available. But here’s the good news: I suspect more profound gratification will be available sooner than you imagine.

classifieds

Deadline for Telegraph classified ads is Tuesday at noon. Ads are a bargain at 10 cents a character with a $5 minimum. Even better, ads can now be placed online: durangotelegraph.com Prepayment is required via cash, credit card or check.

(Sorry, no refunds or substitutions.)

Ads can be submitted via: n www.durangotelegraph.com n classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133 n 679 E. 2nd Ave., #E2 Approximate office hours: Mon-Wed: 9ish - 5ish Thurs: On delivery Fri: Gone fishing; call first

Announcements Don't Miss the iAM Music Yard Sale June 29, 10 AM-2 PM at 1315 N Main Avenue, Durango! Great deals on music gear, instruments and more !

Classes/Workshops

ADU, Cottage, Housing Wanted Ideal tenant seeking ideal landlord.

Single, mature, highly educated professional and CO native ISO peaceful housing, ideally close-in. text Tamara @ 9707497485

HaikuMovieReview ‘Hit Man’ Surprisingly fun and sexy for a murder for hire story

Cash for Vehicles, Copper, Alum Etc. at RJ Metal Recycle. Also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970259-3494.

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

RealEstate

ForSale

Want to Trade Houses?!

I own a lovely 1200 sq ft house on 9+ acres only 15 minutes from town. It is a 3/2 built 6 years ago, but these days I'd rather live in town. If you are sick of town and own a comparable home, let's chat! kafir53193@mypacks.net

Reruns Home Furnishings Items for your outdoor gatherings like patio sets, bistros, chaise lounges. 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336

– Lainie Maxson

CommunityService Americorps is Hiring for 9-12-month positions! Our partner organizations are concentrated in La Plata and Montezuma counties and span from September - the end of May or August 2025. To learn more, visit www.unitedway-swco.org/americorps.

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

Dance Classes All Ages!

Classes for all ages from 18 monthsAdult. Check out the full schedule on our website.

Lotus Path Healing Arts Unique, intuitive fusion of Esalen massage, deep tissue & Acutonics. Kathryn, 970-201-3373.

Services

Weekly Medicinal Plant Walk Cascade Creek, Sat., June 29. Call 970759-9287.

Lost/Found Lost: Osprey Daypack Light blue. Left at Haviland Lake trailhead on Sat., June 15. Please call Keith at (970) 749-3039. Reward.

Wanted Books Wanted at White Rabbit Donate/trade/sell (970) 259-2213

Boiler Service - Water Heater Serving Durango over 30 years. Brad, 970-759-2869. Master Plbg Lic #179917 Lowest Prices on Storage!

Inside/outside storage near Durango and Bayfield. 10-x-20, $130. Outside spots: $65, with discounts available. RJ Mini Storage. 970-259-3494.

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June 27, 2024 n 15

The BoathousE on Grand Negronis On tap.

Finally. (and other spirits, too)

Open at 4pm Thurs - sun Walk-ins welcome Reservations recommended Call: 970-533-9177 114 Grand Ave, Mancos Theboathouseongrand.com

16 n June 27, 2024

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