The Durango Telegraph, Aug. 10, 2023

Still disappointing our parents

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FREE Aug. 10, 2023 Vol. XXII, No. 32 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

School daze

Rock bottom

Without a trace

18 easy back-to-school tips for teachers p4

Fixing gravel mining’s legacy in the Animas Valley p8

Even in this day & age, it is possible to disappear p10

2 n Aug. 10, 2023

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lineup

A teacher’s step-by-step guide to preparing to return to the classroom

5 Writers on the Range

4 La Vida Local

School daze

by Addyson Santese

6 Soap Box

5

7 State News

Howdy, partner

8 Top Story

Survival tips for those new to the intermountain West

by Betsy Marston / Writers on the Range

10 Land Desk

8

12-13 Stuff to Do 13 Ask Rachel

Rough water Repairing gravel mining’s legacy in the Animas Valley

by Jonathan Romeo

14 Free Will Astrology 15 Classifieds

10

15 Haiku Movie Review

Without a trace

On the cover Disappointment Valley, named after high hopes of farming the vast expanse fell flat, is now a pretty iconic shot for all those seeking “The Open Road.”/ Photo by Renee Cornue

Even in this surveillance day and age, it’s still possible to disappear

boilerplate

by Jonathan Thompson

EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel missy@durangotelegraph.com ADVERTISING SALES: telegraph@durangotelegraph.com STAFF REPORTER: Jonathan Romeo jonathan@durangotelegraph.com

T

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Ear to the ground: “I started a diet a week ago and weighed 160 pounds. I weighed in at 164 today.”

– Yet another reason why dieting is bunk

Love in all the wrong places

thepole

4

RegularOccurrences

Remember Craigslist’s “Missed Connections?” For that matter, remember Craigslist?

Neither did we, until a search for barstools turned to Missed Connections for a laugh.

For the unacquainted, Missed Connections is where people post messages in hopes of reconnecting with someone they encountered in public but didn’t muster the courage to talk to. In theory, the posts describe the location or circumstances of the encounter, the other person sees it, the two reconnect and live happily ever after. In practice, however, Missed Connections can be a seedy hellhole where people are just trying to solicit sex.

Craiglist declined in popularity in recent years with the rise of social media, as well as scam and safety concerns. So, we were perversely delighted to see Missed Connections is still quite active in Durango. So you don’t have to, we’ve pulled some of our favorites: • “Looking for a hiking friend with hiking staff.” Oh god.

• “My cat ran out. She is a tabby cat that comes to her name (YUMMI).” Looks like a Boomer clicked the wrong button.

• “I was in front of you in line at City Market, white shirt, let’s meet.” Well that’s descriptive.

• “ISO hot bass player that played last Saturday night. Would love to visit waterfalls and eat lettuce wraps with you this weekend if you’re down, respectfully.” Uhhh…

• “Johnson? You out there?” At least it’s to the point.

Our personal favorites, however, come from our neighbors in Farmington: • “Red Lobster waitress. Had you as a waitress yesterday.”

• “Speedway. I was parked by u as u were cleaning ur window..i aplogized for just parking there ibwas eating.”

• “Waitress Bdubs. I was there saturday night. Beautiful waitress working in the booth area. Long reddish hair, glasses and beautiful! If you read this and know somew who works at bdubs please help me find her.” Maybe you could find her at … BDubs?

Believe it or not, there are stories online about people meeting through Missed Connections, not getting murdered and actually working out as a couple. It’s a crazy world, and crazier things have happened, so the saying goes. And hey, we get it, it’s hard to meet people these days.

However, we may want to put the waitress at BDubs in a witness protection program or something.

Aug. 10, 2023 n 3

opinion

LaVidaLocal Eighteen easy back-to-school steps 1. Plan to start having stress dreams about the first day of school, like the one where you’re standing in front of a classroom of unmanageable students that’s more like a frothing pit of vicious piranhas and they all hate you and everything about your specific personality, at least a month in advance. Two if you can manage it.

2. Go to bed a little earlier each night. You want to start the school year feeling refreshed and re-energized. If you don’t, expect that students will be brutally honest with their opinions about your appearance and/or ask if you have a wasting disease.

3. Spend obscene amounts of time ensuring your course pages and instructions are meticulously crafted to be friendly yet firm, organized but not overwhelming, and intuitive without being demeaning. Additionally, practice avoiding the phrase “it’s in the syllabus,” lest you be viewed as bitchy and receive a poor score on Rate My Professor.

4. Throw in some laughter. Prepare a joke or riddle of the day. You’re more relaxed just thinking about it, right? (OK, I have to confess – I pulled this tip from another article. It was too funny not to include).

5. Buy the perfect pop culture bumper sticker, but reconsider putting it on your car because you don’t want your ride to be easily identifiable in the school parking lot that conveniently doesn’t have security cameras.

6. Remove the schedule that the administrative assistant kindly taped to your office door – the schedule that details your exact location at all times – because you work in a building that is unlocked 24/7 and anyone could come in at literally any time, a thought that doesn’t seem to disturb anyone else in your hall.

7. Visit your assigned classrooms beforehand to check out the tech upgrades (good luck girl, only God can help you figure out how to work that new projector now). While you’re there, see if there are windows or doors to escape through in case of a school shooter.

8. Pause to wonder if you’re brave enough to take a bullet for a student.

9. Feel guilty when the answer is probably not.

10. Think about all your colleagues who thought that your precautionary measures were ridiculous because “a shooting has never happened in (insert idyllic place).”

Consider all the towns and schools where a shooting had never taken place until it did. Subsequently, count the number of shocked residents, left in utter disbelief after precisely such a tragedy occurred in (insert idyllic place) and divide that by zero – you’ve found the sum total of people who should have been surprised.

11. Hope that this will finally be the semester where you don’t have a student come to your office and tell you they’ve been missing class and are thinking of dropping out of school because they’re struggling with a sexual assault case. Prepare yourself for this exact situation anyway because it’s happened every single year that you’ve been teaching.

12. Don’t stop to consider if your male colleagues have to expend this much mental and emotional energy to get ready for the first day of classes. You’ve still got a lot to do to get ready for the school year. (Also, no, they don’t).

13. Take care of yourself by scheduling a massage! (Alright, this is another ludicrous tip I found in an article. Laugh twice at this suggestion if you’re both a teacher and a parent).

14. Do some fast math: if you’re too young to be someone’s grandma and therefore unsexy, but you’re also not old enough to be out of the theoretical dating age range, determine that students will automatically grant you 36% as much respect as your male counterparts. Go ahead and round that number down to 30% for the inevitable email you’ll receive from a student that starts with “‘sup?” and ends with them asking if they “missed anything important” when they skipped your class to shred some fresh pow.

15. Set some time to worry that the assigned reading list you’ve spent the summer compiling contains too much feminist literature. Inevitably think back to the guy in your creative writing workshop who said he just “couldn’t connect” to your writing because there were “too many women.” Try not to spontaneously combust.

16. Avoid buying new folders or pencils or notebooks or any other stationery because you’re fully stocked after dumpster diving through last year’s discarded supplies. You’re still working with a teacher’s salary after all.

17. Scan your closet. As a female teacher, you don’t want to wear anything too form-fitting because then people won’t respect you or take you seriously, but you also can’t dress like a frumpy old cow because then people won’t respect you or take you seriously. Simply find a few cute outfits that are youthful yet professional while avoiding showing any cleavage, leg, stomach or shoulder. Really, any human skin at all is considered sexually suggestive and therefore a no-go, so if you can just rip that off prior to the first day, that’s probably for the best.

18. And finally, here’s the absolute best tip I can offer to prepare you for the trenches of a new school year: Walmart has five-cup coffee makers on sale for $9.98 in aisle H20. You’re welcome.

– Addyson Santese

SignoftheDownfall:

Thumbin’It Hey! The La Plata County Fair is back!

Which means only one thing: nodding off on a bench while eating funnel cake as your kid goes nuts on the Zipper.

President Biden declaring a new national monument near the Grand Canyon – Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – protecting sacred Indigenous lands and banning future uranium mining.

Elon Musk vowing to pay legal costs for users who get in trouble at work for their tweets. Surely there’s a way we can come up with a scam for this to make some big bucks?

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An OHV rollover in Silverton that resulted in four people sustaining critical injuries who were not wearing seatbelts or safety equipment. Kinda important gear there.

A rash of wildfires breaking out in the region. And with wildfires in Hawaii, Italy and Greece, it’s sorta driving home that we really shot ourselves in the foot with this whole climate change thing.

The U.S. Women’s Soccer team getting eliminated in Round 16 of the World Cup. Crap, now what sport are we going to pretend to care about?

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Oh, the Hugh-Manatee The Mote Aquarium in Florida announced last month that one of its manatees, Hugh, died as a result of “high intensity” sex with another manatee named Buffett, who was also Hugh’s brother and longtime lover. Apparently, same-sex manatee love has been documented seasonally in the wild, but the behavior intensifies in captivity, and the Hugh/Buffett affair had been going on for years before it turned deadly. The couple is pictured below on a date eating lettuce. The aquarium staff is sad, and Buffett is lonely, but thanks to DeSantis, this is still only the second worst story to come out of Florida in July.

WritersontheRange

Howdy, partner Just moved out West? Here are some tips to get acclimated

by Betsy Marston

H

urray, you’ve moved to the rural West from a crowded subdivision or city where the traffic has become an out-of-patience game, and now you want to fit in.

You want to learn how irrigation ditches work, build a hen house, and grow fruit trees, wine grapes and a garden. You also want to take a hike at a moment’s notice, or at least look like you’re ready to do 10 miles.

How do newcomers manage this transition? Western writer Zane Grey never wrote a “Code of the West,” but it was clear from his novels that subtle rules operated in the 19th century. Key tenets were fair play, respect for the land and hospitality.

Today’s code, were one to be written, would include those values, but there are some modern quirks you might not anticipate.

First, if you meet an old-timer and they’re willing to talk about “the way it used to be” in your town, try to restrain the urge to chime in with stories of your own, as that will shut off the flow. Good stories take time.

As you settle in, agree to buy your youngsters 4-H market lambs for the county fair, but only if they know these animals have a definite destiny: Lambs the kids work hard to muscle up will be slaughtered and sold, and by fair time, the lambs are sure to have pet names like Fuzzy or Mopsy. Parting will be painful; prepare for tears.

Weather can change minute by minute, and it’s no good complaining about it, as the old saw goes. But everyone is willing to talk about it. “Hot enough for you?” will do as a hello at the post office in the summer. You could also tell about a photo from Wyoming that shows a metal chain standing out horizontally, the caption reading: “Stiff wind yesterday.”

And even if it rains for more than a week, get ready to tell someone you meet on the sidewalk: “We need the moisture.”

Appreciate that “neighbor” in the West is a verb, and “out-neighboring” someone is a highly developed skill. It can be thoroughly enjoyable (though

sometimes competitive) and always helpful, but you need to keep track of who’s on tap to neighbor next.

You may live in a rural area, but if your dog poops in someone’s front yard, it helps to have a plastic bag handy to pick it up. On a hiking trail, you also need to bag up a dog’s leavings and carry it out with you.

See if you agree that there’s a pecking order of hunters, with bowhunters the elite, as they’ve got to be extra stealthy and up close to kill their prey. They also get to look cool in their camo and face paint. However, they may reek from the skunk juice they slather on. Muzzleloaders also get respect as they’re shooting ancient guns for some reason.

Never ask a mushroom hunter where they found their boletes, chanterelles and puffballs. Mushroom patches are sacrosanct. If queried yourself, wave vaguely and maybe say, “Not too far from here.”

Anytime there’s a football or basketball game in your area, try to show up.

Same goes for a county fair or rodeo, where you might see excellent bull riding along with a sport called mutton

busting. That’s a tradition involving little kids who wear helmets while riding a sheep that shakes them off within a few seconds. Try not to audibly gasp. Most kids bounce.

Though no one likes inhaling smoke from wildfires, realize that the only way to prevent forest fires is to prevent forests. They’re built to burn. Get some advice about what “defensible space” means, and protect your house.

If you’re hardcore and want to dunk in an irrigation ditch, do not swallow the water. And never let your dog join you if a culvert is nearby, and one usually is. Culverts and siphons are dangerous and can be lethal to both of you.

Finally, avoid talking politics with your neighbors, as you could guess wrong in thinking they share your opinions. You might find out they have a whole host of peculiar ideas and predilections. Of course, they’ll think you’re odd, too.

Betsy Marston is the editor of Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. She lives in Paonia. ■

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Aug. 10, 2023 n 5

SoapBox Summertime A time for ice tea drink and watermelon pink, for ice cream floats and lake water boats, for barbecue smoke and neighborly folk, for fledgling flight and firefly light, for cut grass smells and campfire spells, for ball bat cracks and crackerjacks, for vacation trips and fishing tips, for county fairs and ripened pears, for drive-in dreams and high mountain streams, for dragon cloud forms and lightning storms, for backyard tents and wildflower scents, for outdoor chores and especially, charcoaled s’mores!

– Burt Baldwin, Ignacio

6 n Aug. 10, 2023

D-Tooned/by Rob Pudim The fascists among us As of the end of July, a judge had temporarily blocked a new law in Arkansas from taking effect that could criminalize librarians and booksellers if brownshirts from the Upright Citizens’ Brigade or Moms for Liberty find books they don’t like displayed where children might have access.

It’s just one of various red state efforts to restrict everyone’s access to ideas that certain people don’t like.

The biggest target seems to be people of alternative sexuality. The demonizing of LGBTQ+ people by the GOP is reminiscent of the demonizing of Jews in 1930s Germany.

The next brownshirt target is accurate U.S. history, which includes some serious unpleasantness, such as slavery, lynchings, the 1921 Tulsa race attacks and police killing black men after minor traffic violations or no violation at all. Discussion of ongoing systemic racism is prohibited.

Historical unpleasantness also includes physical and cultural genocide against Native Americans. Just skip all that stuff, the brownshirts say.

We wouldn’t want white children to feel guilty about what happened back when. Is there any evidence of that actually happening, unless parents put that idea in their head?

Florida is ground zero for all this

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under Gov. Ron DeSantis. Pretty much all the other GOP-controlled states are quickly following along. Keep an eye on all of them, because this is what the transition to fascism looks like.

– Carole McWilliams, Bayfield

StateNews

Sharing is caring What’s the etiquette when driving behind a cyclist?

by Dan Boyce Colorado Public Radio

Stay classy, Durango

C

olorado’s cycling community is still reeling from the death of 17-yearold rising star Magnus White late last month. White was riding north of Boulder when he was struck from behind by a 23-year-old driver who drifted from her lane.

It’s the manifestation of a worst-case scenario that has gone through the minds of many Colorado motorists, especially in the mountains. The state’s narrow, winding roads can be dangerous for both drivers and cyclists tasked with sharing the road, even when there’s not much traffic around.

Now, add in busy weekend traffic, cars backed up behind you – and the danger gets even higher.

That’s the sort of anxiety-provoking situation that inspired Littleton’s Kristen McCammon to write in to Colorado Wonders: “What’s the proper etiquette as a car driver when encountering cyclists on curvy mountain roads?”

McCammon recounted her experiences driving down mountain passes, or east through the foothills, back to the Front Range, and coming upon a cyclist. Then, just not really knowing what to do.

“I feel like if I try to pass them, that’s when somebody’s going to come around a blind curve that I can’t see,” she said.

Colorado Department of Transportation Chief Engineer Keith Stefanik is an active cyclist. He often rides in the mountains recreationally and bike commutes about 75% of the year. He called McCammon’s concerns a “grand old question” at CDOT. As far as state law is concerned, bicyclists are legitimate road users just as much as any car or truck. That’s not just the case on mountain roads; that’s the case on all roads in the state, except where expressly prohibited. That being said, there are both legal protocols and ethical guidelines regarding the meeting of cyclists and vehicles.

First, as of 2009, Colorado motorists are required by law to give cyclists a minimum 3-foot buffer at all times, all around the cyclist. That might not sound like a lot, but it is especially important to remember on

Tina Miely Broker Associate

(970) 946-2902 tina@BHHSco.com

A cyclist climbs Lookout Mountain outside of Golden./ Hart Van Denburg/CPR News those skinny, twisting mountain roads. In return, vehicles may legally pass a cyclist on double yellow line no-passing zones, provided it’s done safely.

Justin Martin is a professional mountain and gravel bike racer living in Colorado Springs. He does a lot of that mountain road cycling as well, to train. He said he does indeed feel safe if he gets that 3-foot buffer. But he doesn’t always get it.

Martin said when cyclists don’t get that buffer, they notice.

“Their mirrors come inches between us, and if they make one little mistake or they drop their head, I mean that’s the difference of us being alive and dead,” he said.

Martin called Magnus White a massive presence in cycling. “(White) was going to be one of the best kids in the country, if not in the world,” Martin said. “We lost him to a distracted driver in Boulder, on a beautiful road that I raced two weeks ago … It’s super scary.”

For cyclists’ responsibilities, Stefanik said groups should try to ride single-file. If bikers are riding two-abreast, they cannot actively impede traffic.

“As a cyclist, you also need to know

there might be a car behind you just waiting to pass,” Stefanik said. “Help them out, move over a little bit so they can get safely around, so they can get safe to their destination, and you can get safe to yours.”

Stefanik urged patience for drivers.

“Last year, we had the highest number of serious injuries and fatalities within the state. And our trajectory right now is not looking good for this year,” he said. “A lot of it is speeding (and) aggressive driving.”

McCammon wondered if cyclists have any responsibility to pull over to the side of the road if the line of cars is too long.

Stefanik said the state does not have any guidance on that. It essentially would be up to the biker’s discretion. However, those cyclists would be pulling over an awful lot.

Ultimately, cyclist Justin Martin said he gets the frustration.

“We really try to be courteous with the cars, because we don’t want to cause a bunch of traffic,” he said. “The last thing we want is a line full of cars waiting to get around cyclists, because that’s just going to upset more and more drivers.”

For more from Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org ■

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Italy f o e t s A ta ango r u D n i

Be our guest!

Farmer's Summer Harvest Wine Dinner Saturday, August 19th 6-9pm Reserve your spot here!

1201 Main Ave (970) 764-4138 Mon-Fri 11:30am-9pm Saturdays 3-9pm Happy Hour daily 3-5pm Aug. 10, 2023 n 7

TopStory

Dredging up the past After decades of gravel mining, stretch of Animas River eyed for restoration

by Jonathan Romeo

T

he Animas River has had its issues – contamination from the Silverton area’s mining legacy, chronically lower flows because of a 20-year drought, the septic pond at Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park leaching poop into the river, to name a few.

But one of the less commonly discussed, yet perhaps among the most significant issues, is the impact of historic gravel mining on the 6-mile stretch from Bakers Bridge to Trimble Lane, north of Durango. Over the years, gravel mining has completely altered the function of the river and turned it into what looks like the surface of the moon.

“I think this section of river ought to be top priority,” Peter Butler, co-founder of the disbanded Animas River Stakeholders Group and longtime Animas River advocate, said. “It is the stretch of river that’s most disturbed and has the most degraded habitat.”

Indeed, much attention has been given to restoring the Animas River over the years, including, most notably, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund that was declared in the wake of the 2015 Gold King Mine spill to clean up the mines around Silverton.

Yet the damage left by gravel mining between Bakers Bridge and Trimble has gone largely unnoticed and unaddressed – in part, because that stretch, hemmed in by private property, is relatively unused for recreational purposes such as river running or fishing.

But that all might soon change. Recently, a number of stakeholders invested in the Animas River began the process of forming a stream management plan (SMP) for the waterway, which will likely address lasting impacts caused by historic gravel mining.

“It’ll be in there,” Warren Rider, coordinator of the Animas Watershed Partnership, which is leading the SMP process, said. “Too many people are justifiably concerned about how the river is behaving in that area and the consequences of it. It was eye-opening when I first saw what the impacts have been.”

Digging deep As the Animas River tumbles and crashes at a high gradient from Silverton through the San Juan Mountains, it spills out sediment and alluvium into the first flat area it reaches: the floodplain below Bakers Bridge.

As such, mining companies early on realized it was a prime area for valuable materials. The first attempt was for gold. Local historian Charles DiFerdinando said that in the 1950-60s, large equipment was placed in the river to dredge for gold.

But ultimately, that venture failed, DiFerdinando said. Instead, companies started to notice the vast amounts of gravel that had been deposited over thousands of years. That set off decades of companies excavating gravel and sand from the river bed, leaving behind a mangled river.

8 n Aug. 10, 2023

For many invested in the health of the Animas River, the stretch between Bakers Bridge and Trimble Lane is among the most environmentally disturbed, a result of historic gravel mining./ Photo by Andy High “Those companies greatly altered the river up there, and disturbed sediment and fish habitat,” DiFerdinando said. “But in earlier days, they didn’t care about that.”

Dan James, of the James Ranch – situated within the Animas River Valley – said his family complained for years about the impacts of gravel mining. After companies dredged, the river would cut into the banks and cause significant erosion in areas that previously were stable. James estimated that every year, his family would lose an acre or two from erosion and bank incision. And, James said the groundwater table was so affected that perennially wet springs on the property started to run dry.

The problem at the time was that the Army Corps of Engineers (which oversees gravel mining in rivers) wasn’t particularly concerned with the issues caused by gravel mining, James said. The gravel companies, too, argued the alluvium was replenished every spring with runoff.

But the Jameses and others knew that at the rate

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gravel was dredged, there was no way the river could bring down that amount of sediment year after year. Instead, the companies dug deeper and deeper into the Animas River. So, in the 2000s, the Jameses pushed to have the gravel companies track their impacts, which the Army Corps of Engineers did require as a part of the companies’ permits.

“The evidence indicated, yes, the gravel companies were impacting the river,” James said. “They tried some techniques (to better mine gravel), but that failed. So when their permits expired, that was that; we haven’t seen them in the river since.”

A call to the Army Corps of Engineers was not returned.

Off with their heads Gravel mining completely ceased in the north Animas Valley around 2008-09, but its impacts remain. For those who float the section, the scars are easily seen, evidenced by large, concrete boulders used to try to stabilize the bank and a shockingly braided river channel.

One big issue is something known as headcutting, which is when erosion occurs at a point in the river, causing the channel to deepen and cut away upstream. As a result, headcutting can lead to rapid erosion and deepening of streams, destabilizing the surrounding stream banks and potentially causing flooding downstream. It can also contribute sediment into the river, harming aquatic habitat and water quality.

In the section from Bakers Bridge to Trimble, Butler said the river channel is incredibly unstable, and is known to flow erratically and with more intensity. In the 1990s, for instance, the river channel shifted 200 yards across from its natural channel – overnight.

“Of course, it was much closer to some people’s houses than it was the day before,” he said.

Though there are populations of brown trout and sculpin, because of the nature of the flow and intense sediment loading, that stretch likely never had a robust aquatic life, Jim White, an aquatic biologist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said. But gravel mining exacerbated the problem.

“I’m sure the riparian habitat was in much better shape prior to those disturbances,” White said.

Scott Roberts, an aquatic ecologist with

Signs of gravel mining’s impact on the Animas River./ Photo by Andy High Mountain Studies Institute, said all of these issues – bank instability, incision of the channel, headcutting, the erosion of people’s property – add up. Even head gates for ditch companies are at risk.

“I do think it’s a high priority (area to be addressed),” Roberts said. “It has a lot of cascading effects along the river … and a lot of people are concerned about it.”

Go with the flow Thankfully, help could be on the

way. In 2015, the State of Colorado adopted the “Colorado Water Plan,” which calls for 80% of river basins across the state to have SMPs by 2030.

That effort started locally last year and remains in the early stages.

Rider, though, said the Bakers Bridge to Trimble stretch has been identified as a place for possible restoration. Some people, he said, have expressed that it’s one of the most important issues to address from an

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environmental standpoint on the river.

“The river (in that stretch) is not functioning the way it should,” he said.

“So you can either let it reestablish itself over a millennia, which it’ll do, or we can get in there and try to speed up the process and reproduce habitat and functionality.”

What that looks like remains to be seen, but there are examples in other watersheds.

On the San Miguel River, just downstream of Telluride, a restoration project reestablished the river’s natural course after it was graded for a now-defunct railroad line. Beforehand, the river was a channelized straight shot that eroded its banks and was disconnected from its floodplain.

“They returned the river to its original, meandering course through a floodplain with big pools,” Roberts said. “It’s so cool; trout habitat improved substantially, and it’s a neat example of restoration. It’s not the same problems as we see on the Animas, but as far as the scale and scope, there are some similarities.”

Nature, too, is doing its thing, James said. Ever since the gravel companies stopped dredging, little by little, the river is returning to its natural course.

“I’m hopeful the river can heal that wound,” James said. ■

Aug. 10, 2023 n 9

LandDesk

Into the woods On vanishing in the age of surveillance

by Jonathan Thompson

A

t about 6:30 p.m. on Sat., June 24, Ian O’Brien texted his partner, Beth Henshaw, letting her know he had summited Dibé Nitsaa – or Hesperus Mountain – in the La Plata Mountains of southwestern Colorado. He then began the several-mile trek down to his and Beth’s and some friends’ camp at Lucy Halls Park on Echo Basin Road, east of Mancos. It was just a few days past the summer solstice, and the sun was still high in the sky, darkness several hours away.

But those hours passed, and O’Brien didn’t arrive back at camp. The shadows cast by the gangly aspen trees grew impossibly long, and the warmth of the summer day faded. First the violet sky of dusk, then a planet or two sparkling through the blue, then the dark and the sudden chill of a midsummer’s mountain eve. Still no O’Brien.

Henshaw and friends began searching soon after nightfall, worried that O’Brien, an experienced runner and hiker who had summited Hesperus Mountain several times, may have had an epileptic seizure and become disoriented and separated from his phone and GPS device.

At 12:30 a.m., after finding no clues, they notified the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, setting off an extensive search effort that included several ground and airborne teams, drones and even an Air Force Blackhawk helicopter. Dozens of volunteers joined the search and rescue teams combing the forests, scree fields, streams and slopes of the La Platas.

Early on, hikers reported seeing someone matching O’Brien’s description in La Plata Canyon, east of Hesperus Mountain, shifting some search efforts away from the western slopes of the mountains. The report turned out to be a false alarm, and the search was redirected accordingly.

On June 28, the Montezuma County sheriff suspended the official search, saying his team – and their leads – were exhausted. O’Brien’s friends, family and an army of volunteers refused to give up. Finally, on July 11, they shut their operation down, too.

Hundreds of hours were spent scouring the area using all the technology available. And yet the only clue they found was a set of a footprints in Owen Basin below the peak, discovered the morning after O’Brien went missing. That’s it. No cell phone or even a signal, no pieces of clothing, no scent, absolutely nothing to suggest that O’Brien hadn’t simply vanished into the night after summiting. *** I followed the search closely from afar.

I didn’t know O’Brien, but I had glimpsed his and Henshaw’s adventures across the Four Corners on social media. I liked them, because they lived in a van,

10 n Aug. 10, 2023

Looking out into the La Plata Mountains of southwestern Colorado, where two runners have vanished in the past year./ Photo by Jonathan Thompson but certainly did not live the #vanlife. Their home on wheels was just a basic Ford, not a $120,000 customized Sprinter; they eschewed the prototypical glamour shots greeting the sunrise from the back of the rig. Instagram can deceive, of course, but their posts made them seem kind and gentle and genuinely in love with the landscape and the open air.

So I guess that was part of what sparked my interest: I wanted him to be found, alive and well. *** The La Platas are my home mountain range, forming the divide between the Animas River Valley where I grew up, and the canyons and mesas to which I’ve always been drawn. From Durango, it’s an easy drive and a somewhat arduous but straightforward bike ride into the heart of the range. From my dad’s house in Cortez, we’d watch day’s last light illuminate Hesperus Moun-

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tain as if from within, or gaze enviously as the midsummer thunderheads piled up over the toothy range, offering relief from the relentless heat, while we looked up at cloudless, merciless skies.

One summer, when I was in my early 20s living in Durango, I made it a habit to go up into the La Platas on my days off. After work on Monday – I took my days off during the week, when fewer people were in the backcountry – I’d go to the supermarket and get some bread, cheese and tomatoes, and pick up a cheap bottle of red wine at Wagon Wheel Liquors. Then I’d drive into the mountains. It was easy to find a place to camp back then. My favorite was a big, tilted meadow on the south slope of Madden Peak. I’d sit on the ground there and eat my meal and drink the wine and watch the shadows reach across the San Juan Basin.

After the last light dissipated, I’d crawl into my

sleeping bag and gaze at the stars until the cool night brought sleep. At first light, with a star or two still glimmering overhead, I’d brew some coffee, throw a couple peanut butter and honey tortillas and a jug of water in my pack, and truck straight up the slope to Parrot Peak in time to catch the sun rising over the opposite ridge. Then I’d make my way northward along the ridgeline: Madden, Star, Gibbs, never once seeing another human being. There were moments of fear, of loneliness, even regret. But there was also the deep blue sky and the way the land unfurled below; the dark figure of Ute Mountain etched against the sky; the McElmo Dome rising up from the Montezuma Valley; the distant Dove Creek beanfields; the clouds building in the afternoon and the electricity in the air and the rocks.

I made these treks on my own. No one knew where I was going. There were no cell phones, no Instagram, no Strava, no GPS. Had I fallen or been eaten by a mountain lion or froze to death or died of heat stroke or gotten lost or simply gone missing, it would be a while before the searchers came looking. And when they did, they surely would have chided me for my foolhardiness, my lack of preparation, my quest for solitude. I’m a lot older now and wiser and more prudent. And yet I still go hiking and running on my own in places where I’m unlikely to see other people. It is reckless and irresponsible. It is also an act of faith. *** When I was in college in Santa Fe many years ago, I signed up for the search and rescue team. When the calls came in, I was always eager to escape my studies and head into the woods, which led to me being on the hasty team, the advance group that went out soon after the call came in, usually after night had fallen. We’d drive out to where the sub-

ject was last seen and start walking through the woods in the dark, half expecting to find a gravely wounded person or lifeless body. We never did. In fact, during my time on the team, we never actually found anyone. The subjects simply walked out of the woods, sometimes long after they went missing: An elderly hunter strolled up to frantic searchers and offered them candy; a couple of teenagers called their mom from a payphone in the midst of an extensive search; a developmentally disabled youngster who’d wandered away from his house in a remote village enigmatically wandered into an Allsups gas station miles away and days later.

After someone has been missing in the wild for a few days, this is the outcome one desperately begins to hope for, because the more likely alternative is far grimmer. *** O’Brien’s case is tragic, but also baffling. How is it possible to simply vanish in this age of technology and connectivity, when the panopticon of dash-, doorbell-, web-, phone-, and satellite-cams diligently watch our every move? Even more difficult to grasp is that O’Brien is the third runner to be swallowed up by the San Juan Mountains over the past year.

The first was Daniel Lamthach, a 22year-old Utah ultrarunner who in 2022 set out for a hike on July 16 or 17 from Molas Pass south of Silverton – it’s uncertain, because he didn’t tell anyone when or where he was going or for how long. But he had told people he wanted to climb the Trinity Peaks in the rugged Grenadier range, an area I suspect an earlier explorer was thinking about when he said the San Juans were “awful in their sublimity.” Hikers found Lamthach’s cell phone July 18 on the Elk Creek Trail, east of the Animas River.

Other than that, an extensive search

turned up nothing. Lamthach remains missing.

On Oct. 1, 2022, 29-year-old David Lunde drove from Durango, up La Plata Canyon and to the base of the Madden Peak trail, which is more old, rocky mining road than trail that switchbacks up the ridge. He embarked at about 7 a.m. to run and hike a portion of the “La Plata Enchilada,” a sort of high-traverse, masochistic circumnavigation of the range. He didn’t show up for work that night and was reported missing the next day, triggering an intense and rather urgent search, given that pouring rain had turned to snow, and nighttime temperatures were potentially life-threatening. No trace was ever found.

From afar, the O’Brien and Lunde cases are especially baffling because of the place they went missing. On a map, the La Platas look relatively insignificant, a kind of pelvis-shaped appendage to the greater and far more rugged San Juan range. The highest peaks are low13ers, and most are easy climbs, even walk-ups; there is no designated wilderness; and you can’t go very far in the range without crossing a road, be it well-maintained gravel or a narrow old mining path. The range is increasingly popular, and finding a camp site or even a bit of solitude on a summer weekend can be nearly impossible. It seems like the kind of place that would be difficult to disappear in, even if you were trying.

That has inspired some folks to suspect foul play, or an abduction – or even intervention by space aliens. How else could a human body go unfound or undetected in such a place? He must have been taken away from it, or so the theory goes. *** But maps and first impressions can be deceiving. Get down on the ground in the La Platas, and you’ll find they are quite rugged, an overgrown mess. Last

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summer, a couple buddies and I set out for a quick hike, starting up the Madden Creek road then veering off onto the unbeaten path as we made a beeline for the ridge. When the clouds and thunder moved in, we decided to head down via a different route (because retracing your steps is boring). We were rapidly cliffed out, forcing us to climb back up and over Madden Peak, even as the lightning approached, before dropping back down into a horrid bushwhack that involved layer upon layer of downed timber. It was as if a giant kid had dumped his Lincoln Log set into a bramble patch.

The three of us were probably never farther than 50 yards apart, yet I couldn’t see my friends. The only indication that they had not been yanked under a log by a big, hungry bear was the incessant string of expletives echoing throughout the woods (most of them uttered by me). I was constantly aware of the possibility that I might fall from one log, be impaled by the branch jutting out from another, and perish long before the other two even knew something was wrong. By that time, I might be lost forever.

So even the La Platas – crisscrossed by roads and trails, cluttered with cabins, littered with the detritus of past and present mining, often crowded – are still wild, rife with places to hide or disappear in, teeming with both wonder and danger, simmering with life and with death. That someone might venture into these mountains and vanish, eluding even the most high-tech search efforts, is heartbreaking and strange and mysterious. But it’s also entirely conceivable, a realization that is both scary and, in a strange sort of way, reassuring.

Land Desk is a newsletter from Jonathan P. Thompson, author of “River of Lost Souls,” “Behind the Slickrock Curtain” and “Sagebrush Empire.” Subscribe at: landdesk.org ■

Aug. 10, 2023 n 11

StufftoDo

Thursday10 Share Your Garden, bring fruit and vegetables, 8:30 a.m., Animas Valley Grange, 7271 CR 203.

High Altitude Blues play, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard Ave. Thursday Night Sitting Group, 5:30-6:15 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

Rob Webster plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Kirk James plays, 6 p.m., Three Springs Plaza.

Kirk James Band plays, 5 p.m., Gazpacho, 431 E. 2nd Ave.

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

Bluegrass jam, 6 p.m., weekly, Durango Beer & Ice, 3000 Main Ave. All levels welcome.

Jeff Solon Jazz Duo play, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Silent Disco, 10 p.m.-12:30 a.m., 11th St. Station.

You Knew Me When plays, 6 p.m., Fire Fox Farms, Ignacio.

Sunday13 Tico Time Cannabis Cup and Reggae Festival, thru Aug. 13, Tico Time Resort, near Aztec, N.M.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Durango Flea Market, 8 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

The Bellamy Brothers and Garrett Young Collective play, 6:45 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

The Badly Bent play, 6 p.m., James Ranch.

You Knew Me When plays, 6 p.m., Durango Hot Springs.

Hauntings & History Ghost Tour, 8 p.m., Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot.

Free Legal Clinic, 4-5 p.m., Ignacio Library.

Vinyl Sundaze, 12 noon, Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Bo Depena plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Terry Rickard plays, 12 noon, 11th St. Station.

SHU, Ploom and Altum play, 8 p.m., The Hive, 1150 Main Ave.

Riverside Reset (adult coloring/rock painting), 1-3 p.m., White Rabbit Books & Curiosities, 128 W. 14th St.

Hauntings & History Ghost Tour, 8 p.m., Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot.

Hike for Hope, hike and scavenger hunt for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers, 1:30-4:30 p.m., Chris Park/Haviland Trails, 900 Chris Park Rd.

Saturday12

Trivia Night, 6:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1330 Camino del Rio.

Tico Time Cannabis Cup and Reggae Festival, thru Aug. 13, Tico Time Resort, near Aztec, N.M.

Silent Sundays with Swanson, 2 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Hauntings & History Ghost Tour, 8 p.m., Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot.

Durango Farmers Market, 8 a.m., TBK Bank parking lot, 259 W. 9th St.

Friday11

A History of Electricity, 1 p.m., Animas Museum, 3065 W. 2nd Ave.

Feed the People! free mutual aid meal & gear drive for homeless community members, every Sunday, 2 p.m., Buckley Park.

Tico Time Cannabis Cup and Reggae Festival, thru Aug. 13, Tico Time Resort, near Aztec, N.M. Free Yoga, 8:30 a.m., Lively, 809 Main Ave. San Juan Nature Hikes, 10 a.m., Andrews Lake.

Hosted by San Juan Mountains Association.

Gary Walker plays, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Jean-Pierre Bakery & Restaurant, 601 Main Ave. Open Meditation, 12 noon-1 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

“Accidental Tiny Dog” booksigning and LPCHS benefit/adoption event, featuring local author Sarah Kautzman and illustrator Chad Clewley, 46 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop parklet, 899 Main Ave. West Slope Westies presents Summer Dance Social, 5:30 p.m., Rotary Park.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave. Community Yoga, 6-7 p.m., Yoga Durango, 1485 Florida Rd. Donations accepted.

Adaptive Sports Association’s 40th Birthday Party, 4-7 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

ShadowTrapp plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station.

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12 n Aug. 10, 2023

Sunday Funday, 6 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Monday14 Devo Days Bike Festival, Aug. 14-15, Purgatory Resort.

Quick & Dirty Downtown Walking Tour, 10 a.m., Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot.

Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

This week’s FREE music lineup:

Stop in or Scan the Code to Shop!

ONLINE

Julianne Marqua, Gabrielle Louise and Ryan Dilts Duo play, 6 p.m., Durango Hot Springs.

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Thurs., 8/10: Rob Webster, 6 - 9pm Fri., 8/11: Matt Rupnow, 7 - 10pm Sat., 8/12: Shadow Trap, 7 - 10pm & Disco DJ Beatra, 10pm - 12:30am Sun., 8/13: Terry Rickard, 12 - 3pm

AskRachel

That smell, pulling teeth and junk foodie Interesting fact: Scents fire straight into our limbic system, the parts of our brain directly correlated with emotion and memory. Too bad I never used odors to cram for my exams.

Dear Rachel, I always think I can’t stand perfume on women or cologne on men. They smell fake, you obviously applied some fragrance to try to attract people, we all know what game you’re playing. Yet sometimes (like right now) I get a little bit of someone else’s parfum on me, and I just can’t stop smelling it. It’s like falling in love with someone I don’t know. I know the scent game’s happening on me, so why does it still work?

– Eau de Fooled Again Dear Smell Test, Because smell is not rational. Smell is like how we used to inhale pixie sticks and pretend the sugar was going straight to our brain. This was before any of us knew what cocaine was, or at least before I knew what cocaine was. Is that how cocaine works? Anyway, give me flavored sugar and that scent jumps me right back to being 6. I think that’s what perfume is like?

– Get a whiff, Rachel Dear Rachel, I was told by my dentist that he has to remove a wisdom tooth. I told him this is the Meditation and Dharma Talk, 5:30 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave. Comedy Showcase, 7:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Tuesday15 Devo Days Bike Festival, Purgatory Resort.

Community Yoga, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Yoga Durango, 1485 Florida Rd. Donations accepted.

Slow Bluegrass Jam, 5:30-7:30 p.m., General Palmer Hotel, 567 Main Ave. Sunset Yoga, 6 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1330 Camino del Rio. Rotary Club of Durango, featuring FLC President Tom Stritikus, 6 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave.

only one left, and I am short of wisdom. So don’t do it. He said, in your condition it’s ok.

How does he know? I’m asking where in the H did they come up with “wisdom tooth.” I know a lot of people who have no wisdom, so that would be really bad if they got them pulled. Your wisdom thoughts on this jawbreaker of a question. Out or left in?

– Tooth Decay Dear Wise Cracker, I can’t figure out why humans have mouths too small for their teeth. I mean, we evolved with these teeth, right? Have we always had more teeth than space? Or did our mouths shrink to accommodate all tthese big powerful brains of ours? Based on some of the mail I get, I’m inclined to say it’s not the latter. So yeah, yank those bastards out, because then you can eat pudding for a week.

– Gumming it, Rachel Dear Rachel, I’ve started trying to short circuit my desire for fast food. I HATE fast food. But man, as soon as I have some wicked thought of stopping for some cheap cheap hamburger or some buffalo chicken sandwich or god help me french fries… I can’t stop thinking until I get me some. It’s a compulsion. Is this a version of what druggies feel? How can I snap the cycle??

– Quick Fix 3 Way Street plays, 6 p.m., James Ranch.

Live music, 6 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave. Bob Hemenger plays, 6 p.m., Durango Hot Springs.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave. Devo Film Festival, 6:30 p.m., Chapman Hill.

Open Mic Night, 7 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main.

Wednesday16 Small Group Meditation, 8-9:15 a.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave. Restorative Yoga for Cancer, 9:30-10:45 a.m., for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers, Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave. Register: cancersupportswco.org/calendar.

telegraph@durangotelegraph.com Dear Junkie, I wonder if you know what triggers your sudden fast food appetites. I get that way when I’m tired, cranky and feel like complaining until my mom hits up the drive through for a Happy Meal. Man, now that’s a scent I’ll remember forever. If they want to make an irresistible fragrance, it should smell like a cheeseburger, a small fries, and a plastic toy in a bag.

I’m still trying to replicate that high as an adult.

– Chasing the dragon, Rachel Quick & Dirty Downtown Walking Tour, 10 a.m., Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot.

Comic Trivia Night, 6 p.m., Zia’s North, 2977 Main.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave. Trivia Night, every Wednesday, 7 p.m., Bottom Shelf Brewery, Bayfield.

Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 8 p.m., The Roost, 128 E. College Dr. Karaoke Roulette, 8 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Ongoing

La Plata County Fair, thru Aug. 13, www.laplatacountyfair.com

Beat at the th heat at!

Great selection of shorts, tanks & sundresses • Daily markdowns Brands like Chacos, Patagonia, Johnny Was. Sundance & Kühl Buy • Sell • Trade • Consign ~ Home Furnishings ~ Clothing ~ Accessories ~ Jewelry 572 E. 6th Ave. • 970-385-7336

telegraph

Aug 10, 2023 n 13

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): In Stephen King’s novel “It,” a character named Beverly is in love with a man who projects a sense of authority but also listens well. He is strongminded but receptive; confident but willing to be changed; self-possessed but open to influence.

That’s an apt description of the allies I wish for you to attract into your life in the coming months. Whether they are lovers or partners, companions or collaborators, friends or colleagues, you need and deserve the highquality, emotionally intelligent exchanges they offer.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus-born Eric Bogosian, 70, is a prolific playwright and author renowned for his hard-edged satire. The title of one of his books is “Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead.” But one critic speculates he may be softening as he ages, noting that he “seems more amused than disgusted by the decaying world around him, as if his anger has been tempered by a touch of hope.” The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to cultivate a comparable reshaping, dear Taurus. Can you tenderize what has been tough?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Decca is a UK-based record label that has produced the work of many major musicians, including Billie Holliday, the Rolling Stones and Tori Amos. They made a huge mistake in 1962, though. A fledgling group named the Beatles tried to get signed to Decca. An executive at the company declined, saying, “We don’t like their sound.

Groups of guitars are on their way out.” Oops. I don’t think you’re at risk of making as monumental a misstep, Gemini. But please be alert to the possibility of a key opportunity coming into view.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I’m a Cancerian who used to be overly reactive to people’s carelessness. If someone was in a bad mood and flung a rash insult at me, I might take offense too easily. If a friend misunderstood me, even with no malice intended, I may have sulked. Thankfully, over time, I have learned to be more like a honey badger, whose thick skin protects it well against stings and pricks. I bring this up, because the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to practice my approach. First: Understand how people sometimes direct their frustration about life toward undeserving recipients. Second: Vow to take things less personally. Third: Give yourself regular compliments.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Now and then, there comes a time when I acquire an uncanny knack for seeing the totality of who you really are. I tune in to everything you do that few others know about or appreciate. I behold the big picture of your best possible future. One of those magic moments has now arrived. And it’s no accident that your energy matches mine. In other words, my power to consecrate you reflects your ability to bless yourself. So give yourself the ultimate gift, please.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In the 17th century, Virgo musician Johann Pachelbel composed a piece of music he called the “Canon in D.” It soon went out of style and disappeared into obscurity. But over 250 years later, a French chamber orchestra rediscovered it, and by the 1980s, it was everywhere. Ever since, Pachelbel’s Canon has been used in many pop songs and is a common anthem at weddings and funerals. I’m predicting a comparable revival for you, Virgo. An influence, creation or person that has been gone for a while will reemerge as a presence in your life.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Author Iain S. Thomas tells us, “There is magic even in gridlock, in loneliness, in too much work, in late nights gone on too long, in shopping carts with broken wheels, in boredom, in tax returns.” He says it’s the same magic that prompted Joan of Arc to believe that God spoke to her and empowered her to lead an army. I wouldn’t agree that it’s the same magic. But I do advise us all to be alert for enchantment and interesting mysteries even in the most mundane affairs. In the coming weeks, Libra, you will have a special talent for finding these revelatory joys.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Poet Rainer Maria Rilke said, “Self-transformation is precisely what life is.” If that’s true, you are in luck. Of all the zodiac signs, you are the most skillful self-transformer. Moreover, you are entering a prolonged phase when your instinct and talent for self-transformation will be even more potent than usual. I plan to observe you closely in the hope of learning your tricks for changing into an everbetter version of yourself. Show us all how it’s done, dear Scorpio!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Born under the sign of Sagittarius, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was one of history’s most influential composers of classical music. He was also a revolutionary

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14 n Aug. 10, 2023

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innovator who expanded the scope of many musical genres. One composition, “Piano Sonata No. 32,” prefigures elements of ragtime, jazz and boogiewoogie – 70 years before those styles emerged. In this spirit, I invite you to plant a seed for the future. You will soon get glimpses of creative shifts that will someday be possible.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let’s be honest. Most of us – maybe all of us! – fail to grasp the world objectively. Our perceptions get filtered through our opinions and beliefs and habit minds. Our projections often overrule the possibility of unbiased impartiality. But there’s no need to be ashamed! It’s a universal human tendency. Having said all that, however, I believe you will have a special knack, in the coming weeks, for observing reality with more clarity and open-mindedness than usual. You will have an unprecedented opportunity to see accurately and gather fresh, raw truths.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Is this a phase of your cycle when you’ll be prone to saying things like, “Why do you take me for granted?” and “I’m feeling cranky” and “It’s not what you said, it’s the way you said it”? Or are you in a time when the following expressions are more likely to emerge from your mouth: “I have come to understand you in a totally new and interesting way” and “Life has blessed me by removing one of my unnecessary obstacles” and “I would love to learn more about the arts of cooperation and collaboration”? Here’s what I think, Aquarius: Which way you go will depend on how clearly you set your intentions. Life will respond in kind to the moods you cultivate and the specific requests you make.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Our bodies are imperfect. They are often less than 100% completely healthy. They don’t always do what we wish they would. Yet even when we feel less than our best, our body continually carries out millions of biochemical marvels, mostly below the level of our conscious awareness. As the creation of an evolutionary process that has unfolded for eons, our precious organism is an amazing work of art that we have every right to regard as miraculous. According to my astrological reckoning, the coming weeks are the best time this year to honor and celebrate your body. What does it need to flourish? Ask your intuition to show you.

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

HelpWanted Production Floor Assembler SoundTraxx – Durango, CO. Job Description: Assemble product at our local manufacturing facility. This position requires excellent manual dexterity, attention to detail, good or correctable eyesight, and good communication skills. To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume to KRust@SoundTraxx.com. Qualifications: A hands-on individual who possesses a high level of drive, energy, and integrity. Experience handling small objects in a similar environment or with a detail-oriented hobby is desirable. Any electronics or technical troubleshooting experience is a plus. Benefits: Health insurance for full-time employees. Paid time off. Professional development assistance. Onsite fitness room. Schedule: 8-hour shift, Monday to Friday (two part-time applicants may be considered to cover the same 40-hour week instead of one full-time employee) Salary: $15-$16 per hour https://soundtraxx.com/

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Aug. 10, 2023 n 15

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Great Food • Indoor & Outdoor Seating Dog-Friendly Patio • Beer • Cocktails AVON HOTEL - BASIN ELECTRIC - COFFEE BEAR - CREATIVE CRACKERJACK - SAN MIGUEL POWER ASSN - SILVERTON CHAMBER - VENTURE SNOWBOARDS

16 n Aug. 10, 2023

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