The eyes have it Professional credibility on the line when superpower goes fuzzy by Zach Hively
Grappling with the ethics of killing one species to save another by Mitch Friedman / Writers on the Range
A few secret tips to give them something to taco-bout by Ari LeVaux
Colorado utilities brace for impact as bill targets clean energy incentives by Allen Best/ Big Pivots
EDITORIALISTA: MISSY VOTEL missy@durangotelegraph.com AD
jennaye@durangotelegraph.com
The Durango Telegraph publishes every Thursday, come hell, high water, tacky singletrack or monster
Ear to the ground:
“I made it back into the boat. My pants didn’t.”
– When a man-overboard situation in the River Days parade goes horribly awry
Lofty dreams
There’s about to be another reason to pull off 1-70 in Idaho Springs other than Beau Jo’s pizza. Work began last week on a $58 million gondola that will haul people 1,300 feet up the mountain from the historic Argo Mill in town. There, folks can stop off at The Outpost, a three-level building, to grab a bite or drink, soak up the sun and views, or explore surrounding trails. In addition, there will be a 300-seat amphitheater and an observation walkout with views of Mount Blue Sky, according to the Denver Post
The project was the dream of longtime Idaho Springs resident and businesswoman Mary Jane Loevlie. She and a group of investors bought the Argo Mine about 9 years ago, and after a few setbacks – namely a title company that embezzled millions from the project – her vision is finally taking form.
“Coming up here for a sunset cocktail?” Loevlie, who founded and owns Shotcrete Technologies with husband, Kristian, mused.
The gondola, called the Mighty Argo Cable Car, is named after the Mighty Argo tunnel, which was built in the early 1900s from Idaho Springs to the mines of Central City. The Argo Mill, which dates back to 1913, houses a museum and is open daily for tours. The mill and tunnel were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Since then, the mine – which leaks hundreds of gallons of metal-laden water a day – has been plugged and declared a Superfund site. The water is now funneled through a water treatment plant next door.
the cover
Another round of precipitation shrouds Engineer Mountain in rain as seen from near Haviland Lake this week./ Photo by Missy Votel
Evergreen construction contractor Bryan McFarland is Loevlie’s partner in the project. Other major investors include Gondola Ventures, which recently bought and reopened the historic Estes Park Tram, Switzerland’s Doppelmayr and a German investment fund. The hope is to have the gondola, which is being built by Doppelmayr, open this fall. The price for a ride hasn’t been set but is expected to be in the $30-$40 range.
In partnership with the City of Idaho Springs and the Colorado Mountain Bike Association, the 400-acre Virginia Canyon Mountain Park is being built on slopes above the mill. Eventually, there will be more than 20 miles of trails. A downhill mountain bike trail from The Outpost, called Drop Shaft, has been completed as well as an adjacent 4.9-mile hiking trail. Cable cars will include carriers for hauling bikes.
“My thing is, I’m going to hike the trail up, have my mimosa and take the gondola down,” said Loevlie.
Sounds lovely.
LaVidaLocal opinion
Only the good dilate
My eyesight has always been superb. I hyper-specifically remember testing at 40/20 or 20/10 or whatever really good vision is, back when I got my first driver’s license. The DMV employee’s reaction of awe made me internalize that I was a mofo-ing superhero. I could read street signs an entire second before anyone else in the car, back when people still read street signs.
Now our phone maps tell us where to turn. But excellent vision has other uses! Like reading a grocery list without searching for the glasses hiding atop my own head.
I couldn’t leave well enough alone, though. Oh, no. I take great delight, at the very occasional party I’m still invited to, in steering conversation around to my impeccable eyesight. It’s my primary remarkable physical trait. Statistically speaking, I am the only person my age who didn’t ruin his eyes by reading in the dark. (Told you so, Mom!) I even make my living, such as it is, on computer screens. I have no reason to expect functioning eyeballs. Especially once they stopped functioning. You see, I got a stye back around the start of the year. Not one of those little yellow ones that you can pop with plausible deniability. No – this was one of those mighty inaccessible ones that made a friend ask me if I’d been stung by a scorpion.
“On my FACE?”
“I mean… ,” she gestured at all of me, as if suggesting I am precisely the sort of self-explanatory man who might lie, accidentally, with scorpions. My vision was getting wonky, and I concluded my eye was probably infected. I got a primary care doctor and her power of prescription to agree with me –“Yup, that’s infected, alright.” The eye drops took the grotesque factor down a considerable degree.
But the fuzziness remained.
Sometimes I couldn’t focus on mountains. Other
Thumbin’It
Colorado Avs superstar Cale Makar won his second Norris Trophy – making him one of just six players with multiple Norris trophies and a Conn Smythe, and keeping him on the path to GOAT status. Guess if we can’t win The Cup, we’ll take this.
After several years of putting up with a too-small and grossly inadequate facility, Durango Fire has officially moved into its brand-spanking new home this week, conveniently located in a controversyfree location near the pickleball courts.
times, my dogs. Those unethically bright headlights irritated me even more than normal. I worried, increasingly, about not spotting the difference between there, their and they’re. Whatever professional credibility I had left was on the line. At least, I presume it was. Lines were increasingly hard to make out.
So I did what no man wants to do: I made damn sure I knew the difference between an optometrist and an ophthalmologist. One gives out glasses, which I didn’t want. The other is harder to pronounce. I called that one.
This was two months into my squinting-atmenus adventure. They set my appointment another two months out. I had ample time to come to grips with my mortality.
I even convinced myself that losing my vision – a core component of my own belief in myself – was beneficial for my brand. If you can’t trust a skinny chef, what about a writer without specs?
The day arrived, as days tend to do. A series of professionals in scrubs led me through the trials. I had, I figured, about a 1-in-10 chance of guessing the smaller letters right. I could eliminate all the easy-to-differentiate ones. The strategy seemed to go well until I started doubling up guesses. “B or E, P or … F? That probably tells you all you need to know, huh.”
The professional smiled a lipless smile and did not tell me if I had passed the trial.
For the final tribulations, I sat in a classic ophthalmologist’s chair with all the imposing accoutrements. The Big Boss Scrubs put some drops in my eyes.
She told me I would soon be unable to read my phone or anything else, but that I would be safe to drive. This struck me as backwards. I had to prove I could see before they let me drive in the first place. But I let it slide. She soon left me unattended, and I took pictures of many things because I am nosy.
And when I looked at my photos, I didn’t. By
Well, looks like we’re having a pretty good dress rehearsal for authoritarianism with the calling in of the National Guard and U.S. Marines to quell anti-ICE protestors in California. Maybe Trump can ship them all to Alcatraz...
In this week’s episode of “The Apprentice,” Trump and BFF Elon Musk kiss and make up. Tune in next week when the bromance takes another turn when Musk finds out Trump sold his Tesla to JD Vance.
Paging Deion Sanders. The Buffs head coach was a no-show at spring minicamp this week, reportedly due to unspecified health reasons. Coach Prime, if you’re out there, call us!
Lead Beach Boy Brian Wilson died Wednesday at 82. For you youngsters, he was regarded as a musical genius, a brilliant writer and producer, and the OG influencer. Look him up …
which I mean, I very much actually could not see my phone.
The phone on which I receive Very Important Writerly Emails. The phone on which, if I were ever awarded some lucrative contract for once, I would read about it. Worse, the phone where I had typed out that afternoon’s grocery list.
The doctor came in – or so I was told. He intoned with far too much lighthearted joy that my vision, not 15 minutes earlier, was 20/20 – a clear downgrade from whatever it was before! – and that I was merely experiencing a disease (those were his words, “merely experiencing a disease”) that, to retread an old joke, sounds like a random line on a vision chart.
“Say that again, please?” I begged, my hands grasping for his outline.
“Blepharitis.” Spelled B unless that’s an E; L, unless that’s an I … .
No matter how ominous it sounds, this is just med-school speak for “slightly puffy eyelids.”
They’re gently nudging my eyeballs. Take some supplements, keep washing your face, you’ll be fine, dude.
The Big Boss Scrubs handed me a cheap rolled-up set of sunglasses and ushered me on my way. Worst doctor’s office prize ever. My vision got fuzzier and fuzzier. I made it to the grocery store, recognizing that this might be the last place I ever saw. If “saw” is the right word – I couldn’t even see to punch in my telephone number. For all I knew, my total was $8,000. For all I knew, my bananas were plantains. I pleaded with a higher power: Please, return my sight to me, and I promise I will stop boasting about my superior vision. I will use it only for good! I will enjoy mountains again – and books, beautiful paper, books. I’ll even turn the light on to read at night. I promise.
But I’ll never stop complaining about those blasted headlights.
SignoftheDownfall:
– Zach Hively Yeast Affection
According to Zhao Meng, of the Wuhan Wudong Hospital, young adults in China are facing increasing academic and economic pressure. As a result, many are turning to “static pets,” such as mango pits or paper boxes, because they require less attention than traditional pets such as cats. And recently, “pet yeast,” which is nicknamed “face worm” by enthusiasts, has risen to the top as the most popular static pet in China. There’s even an online community of “yeast parents” that has doubled in size recently. But in a somewhat morbid turn, some yeast parents admit that when they get tired of their pets, they add more flour to the mix and eat their babies in the form of steamed buns.
WritersontheRange Owl-on-owl smackdown
The ethical and ecological dilemma of killing one species to save another
by Mitch Friedman
Barred owls are acting like bullies of the forest in the Northwest, driving their smaller cousins, the northern spotted owl, to the brink of extinction. Once barred owls start colonizing old-growth forests, rare spotted owls no longer have a home.
The survival of spotted owls meant a lot to me as a young environmental activist. In 1985, I spent days living on a plywood platform perched high in the canopy of an Oregon Douglas fir. The tree was majestic, more than 8 feet wide at the base – just one of many in a stand hundreds of years old.
If you’re a certain age, you might recall the banners: “GIVE A HOOT: SAVE THE SPOTTED OWL.” They spawned a bumper sticker in what became a culture war: “SAVE A LOGGER, EAT A SPOTTED OWL.”
My 40-year career as a conservationist began in those Northwest timber wars as I joined other protesters to halt the logging of gigantic old-growth trees.
The threatened survival of federally endangered spotted owls in the region’s forests became the central issue in a storm of litigation. In 1994, the dispute finally led to President Clinton protecting 24 million acres of ancient forest housing the owls. But even then, barred owls were invading from Eastern states, stealing a prey base of small animals from the spotted owls. The numbers of spotted owls continued to plummet.
Last August, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed off on a controversial Barred Owl Management Strategy that relies on hiring sharpshooters to kill up to 16,000 barred owls a year at a cost of up to $12 million. The plan aims to give spotted owls a chance to survive.
During the 1990s, President Clinton’s sweeping forest plan to save the owls by saving old-growth forests was among many highlights of my conservation career. But I also recall numerous low-lows. The first was when I learned that loggers had chain sawed that huge tree I’d occupied.
Mostly, I’ve managed to be hopeful about conservation, no matter the grief from accelerating losses on the ground. But here’s the dilemma: How are we to process the steady decline of the spotted owl? Conservationists won an epic battle against logging because of these owls, only to see their habitat becoming the arena for an owl-on-owl smackdown.
Must the solution be that we shoot one species to save another? The plan is based on research overseen
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whose experiments showed that removing barred owls in limited areas could help spotted owls survive.
When the federal agency’s plan was announced, animal welfare interests sued to block it, arguing that it would fail. They also claimed the costs would add up to more than $1 billion over three decades. Officials at the agency say they will start small and demonstrate the plan’s effectiveness and affordability.
Mixed feelings like mine are shared. Madeleine Cameron, who was part of a University of Wisconsin team involved in experimental removals of barred owls, told the Seattle Times: “I personally did not decide to do owl work thinking this is where my career would be. You get there through watching all your favorite owls disappear.” Meanwhile, some biologists foresee adaptation and hybridization. “Sparred” owls already exist in the Northwest, filling the niche of displaced spotted owls.
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Reluctantly, I support killing some barred owls. But like Cameron, this is not what drew me into conservation. And now the whole issue might be academic as the Trump administration disrupts scientific research and agency continuity.
Elon Musk’s cost-cutters fired more than 400 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees in March, an action the Supreme Court upheld April 8. With voluntary retirements and further reductions in force likely, it’s a real question whether the agency will have the funds or staff to carry out the shooting of barred owls. Meanwhile, the real bullies of the forest are winning. Mitch Friedman is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit spurring lively conversation about the West. He heads Seattle-based Conservation Northwest, which he founded in 1989 after years with Earth First! His book, “Conservation Confidential: A Wild Path to a Less Polarizing and More Effective Activism,” is about to be published. ■
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The Pacific Northwest’s spotted owl, right, has long been threatened by logging and deforestation, but now it has another threat to its to: the Eastern barred owl, left.
SoapBox
Flying in face of logic
As of now, the Felon in Chief is spending millions to go to Florida to golf. This is what our tax money goes toward. Trump and the U.S. received a gift of a $400 million plane that is now part of the U.S. Air Force. Trump wants it to be the next Air Force 1. We already have two being built to replace the two used now. The one that came as a gift will take about $1 billion to update. Work on the two that are being built started in 2017.
How about selling the gifted plane to the highest bidder and using that money to help vets, FEMA and the Snap program, and let the person sell the plane back to Trump. He only wants the plane when he is out of office, and we, the taxpayers, are paying for it at no cost to him. I don’t think anyone – GOP or Dem – will not go along with this idea. Is it for Trump or for the good of the people?
Call your reps and tell them to use the billion that was supposed to update the plane as a gift for the American people who need it. AF1 is a working office, not a penthouse. A billion
will help a lot of people and not just one person, Trump.
– Bob Battani, Durango
Tariffs hurt rural renewable projects
Despite record-high wind and solar generation, the U.S. renewable energy sector faces uncertainty. Tariffs and potential repeals of federal funding are creating roadblocks to the further buildout of energy projects.
Wind, solar and other renewable energy projects have helped revitalize rural communities by creating jobs, generating new tax revenues and providing lease payments to landowners.
However, energy projects rely on globally sourced components due to the U.S. supply chain’s inability to meet rising demand. To avoid tariffs, solar developers are stockpiling panels, but the impact is only delayed. Battery storage is critical for grid reliability and faces tariffs of up to 65%.
The rising costs are forcing companies to delay or cancel plans.
For example, the Plum Creek Wind
by Rob Pudim
Project in Minnesota was cleared for construction this fall, but the project developer, National Grid Renewables, has pressed pause due to escalating costs tied to tariffs.
The slowdown threatens rural economies by halting local hiring and longterm positions that new construction brings. Tax revenues from energy projects fund vital infrastructure and critical public services like schools, emergency services and roads. In Iowa’s Howard County, 147 wind turbines account for 14.5% of the county’s total annual tax revenue.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 85% of U.S. farm households earned the majority of their income from off-farm sources. Hosting wind turbines or solar panels offers a stable source of income through lease payments, but the additional income is at risk if renewable energy development declines.
Rural economies have grown thanks to renewable energy development, but without continued investment, many communities will not be able to unlock those economic benefits.
Contact your congressional representatives. Tell them to support federal funding for renewable energy development and oppose tariffs that will affect development in rural communities. – Mallory Tope, policy associate, Center for Rural Affairs
We can’t eat money
To watch the slow-motion demise of our planet is truly stunning, beyond sad and dumbfounding in the lunacy of it all. The addiction to money, which is merely created out of thin air, and the insatiable greed to get more and more of it with no amount ever being enough is the real reason for the devastation of the Earth.
Ways of existing with the Earth in a harmonizing, logical fashion have al-
ways existed, but the power-hungry leaders, corporations and institutions that run most countries only care about one thing: more money! This greed comes at the expense of citizens and the planet.
Because of this, we’ve reached a point where it is already probably too late. So, we can all go along with our lives like nothing is happening, but in reality the glaciers are melting at unprecedented levels, the sea is warming and rising, and there are massive population crashes in birds, insects, amphibians and fish. Every year is becoming hotter than the last year, climate catastrophes like floods, hurricanes and wildfires are becoming more frequent and more devastating. Farm fields are becoming un-farmable, crops are becoming harder to grow and less productive, aquifers and reservoirs are drying up, trees are dying at shocking rates, and nothing gets done. Meanwhile, children are dying of starvation and disease, many wonderful animals are being threatened with extinction, populations of people are being forced to move because their land is no longer habitable.
Why? Because of the love of money which “Trumps” any common sense or caring for others. Nevertheless, when the planet becomes uninhabitable for human life, the rich will be going down with everyone else, which makes it sheer madness! We live in very bizarre, unintelligent times, and it’s just not looking good for reason to prevail. To be able to live on such a beautiful and diverse planet is a privilege. To make this planet uninhabitable for the life forms that live on it is beyond stupidity!
As the Cree saying by my front door says, “Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned, and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.”
– Jim Altree, Durango
Big? Definitely ...
but Colorado utilities see no beauty in Trump’s reconciliation budget bill
by Allen Best
Two Republican U.S. representatives from Colorado, Jeff Hurd and Gabe Evans, will be walking a tight rope posed by Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. How exactly will they explain why they voted for the sprawling 1,000-page bill, which, if adopted, would certainly raise electricity rates and slow the adoption of electric vehicles. Together with the topsy-turvy tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on China, the bill may help drive up prices of gas-fueled cars and trucks, too.
In Durango, La Plata Electric Association already has seen impacts of the yet-to-be-passed bill. The electrical cooperative received bids for its all-sources solicitation for 150 megawatts of generation. Wind, solar, natural gas – even geothermal and nuclear – were eligible. But because of uncertainty over federal tax incentives, all bids were higher than otherwise expected.
Chris Hansen, LPEA’s CEO, said most interesting to him were impacts of the proposed bill coupled with Trump’s 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum. The cost of new electrical transformers has already gone up significantly.
We discussed development of so-called emerging technologies like geothermal. Developers need longterm certainty to justify their investments. “They’re much more difficult to do if you have policy uncertainty,” Hansen said.
Hurd and Evans were among 21 Republican representatives in March who signed a letter to legislative leaders asking for clean energy tax credits to be preserved to “increase domestic manufacturing, promote energy innovation and keep utility costs down.” Hurd signed another letter in May asking that the incentives for innovation in nuclear energy remain.
Trump visited Capitol Hill two days before the vote on his bill, threatening any Republicans to expect opposition in their primaries if they voted no. Two did anyway, although two others did not vote and one merely showed up. All Democrats opposed the bill.
Evans won election last November by a whisker in the purplish Eighth Congressional District, north of Denver. Hurd has a more comfortable margin in the Republican-leaning Third Congressional District. It covers much of the Western Slope and sprawls eastward to Pueblo and within shouting distance of Oklahoma.
Colorado, particularly along the Front Range, has become a hotspot for energy innovation and investment. Will a contraction occur if the House bill survives Senate scrutiny?
Vestas, the manufacturer of blades and nacelles for wind turbines at factories in Brighton and Windsor, invested $40 million in expansion and hired 700 people in expectation of orders for 1,000 turbines in 2025.
At Namaste Solar, in Boulder, chief executive Jason Sharpe said he is unsure whether to plan for expansion
or contraction. “As a business owner, how do you plan a business with this amount of uncertainty, trying to thread the needle between coping with political change and not creating panic among my employees? It’s challenging,” he said.
Republicans hold a three-vote advantage in the Senate, but four Republican senators in April sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune cautioning against “the full-scale repeal of current credits.”
And Evans was among 13 Republicans in the House who filed a letter June 6 to Thune calling for the Senate to “substantively and strategically improve clean energy tax credit provisions” in the budget reconciliation bill.
“We just hit half-time. We’re still very much in the middle of this game,” Harry Godfrey, of Advanced Energy United, a national industry association that monitors Colorado and 16 other states, said.
“They really went after just about everything that they could in the realm of clean energy and electric vehicles,” Will Toor, who directs the Colorado Energy Office, said. “I would certainly hope that cooler and wiser heads will prevail in the Senate.”
Soon after the House vote May 22, Sen. Michael Bennet got an earful from leaders of Xcel Energy, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and other Colorado electrical utilities.
“This casts a broad shadow on lots of the progress that the state has made in terms of power supply,” United Power CEO Mark Gabriel told Bennet.
An EV juices up in the Roaring Fork Valley. Trump’s budget bill, which seeks to gut tax credits for renewable energy, has Colorado utilities worried rates will go up in the face of uncertainty and that progress made in renewables in recent years will be erased./
“I am a practical businessman. I don’t have dreadlocks. I don’t wear Birkenstocks. This is not a crusade,” Gabriel said in a later interview. At issue, he emphasized, is resource adequacy and reliability for his utility, which serves one of Colorado’s fastest-growing areas north and east of Denver, including many oil and gas operations. Because electricity is increasingly used in oil and gas extraction and transport, it could raise their fossil fuel costs, too.
“These tax credits are critical to keeping costs, and therefore rates, stable for our members,” CORE Electrical Cooperative said. CORE serves Castle Rock and southmetro areas – including part of the district of Rep. Lauren Boebert, who voted for the bill.
Holy Cross Energy has a goal of 100% emission-free electricity by 2030. In October and April it surpassed 90%. For 2025, it expects to end up north of 80% compared to 50% just a few years ago – while maintaining among the lowest electrical rates in Colorado.
One of its programs, Power+FLEX, would be especially impacted by the bill. It encourages Holy Cross members to install batteries in a way that benefits the homes and businesses but also allows Holy Cross to draw upon them when needed. Loss of the tax credit will make batteries more expensive, dampening future participation.
The bill before the Senate is indeed big. Beautiful? Not to Colorado’s electrical utilities.
This was extracted from a deeper dive on the budget reconciliation bill that can be found at BigPivots.com. ■
Photo courtesy Holy Cross Energy
StateNews
Making a run
Bayfield Republican announces bid to challenge Rep. Jeff Hurd
by Bente Birkeland Colorado Public Radio
Bayfield Republican Hope Scheppelman formally announced her candidacy for the state’s Third Congressional District on Monday. She’s mounting a primary challenge against freshman GOP Congressman Jeff Hurd, accusing him of having disdain for the MAGA wing of the party.
Scheppelman, a Navy veteran, worked for years as a critical care nurse. She also served as vice-chair of the state Republican Party and secretary of the La Plata County Republican Central Committee. In her campaign launch, she criticized Hurd as anti-conservative.
“Jeff Hurd and his fake conservative puppet masters at ‘Americans for Chinese Prosperity,’ the so-called AFP, tricked and
lied to CD3 voters last year, but they can’t deceive us any longer now that he’s exposed himself as just another liberal elitist who is dead set against President Trump and the millions of MAGA citizens like me who demand that Congress does the will of voters,” she declared in a press release announcing her candidacy.
Hurd, an attorney from Grand Junction, originally got into politics to challenge firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert. After she switched races, he won the 2024 Republican primary and then the general election to represent the vast district that covers much of western and southern Colorado.
Since taking office in January, Hurd has struck a relatively moderate tone. He has criticized President Trump over his tariff policy and some spending cuts and program closures, but voted
with the vast majority of House Republicans to help pass Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“Congressman Hurd is focused on delivering for the Third Congressional District, Colorado and America. He is proud to have played a role with President Trump in helping secure our border, unleash Colorado energy, and extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs act,” a statement from Hurd’s campaign said.
Hurd has said the district needs a hardworking representative focused on doing something rather than being someone. During his campaign, he pledged to focus on practical, bipartisan solutions that directly impact his community.
The Third Congressional District is rated as “Likely Republican” for 2026 by Cook Political Report. Hurd defeated his
Democratic opponent, Adam Frisch, by five points last fall. Two years earlier, though, Boebert came within 546 votes of losing to Frisch. Two Democrats, financier and ski company founder Alex Kelloff, from Old Snowmass, and Kyle Doster, of Grand Junction, have filed to run in 2026.
If elected, Scheppelman said she would prioritize securing the border, including with physical barriers, and said her mission is to “stop the traffickers, and bring healing and safety to American families.”
Scheppelman is a staunch supporter of former Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams, who came under fire, including from members of his own party, for sending out anti-Pride emails that read “God hates flags.” She also backed the state party’s controversial decision to endorse candidates in the 2024 primary elections. Her allegiance to the state party created a rift with members of the La Plata County GOP, who asked Scheppelman to resign her county post last August. She refused, and in the end, the party voted to censure her.
For more from Colorado Public Radio, go to: www.cpr.org. ■
Scheppelman
FlashinthePan
Something to taco-bout
Secrets to taking your next taco night to the “OMG” level
by Ari LeVaux
We shook hands to make it official. If my tacos were the best ever, as claimed, I would win the wager. Otherwise, victory went to my adversary. It was admittedly the most audacious of claims, the longest of long shots. Out of how many hundreds of Mexican restaurants and taco trucks? She took a bite and stared at me, her eyes a smooth blend of “OMG,” “WTF” and “up your nose with a garden hose.”
If this confidence sounds like braggadocio, it wouldn’t be on my behalf. I did not invent that runny green sauce of cilantro, jalapeño, garlic and lime that you may have noticed at your local taco stand. I don’t know where it came from or even its name; the recipes online refer to it with the same list of ingredients. I also did not invent the trick that probably won me the wager, which I learned from a friend in California.
I did kind of invent the braised oxtails, spiced with thyme and red wine. Leftovers from a non-Mexican meal, they were nonetheless stellar as a stand-in taco filler. The only true requirements of taco filling, as I understand, is that it be delicious and savory, ideally with protein.
As for the tortilla trick, it feels like cheating. You heat the tortillas in a pan or griddle, and when they are piping hot on one side you flip them and add grated cheese to the piping hot sides now facing up. The cheese must be of a melty variety, such as a Mexican orange, northern cheddar, manchego if you are from Spain or blue cheese, if you partake.
When the cheese melts, turn off the heat, load the tacos and enjoy the bestever-ness or bask in the glory of serving them to others. The warm, cheesy treatment toughens the tortillas, making them less likely to fall apart if there is too much sauce on the tacos, as there frequently is.
As far as the green sauce, aka “Mayo Verde,” goes, it is not just for tacos, pairing well with steak, eggs, salad, sandwiches, veggie side dishes and basically anything savory. Or pour it into a glass, where it’s as drinkable as a $20 bottle of wine. I call it Mayo Verde because it’s green and half mayo. We could also call it “game changer,” “performance enhancer” or “food improver.”
Mayo Verde
1 cup mayonnaise, ideally grapeseed oil Vegenaise
3 garlic cloves
4 jalapeños, seeds removed, roasted or raw
1/2 lime (3 tablespoons)
2 cups cilantro, lightly packed
Salt and pepper to taste
Possibly a few tablespoons of water
If you are roasting the jalapeños, do so under a broiler or in a dry pan on medium heat until blistered on all sides. Then cool and peel them. Blend all ingredients until smooth, adding water if necessary to help it vortex. My son made a YouTube short of the process, including roasting the jalapeños, if you want to give it a click.
For the taco filling, this recipe came from ad-libbing with deer meat. I came up with a citrus mole to counter the potential gaminess of the meat. The next
time I tried this recipe, I used beef, and the result was similarly rich. But my favorite renditions have been with pork. The sauce is dark, rich, tart, sweet and fragrant with Mexican spices. While the recipe calls for grinding the whole spices, you can also use their powdered counterparts. If doing so, reduce the spice quantities by half.
Brown meat in oil or its own fat. While it’s browning, grind fennel seed, cumin and coriander. Add the ground spices, salt and pepper, red pepper, garlic, and orange, lemon and lime juice to the pan. Simmer for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour with the lid on. Finally, add cocoa powder and simmer 10 more minutes to let it thicken. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and add to tacos.
Consider garnishes like sliced radish, minced onion, pico de gallo or fresh salsa.■
Thursday12
Walk & Wonder, a walkers’ meetup, Thursdays 11 a.m.-12 noon thru Aug. 31, White Rabbit Books & Curiosities, 128 W. 14th St., Ste C-2
Connection, Community and Care for Anyone Facing Cancer, 2:30-3:30 p.m., 1701 Main Ave., Ste. C
Crafternoons, 4-5:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Ska-B-Q music by Chuck Hank, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.
Thursday Night Group Ride, 5:15 p.m., Purgatory Sports, 2615 Main Ave.
Weekly Dart Tournament, 5:30 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
The Badly Bent plays, 5 p.m., The Nugget Mountain Bar, 48721 HWY 550
Darryl Kuntz plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Gary Watkins plays, 5:30-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Kirk James plays, 6-9 p.m., The Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
High Altitude Blues plays, 6-9 p.m., The Weminuche Woodfire Grille, 18044 CR 501, Vallecito
Western Wallflowers play, 6-9 p.m., The Tangled Horn, 275 E. 8th Ave.
AskRachel Doggy duty, following the crowd and cutting to the chase
Interesting fact: A social media manager’s rule of thumb is four educational and entertaining posts to every one promotional one. Huh. I’m clearly overdue for selling you all something.
Dear Rachel,
My now-elderly parents have decided to go on an adventure for a month, leaving me with their senior (but not as senior as they are) dog. I like this dog very much. But I didn’t sign up to be a dog dad, and two months in, I’m ready to give up. This dog gets better meals than I do. And let’s not even get into her skincare (fur-care?) routine. For the good of the dog, I’m stuck this time, but please help me avoid future enlistment.
– Pressed Into Service
Dear Dog Tagged, You need to fabricate a near-miss story. Bring some “did you know a dog can shock herself by chewing on batteries?” energy to the situation. The
Galen Clark plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th Street Station, 1101 Main Ave.
DAC Movie Night: “Carnival of Souls” (1962), 7 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.
Caleb Schwing & Tashi T play, 8-10 p.m., The iNDIGO Room, 1315 Main Ave.
Sunday15
Eli Cartwright plays, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
Mandolin Weekend workshops and performances, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Stillwater Music, 1316 Main Ave., Ste C
Walk & Wonder, a walkers’ meetup, 11 a.m.-12 noon, White Rabbit Books & Curiosities, 128 W. 14th St., Ste C-2
DJ Swerv (Voski Little) plays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., 11th Street Station
Open Folk Jam, 2:30-5 p.m., The Tangled Horn, 275 E. 8th Ave.
The Black Velvet Trio plays, 4 p.m., Wines of the San Juan, 233 NM-511, Blanco, N.M.
clincher here is that you act cavalier. No big deal! She’s fiiiiiine. If they actually love their Fluffums, they’ll be aghast and never let you near her again.
– Unleashed, Rachel
Dear Rachel,
I have resisted being a social media person for many years. Finally, it oozed my way at work. I’m now pressed into service updating my work’s social media accounts. Never mind that I am two generations too old for this stuff. My boss wants 200,000 followers, but we live in a town of 20,000. We are a local-serving business, so what is the point of getting so many followers who will never be our customers?
– Anti Social Media
Dear Auntie Es Em, Flip the script on ol’ bossy pants. Bury him with jargon. It’s not about follower count, it’s about engagement. Metrically, the implicators of campaign fortitude rely on screen-to-location
Father’s Day BBQ, 5-7 p.m., Antlers on the Creek, 999 CR 207
Blue Moon Ramblers play, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Devin Scott plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Monday16
Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.
Downtown’s Next Step Meeting for Area Residents, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Meditation and Dharma Talk, 5:30 p.m., in person at The Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave., Ste. 109 or online at www.durangodharmacenter.org
Adam Swanson Ragtime plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Terry Rickard plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Chess Club, 6:30-9 p.m., Guild House Games, 835 Main Ave., Ste., 203-204
ratio. The story of any impactful and strategic pitch magnifies with younger generations at scale. Ergo, bada-bing bada-boom, organic digits are the future.
– Hashtag, Rachel
Dear Rachel,
My girlfriend has lived with me for a year and a half now, and just this weekend, I found out she’s had a machete the entire time. She never asked about bringing it to my house … decided to leave it in a box in the garage, I guess? Her friends think I’m overreacting, but I’m legit angry. This is a dangerous weapon. She has it sharpened! Is my frustration valid?
– Cut and Dry
Dear Sharp Thinker, My therapist tells me all my feelings are valid. It’s what I choose to do with them that decides who I am. I’m going to go right ahead and make this about … COMMUNICATION. Which is sexy
Tuesday17
Mysto Magic Show, 10:30-11:30 a.m. & 2-3 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Climate Café, 4:30-6 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Pain Care Yoga, free series, Tuesdays, 4:30-5:45 p.m. thru Aug. 5, Smiley Building, Room 20A. Registration at innerpeaceyogatherapy.com
Locals at Leplatt’s Pond, music, food and family fun, 5-9 p.m. Tuesdays through July, 311A CR 501, Bayfield
Adam Swanson Ragtime plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle, 699 Main
Local photographic historian Ed Horvat presents to Rotary Club of Durango, 6 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main
Non-traditional Book Club: Queer Writing, 6-7:30 p.m., Bread, 135 E. 8th
Nina Sasaki & Dan Carlson play, 6-8
Email Rachel at telegraph@durango telegraph.com
when it’s good. You’re right to want communication. If your girlfriend isn’t cool with clear, adultish communication, then maybe her lockdown survival tactic makes more sense. Actually, I need to recommend better communication to the dog guy in Letter No. 1, too. That’s a WAY more reasonable idea.
– Cut you down to size, Rachel
p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
Shallow Eddys play, 6-9 p.m., Durango Hot Springs, 6475 CR 203
Sean O’Brien plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Wednesday18
Local First Member Celebration, 57 p.m., EsoTerra Arboretum, 270 CR 303
Colorful Craft Night: Mini Canvas Painting, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Pine River Library, 395 Bayfield Center Drive
Word Honey Poetry Workshop, 67:30 p.m., Durango Library, 1900 E. 3rd
Devin Scott Ukulele, 6-8 p.m., Grassburger Downtown, 726½ Main Ave.
Chuck Hank plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Adam Swanson Ragtime plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.
True West Open Rodeo, 6:30 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds
June 12, 2025 n 13
FreeWillAstrology
by Rob Brezsny
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Your definition of home is due for revamping, deepening and expansion. Your sense of where you truly belong is ripe to be adjusted and perhaps even revolutionized. A half-conscious desire you have not previously been ready to fully acknowledge is ready to explore. Can you handle these subtly shocking opportunities? Do you have any glimmerings about how to open yourself to the revelations that life would love to offer you about your roots, foundations and resources? Here are your words of power: source and soul.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Do you have any frustrations about how you express yourself or create close connections? Are there problems in your ability to be heard and appreciated? Do you wish you could be more persuasive and influential? If so, your luck is changing. In coming months, you will have extraordinary powers to innovate, expand and deepen the ways you communicate. Even if you are already fairly pleased with the flow of information and energy between you and those you care for, surprising upgrades could be in the works. To launch this new phase, devise fun experiments that encourage you to reach out and be reached.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I’ve always had the impression that honeybees are restless wanderers, randomly hopping from flower to flower as they accumulate nectar. But I recently discovered they only meander until they find a single good fount of nourishment, whereupon they sup deeply and make a beeline back to the hive. I am advocating their approach to you in coming weeks. Engage in exploratory missions but don’t dawdle, and don’t sip small amounts from many different sites. Instead, be intent on finding a single source that provides the quality and quantity you want, then fulfill your quest and head back to your sanctuary.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Let’s talk about innovation. I suspect it will be your specialty in the coming weeks and months. One form of innovation is the generation of a new idea, approach or product. Another kind of innovation comes through updating something that already exists. A third may emerge from finding new relationships between two or more older ways of doing things. All of these styles are ripe for you to employ.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo psychotherapist Carl Jung was halfway through his life of 85 years when he experienced the ultimate midlife crisis. Besieged by feelings of failure and psychological disarray, he began to see visions and hear voices in his head. Determined to capitalize on the chaotic but fertile opportunity, he undertook an intense period of self-examination and self-healing. He wrote in journals that were eventually published as “The Red Book: Liber Novus.” He emerged healthy and whole from this trying time, far wiser about his nature and his mission in life. I invite you to initiate your own period of renewal in coming months. Consider writing your personal “Red Book: Liber Novus.”
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In coming weeks, you will have chances to glide deeper than you have previously dared to go into experiences, relationships and opportunities that are meaningful to you. How much bold curiosity will you summon as you penetrate further than ever into the heart of the gorgeous mysteries? How wild and unpredictable will you be as you explore territory that has been off-limits? Your words of power: probe, dive down, decipher.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): When traditional Japanese swordsmiths crafted a blade, they wrapped hard outer layers around a softer inner core. This strategy gave their handiwork a sharp cutting edge while also imbuing it with flexibility and a resistance to breakage. I recommend a similar approach for you, Libra. Create balance, yes, but do so through integration rather than compromise. Like the artisans of old, don’t choose between hardness and flexibility, but find ways to incorporate both. Call on your natural sense of harmony to blend opposites that complement each other.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio journalist Martha Gelhorn (1908–98) was an excellent war correspondent. During her six decades on the job, she reported on many of the world’s major conflicts. But she initially had a problem when trying to get into France to report on D-Day, June 6, 1945. Her application for press credentials was denied, along with all those of other women journalists. Surprise! Through subterfuge and daring, Gelhorn stowed away on a hospital ship and reached France in time to report on the climactic events. I counsel you to also use extraordinary measures to achieve your goals. Innovative circumspection and ethical trickery are allowed. Breaking the rules may be necessary and warranted.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Breakthrough insights and innovations may initially emerge not as complete solutions, but as partial answers to questions that need further exploration. I don’t always like it, but progress typically comes through incremental steps. The Sagittarian part of my nature wants total victory and comprehensive results NOW. It would rather not wait for the slow, gradual approach to unfold its gifts. So I empathize if you are a bit frustrated by the piecemeal process you are nursing. But I’m here to say that your patience will be well rewarded.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Sometimes I’ve got to pause and relax my focused striving, because that’s the only way my unconscious mind can work its magic.” My Capricorn friend Alicia says that about her creative process as a novelist. The solution to a knotty challenge may not come from redoubling her efforts but instead from making a strategic retreat into silence and emptiness. I invite you to consider a similar approach, Capricorn. Experiment with the hypothesis that significant breakthroughs will arrive when you aren’t actively seeking them. Trust in the fertile void of not-knowing. Allow life’s meandering serendipity to reveal unexpected benefits.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Are you interested in graduating to the next level of love and intimacy? The coming weeks will be a favorable time to intensify your efforts. Life will be on your side, if you dare to get smarter about how to make your relationships work better. To inspire your imagination and incite you to venture into the frontiers of togetherness, I offer you a quote from author Anais Nin, “You are the fever in my blood, the tide that carries me to undiscovered shores. You are my alchemist, transmuting my fears into wild, gold-spun passion. With you, my body is a poem. You are the labyrinth where I lose and find myself, the unwritten book of ecstasies that only you can read.”
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What deep longing of yours is both fascinating and frustrating? It keeps pushing you to new frontiers yet always eludes complete satisfaction. It teaches you valuable life lessons but sometimes spoofs you and confuses you. Here’s the good news about this deep longing, Pisces: You now have the power to tap into its nourishing fuel in unprecedented ways. It is ready to give you riches it has never before provided. Here’s the “bad” news: You will have to raise your levels of self-knowledge to claim all of its blessings. (And of course, that’s not really bad!)
Summummer is heaeatiting up
Great selection of Father’s Day gifts from brands like Kühl, Chacos and Patagonia ... plus patio furniture for your outdoor gatherings
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 durangotelegraph.com n classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133
Lost/Found
Cid Come Home
Last seen in Durango on July 21, 2024, by St. Columba Church. He is chipped, missing left canine tooth, white, big black spots, green eyes. Reward. 970-4036192.
Classes/Workshops
Weekly Fast, Fun 45-Minute Aikido
Don't like to fight but want to feel safe? Try Aikido, the blending, calming martial art. Mondays 5:30-6:15pm $8 for 18+. Must book online: durango aikido.com
West Coast Swing
Ready to dance? Join our 3-week West Coast Swing Basics series for beginners! It’s fun, social, and easy to learn—no partner or experience needed. A new series starts every few weeks, so join us for the next one! We also offer a weekly social dance – a fun drop-in option or included with your series registration! Sign up at: www.westslopewesties.com
Wanted
ForRent
Room for Rent – E. Ranch
Furnished room w/ private bath. Quiet, bright home w/ shared kitchen + large living room (natural light). 6 mi to town/hospital. Ideal for travel nurse or remote worker seeking restful space. $850/mo + utilities. $500 deposit. Lease thru Oct or 12 mo. Near trails, private fishing. Call/text 970-560-7673, 10am–4pm
For Lease: Two Professional Offices in Downtown Durango. Prime location in the 500 block of downtown Durango. Bright, private offices in a quiet, professional setting. Ideal for therapists, consultants or small businesses. Walkable, central and full of charm. Call/text (970) 844-4184 or email Dave@AspenGroveLaw.com for details or a tour.
ForSale
Reruns Home Furnishings
Time to spruce up your outdoor space. Multiple patio sets, bistros, vintage patio sets and yard art. Also looking to consign smaller furniture pieces. 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.
BodyWork
Massage by Meg Bush
LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199.
Services
Residential Fabrication
970 259-2213
Boiler Service - Water Heater
Serving Durango over 30 years. Brad, 970-759-2869. Master Plbg Lic #179917
Chapman Electric
Colorado licensed and insured. Residential and commercial. New, remodel and repair. Mike 970-403-6670
Mountain Studies Institute needs volunteers for the San Juan PikaNet Project,
HaikuMovieReview
a citizen science initiative to collect data on the American pika. Learn about identifying and monitoring pikas at our volunteer training June 27, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Velocity Basin outside Silverton. Data collected will become part of a larger effort to monitor pika populations in Colorado and across the Southern Rockies. Register or make a donation at: www. mountainstudies.org/pikanet.
Four Corners Gem and Mineral Show needs volunteers. The show is happening this July 11-13 at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Volunteer receive free access to the show! Visit durangorocks.org.
Dog Fosters Needed Parker’s Animas Rescue urgently needs foster families to provide temporary homes for rescued dogs. We supply all necessary items and cover vet visits. Join our mission: parkersanimalrescue.com.
Planter boxes, gates and fences and other outdoor property enhancements. North Shore Fab. 970 749 6140. Jon
