The Durango Telegraph - Nov. 13, 2025 by Durango Telegraph

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Tsingletrack or mon-

Ear to the ground:

“I went on a long bike ride today. I call it ‘The Whole Gulchalada.’” – We’re sure Moab won’t mind

A mighty wind

True, the Northern Lights have become more frequent in the last few years over Southwestern Colorado, typically the outermost limit of their reach. But not to worry, this is not the end times, at least as far as celestial events go.

Rather, the latest uptick in Mother Nature’s colorful light shows is the result of the sun reaching the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic poles swap places, causing magnetic mayhem.

However, this week’s spectral glow was a big one. Tuesday night’s ﬂare was the strongest since 2005, ranking as an X8.7 on a scale of 0-9, according to NASA. It was seen as far south as Kansas, Colorado and Texas.

On the cover Jeff Huvat rows napping passenger “Butterbean,” on a recent lateseason, high-water voyage down the San Juan River./ Photo by Andy High

Without getting too technical, the Aurora Borealis (or Aurora Australis in the Southern Hemisphere – yep, they see them, too) is created when electron-charged particles from the sun, known as a solar wind, interact with Earth’s atmosphere. The collision produces light much like how electrons ﬂowing through gas in a neon light collide to produce different colors.

The sun’s current active spurt is expected to last at least through the end of the year, although when solar activity peaks won’t be known until months after the fact, according to NASA and NOAA.

Solar storms can bring more than colorful lights to Earth. When fast-moving particles and plasma slam into Earth’s magnetic ﬁeld, they can temporarily disrupt the power grid, air trafﬁc control, radio and GPS communications, and satellites.

Best aurora viewing is between 10 p.m.2 a.m., and the best seasons are around the spring and fall equinoxes due to subtleties in the way the solar wind interacts with Earth’s magnetosphere.

To make sure you don’t miss the next one, Northern Lights forecasts can be found on NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center website: tinyurl.com/wuhbtbmz.

Northern Lights over Durango on Nov. 11.

LaVidaLocal opinion

Will the truth set us free?

I am not spellbound by the fabrication of american flags. In fact, I’m suspicious of american flags and if you are traveling along Highway 285, when you reach Chaffee County you will see hundreds of red-white-and-blue flags, stretching for miles between Nathrop and Poncha Springs. For a few years now during my various drives to Denver, this scene has puzzled and fascinated my skeptic sight. I don’t know if it’s due to being more alert to these displays of nationalism, but this year it seems as if more flags have been posted along the road. It’s been weeks since my last drive through the area, and I’m still thinking about that scene: a relentless succession of flags, flailing in the air on a windy afternoon. There were patches of land where the flags were absent, but then just around the corner, they reappeared for another stretch of the drive. The next time I pass through the county, will this invasion of flags continue to grow?

The display of flags in Chaffee County started in 2020 on a small portion of land, spearheaded and self-financed by a local family. The next year, a group called the Chaffee County Patriots expanded the project and has continued doing so into the present. In a time where the current administration is hollowing out public services while allowing vigilante immigration officers to brutalize and detain citizens, rolling out more patriotic flags along Highway 285 is quite a choice. As best I can tell, all explanations for the roadside flag project come down to promoting patriotism and expressing a love for country. But I won’t let words deceive us here. There’s always more at work behind the proselytizing of patriotism and it’s always unspoken, which is why I say I’m suspicious of american flags. I can’t help but wonder whose power those fabrications serve.

settlers violently stealing Indigenous land. But sometimes I wonder: if these historical injustices can be presented publicly and if all documented abuses of power today can be laid bare, will that change anything? I mean, will the truth really set us free? Or will it be buried beneath more american ﬂags?

Look, when I’m on that portion of Highway 285 and I see some of those ﬂags getting mangled by the weather, I call it an act of god. The idea of holding allegiance to a nation-state is unreal to me. The rhetoric involved with ﬂagwaving usually centers on statements about “defending your country,” which translates to upholding a system with genocide as its engine. More than before, the use of force involved in defending this system/broken country/unwell way of life means imposing violence and destruction on many communities. So I’m weary of those who love systems more than people.

I’m sorry, but loyalty to a nationstate is too lifeless for my imagination. But I value what it means to love and belong to a place, and to protect the people who live in that part of the world closest to my heart. If you are like me and you can draw a heart around the southwest, then we must also name our enemies. Anyone who comes here to rip apart families and detain children in the name of upholding a failed system is my enemy, and I’m not sorry about that.

I mean, there’s something about the american flag’s symbolism and its way of vaporizing critical thinking. To put it another way, the american flag has a way of razing the truth. No amount of flags can erase the historical reality of

Thumbin’It

A spectacular and rare display of the Northern Lights was seen all over Colorado and the U.S. this week – the strongest showing in 20 years. We’re taking it as a sign of light from the universe. Hey, it’s all we got right now.

The longest government shutdown in history is poised to end this week, hopefully unsnarling SNAP benefits and flight cancellations just in time for the holidays. Not that we’re going anywhere, or even having holidays with $3,000 monthly insurance premiums.

Hey, don’t look now, but both the Avs and the Broncos are in first place in their divisions. Whoda thunk?

Those flags will keep waving and perhaps the numbers will keep growing and I’ll always look into the rearview mirror wondering, how long will any of this last? And god if you’re nearby, just to let you know, I’m heading toward sunsets we don’t deserve and I’m still waiting for the truth to set us free, or is that just a child’s proverb we must outgrow? These days I find myself living in the question mark but I do need something to believe in because I’m only human. Before we part ways here, I should say that on my last drive through that region of 285, the wind turned one flag upside down and for a moment that act of god gave me something to believe in.

– Kirbie Bennett

SignoftheDownfall:

From the looks of it, Trump has turned the White House into some sort of Beverly Hillbillies Hall of Versailles. We haven’t seen that much tacky faux gold since “Dynasty” in the ’80s.

Colorado River negotiators failed to reach an agreement by the federally imposed Nov. 11 deadline, meaning the feds will release their own draft plan starting in 2026. Given that most of them probably don’t even know where the Colorado River is, this can’t be good.

RIP American penny, which ceased being minted on Wednesday. What to do with that giant change jar now?

Fake it ‘till you make it

During most Milli Vanilli performances, Fab Morvan, on the left, was the dude lip-syncing. He won a Grammy with his silent partner 35 years ago, but it was revoked nine months later due to all the fakeness. And now that it’s 2025 when nothing really matters anymore, Fab has been nominated for another Grammy, which could make him the only “artist” to win for the ﬁrst time twice. Fab’s category this year is “best audio book recording,” but standing in his way are the other nominees, which include Supreme Court Justice KBJ and the Dalai Lama. So, yeah … a judge, a monk and a con artist walk into the Grammys. All three of them say, “I’m delighted to be here,” but wait, maybe one didn’t.

WritersontheRange

Ranger danger

by Alex Johnson

For more than a month, the longest government shutdown in American history left our national parks in free fall. When the shutdown began in October, the Interior Department sent more than 9,000 Park Service staff home without pay, with orders to leave most parks open with gates unlocked.

Since then, visitors have continued ﬂocking to parks: More than 25,000 visitors poured into Utah’s Zion National Park on a single day; at New Mexico’s Bandelier National Monument, hikers went off trail across closed restoration areas; at Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, sightseers walked through sensitive meadows, ignoring posted signs.

Meanwhile, there’s been virtually a public blackout about what’s been happening inside parks after key staffers were ﬁred. That’s because top agency ofﬁcials curtailed the freedom of park staff to communicate with the public, while website updates went dark. As the shutdown continues, national parks lose $1 million a day in uncollected fees.

But the government shutdown and its salary hiatus are only the latest blows to national park management. Because of new federal policies aimed at shrinking government agencies, including the Interior Department, one in four Park Service staffers is now gone for good.

I’ve been learning what this severe cutback looks like as the new Southwest regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonproﬁt dedicated to protecting the 433 national park sites across the country. I get to care about and advocate for a landscape of remarkable parks across Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona.

One of these parks, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, sits close to my home in Paonia, in western Colorado. Early in

preserve our magniﬁcent landscapes, wildlife and history.

Yet here we are, witnessing a deliberate effort to mismanage our national parks by depriving them of the very people and funding needed for their upkeep. The Trump administration also plans another round of mass terminations, meaning many furloughed park staff may never return.

Earlier this year, Congress gutted $267 million from the Park Service budget, eliminating funding that was congressionally allocated for critical park stafﬁng. President Trump’s proposed 2026 budget also calls for a $1 billion cut, which could force hundreds of park sites to close across the country.

By starving the Park Service of necessary money for maintenance and repairs, wildlife management, research and other important functions, the administration is setting up our national parks to be sold out from under the American public or handed over to private interests.

the Trump administration, federal reductions cut one-third of its staff. That meant even before the shutdown, all custodial workers had lost their jobs. Workers who were already ﬁlling in for missing staff had to set aside core responsibilities and shift to bathroom maintenance.

With no rangers left, signs posted on the canyon’s North Rim warned visitors that they would need to “self-rescue” if they got into trouble. Then came the South Rim fire, which closed the park for the first time in its history, consuming several park buildings though sparing the visitor center. It’s no secret that wildfires

in the West are increasing in frequency, even as fewer staff remain to respond.

Of all the American institutions I thought would outlive me, the National Park Service seemed like a safe bet. Throughout 109 years of park history, national polls consistently show that Americans of all stripes love their national parks. They also respect the rangers who bring deep knowledge to their work, rescue adventurers who get into trouble and help ensure that visitors enjoy themselves. People from all over the world come to experience our national parks and monuments because this country has been wise enough to

We’re living in a moment where hypotheticals – once unbelievable – have become possible scenarios. That is, unless Americans speak up loudly. We need strong advocates to ensure that the Park Service can carry out its mission to “preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations.”

We can help by urging members of Congress to hold the line against more indiscriminate ﬁrings of Park Service staff and to restore funding so that parks can rebuild and ﬂourish in the years to come.

Alex Johnson works for the National Parks Conservation Association, npca.org, and is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonproﬁt dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West ■

Tourists at North Window Arch, in Arches National Park, on Nov. 25, 2024. The government shutdown only added insult to injury at national parks, which lost an average of $1 million a day in entrance fees. Prior to that, one in four staffers were cut as a result of Trump’s government layoffs./ Photo courtesy Grand County Search and Rescue.

SoapBox

Defend American land

Ask your representative and senator to approve “Canyons Law: HR 4180/S.2179” to ban use of M-44 cyanide bombs to kill wildlife on public lands and to ban Wildlife Services from killing wildlife on public lands using our tax dollars, which has been going on for decades.

Ask your congressperson to say no to the FY26 Interior Appropriations bill, which slashes funding for the EPA by 23%. Policy riders also would prohibit EPA from enforcing regulations related to the Clean Air/ Clean Water acts and hazardous waste and pesticides laws. It would withdraw EPA funding for climate science and greenhouse gas reporting and overrides endangered species laws protecting gray wolves, grizzly bears, sturgeon and other species.

We need environmental regulations to keep our air and water clean for our health and to protect our wildlife.

Contact your congressperson and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and say “no” to plans to sell our resources on public lands to pay off our trillion-dollar debt. Public lands and the resources therein are our lands and must not be

sold to China or other countries to pay off our debt.

Your voice matters and is critical for defending our American land.

– Margaret Mayer, Durango

Retire dirty coal

The state of Colorado and Xcel Energy on Nov. 10 ﬁled a request with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to keep Unit 2 at the Comanche coal plant in Pueblo operating beyond its December retirement date. If the petition is granted, it could raise Colorado residents’ utility bills and worsen air pollution for surrounding communities. The ﬁling comes as the Trump administration is reportedly considering illegal emergency orders under the Federal Power Act to keep retiring coal plants open, including in Colorado. If the PUC allows Comanche 2 to operate past its deadline, it must include operational limits and guardrails that would reduce harm to community members and ratepayers.

The PUC decision failed to acknowledge many concerns raised by the Environmental Justice Coalition, consisting

D-Tooned/by Rob Pudim

of Vote Solar, Roots to Resilience, GreenLatinos, GRID Alternatives, and NAACP State Conference CO-MT-WY, Pueblo Branch, regarding equity and health impacts in Pueblo and other communities.

The Environmental Justice Coalition strongly supports retiring the Comanche coal plant as planned and as quickly as possible, and replacing the generation with clean, renewable resources, includ-

ing a renewable energy park in Pueblo. But the PUC declined to order Xcel to begin studying this idea and also failed to prevent Xcel from accepting and favoring gas plant bids. The commission also approved Xcel’s proposal to extend the life of one of the units at the Cherokee gas plant in north Denver by a year, over the Environmental Justice Coalition’s objections.

“The State of Colorado, the PUC and Xcel Energy have an obligation to retire Comanche 2 at the end of this year, and they should move forward with this long-planned retirement,” Michael Hiatt, deputy managing attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Ofﬁce, said. “Continuing to operate heavily polluting and expensive coal units past their retirement deadlines is unwise and not necessary. The PUC also cannot let this petition distract it from its job of ensuring a truly just transition for the Pueblo community when this coal plant retires.”

– Perry Wheeler, Earthjustice

Justice for the Animas River

We are a Fort Lewis College Water Justice class. As a class, we are proposing a resolution to City Council regarding granting rights to the Animas River. We have surveyed the community on their feelings about our local river, gathered case studies on other cities’ resolutions on similar efforts and drafted a resolution, which will be proposed at the City Council meeting Nov. 18. Our resolution supports protection of the Animas River, its tributaries and its watershed by recognizing its “rights of nature” and the city’s responsibilities to care for and protect them.

The Animas River binds together the community by offering a place for recreation, spirituality and riparian ecosystems. On behalf of the class, we write this letter to spread awareness of our movement. We hope our efforts can lead our community to take personal steps to be stewards of our Earth. Thank you for your time and consideration.

– Fort Lewis College Water Justice Class Fall 2025

Help needed at warming center

What if you were living in a trailer with no heat, or perhaps in your car or just on the street in Durango and the nighttime temperature was frigid … in fact, life-threateningly cold? The Emergency Warming Center will be open Dec. 1 - Feb. 28, from 6 p.m. 7 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, at the corner of East 5th Avenue and 3rd Street (254 E. 5th Ave). Warm food and drink as well as cots and blankets and a caring and supportive volunteer staff will be awaiting those in LaPlata County who do not have a warm and safe place to be. The Emergency Warming Center is a collaborative effort with the City of Durango, the American Red Cross, Manna, Neighbors in Need Alliance (NINA), and the Interfaith Alliance as well as concerned citizens. Because the warming center is completely volunteer-dependent, we will only open when the outside temperature is predicted to be 15 degrees F or lower.

Last winter, the ﬁrst time there was a low-barrier nighttime warming center in Durango, we were able to provide shelter for more than 58 individuals on 19 of the coldest nights.

The Emergency Warming Center is volunteer-depen-

dent, and we look forward to our community stepping up to staff it this coming winter. All volunteers must attend a warming center orientation. It is an opportunity for those of us who have a warm and secure home to serve those amongst us who are housing vulnerable.

There will be two orientations: Sat., Nov. 15, from 2-4 p.m. and Thurs., Nov. 20, from 6-8 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Parish Hall. For more information, please contact Mike at 304-290-4331 or email NINA at ninallinace62@gmail.com.

Be part of our caring community in Durango. – Linda Rolfing Barnes, Durango

Corporal Rags

Rags was born a stray in the slums of the Montmartre and was discovered by Private James Donovan On Bastille Day, 1918.

A terrier of mixed breed, he became the 1st Infantry Division’s mascot.

Earning his stripes carrying messages across the front,

Rags was wounded with Private Donovan, and they were both evacuated to Fort Sheridan, Chicago.

Donovan died of his wounds in 1919 and Rags was reunited with his beloved 18th Infantry Regiment at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, a year later.

Corporal Rags died in the spring of 1936 and was buried in Silver Springs, Maryland at the age of twenty. – Burt Baldwin, Bayfield

– Perry Wheeler, Earthjustice

Justice for the Animas River

– Fort Lewis College Water Justice Class Fall 2025

Help needed at warming center

What if you were living in a trailer with no heat, or perhaps in your car or just on the street in Durango and the nighttime temperature was frigid … in fact, life-threateningly cold? The Emergency Warming Center will be open Dec. 1 - Feb. 28, from 6 p.m.-7 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, at the corner of East 5th Avenue and 3rd Street (254 E. 5th Ave). Warm food and drink as well as cots and blankets and a caring and supportive volunteer staff will be awaiting those in La Plata County who do not have a warm and safe place to be. The Emergency Warming Center is a collaborative effort with the City of Durango, the American Red Cross, Manna, Neighbors in Need Alliance (NINA) and the Interfaith Alliance as well as concerned citizens. Because the warming center is completely volunteer-dependent, we will only open when the outside temperature is predicted to be 15 degrees F or lower.

Last winter, the ﬁrst time there was a low-barrier nighttime warming center in Durango, we were able to provide shelter for more than 58 individuals on 19 of the coldest nights.

The Emergency Warming Center is volunteer-depen-

Be part of our caring community in Durango. – Linda Rolfing Barnes, Durango

Corporal Rags

Rags was born a stray in the slums of the Montmartre and was discovered by Private James Donovan On Bastille Day, 1918.

A terrier of mixed breed, he became the 1st Infantry Division’s mascot.

Earning his stripes carrying messages across the front,

Rags was wounded with Private Donovan, and they were both evacuated to Fort Sheridan, Chicago.

Donovan died of his wounds in 1919 and Rags was reunited with his beloved 18th Infantry Regiment at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, a year later.

Corporal Rags died in the spring of 1936 and was buried in Silver Springs, Maryland at the age of twenty. – Burt Baldwin, Bayfield

Staying alive

Coal-burning units in Craig, Pueblo could remain open past deadline

by Allen Best

The December retirement of two coal-burning units in Colorado, one at Craig and the other at Pueblo, have been planned since 2016 and 2018, respectively. Now, both units might continue operating into 2026 and quite possibly longer.

Why? Justiﬁcation from the Department of Energy will likely be to ensure we have enough electricity. The agency used that explanation in May when ordering a coal plant in Michigan to remain operating. That order arrived a week before the plant’s scheduled retirement. The 202(c) clause in the Federal Power Act, a 1935 law, permits federal intervention in three instances, reliability being one of them.

“Keep the Lights On” is a motto in the utility industry and among state regulators. In other words, everything must revolve around ensuring minimal power outages. The industry standard is one day of outages spread over 10 years. Is Colorado in danger of having the lights go out?

U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, who represents both Craig and Pueblo, sent a letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Halloween regarding the Comanche units in Pueblo. He asked the federal agency to order that Comanche 2 remain operating and to operate Comanche 3 at higher levels than planned. Hurd cited a “crisis.”

On Mon., Nov. 10, the State of Colorado and Xcel Energy ﬁled a request with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to keep Comanche 2 operating beyond its December retirement date.

Interestingly, Hurd made no request for Craig. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the operator of the Craig unit, says it produces more electricity than it currently needs. Xcel, the operator of Comanche, simply says it will obey any federal orders.

At energy conferences, much is being said about “resource adequacy” and “data centers.” They are strongly related. Data centers are fueling speculation about rapid growth in demand and, hence, con cerns about resource adequacy.

Proponents of fossil fuel generation argue that coal and gas plants can provide baseload generation despite higher costs than renewables. The sun reliably goes down every evening. But all forms of generation go down occasionally. That includes nuclear, natural gas – and coal.

As for Comanche 3, the newest and largest coal-burning unit in Colorado, it has gone down repeatedly and sometimes for many months since it began operations in 2010. In addition to Xcel, Holy Cross Energy – the supplier for most of the Vail and Aspen areas – owns 8%, while CORE Electrical Cooperative owns 25%. It supplies Castle Rock and adjoining areas.

Ironically, Comanche 3 had just returned to service in early August when Denver had one of its hottest days of the year. Many of Xcel’s fossil fuel plants were down for one reason or another. Soon after, though, Comanche 3 went down yet again. It may not return to service until June 2026.

Does this constitute a “crisis?” The Colorado Energy Office in July reported that Colorado altogether has sufficient electrical generation to meet industry standards for reliability. But Xcel, in its contribution, said it expected negative reserve margins four of the next five years.

Tri-State CEO, said during October that he was in frequent contact with Washington about the orders he expects to receive. Presumably, the plant will have workers happy to remain at $80,000plus-a-year-jobs. One coal mine will close in December, but the Yampa Valley will have two remaining.

Hurd’s language to the federal government echoes that of Pueblo County in a late-August ﬁling with the Colorado PUC. Pueblo County – like Routt County, home to the Hayden Generating Station – feels wronged in this energy transition. Those claims of victimhood may be premature. Relevant decisions affecting jobs and tax bases are months away

As for Craig 1, Duane Highley, the

Cost is one issue. Tri-State in 2020 said it was phasing out coal because of costs. The wholesale provider recently approved a major rate increase to its 15 member cooperatives in Colorado and those in other states. Continued operations of an uneconomic coal plant will cost money. Highley asks a good question. Who will pay?

There’s also this: The 2016 settlement that produced the planned retirement in

2025 for Craig 1 was because of haze created by pollutants from the plant that violate federal standards for places like Rocky Mountain National Park.

How real is this projected new demand from data centers? Expect considerable legislative debate this winter about what guardrails or incentives Colorado needs to govern growth in demand from data centers. Too, expect much debate on whether the PUC process in regulating Xcel is as nimble as it might be in this fast-changing world of energy.

Allen Best writes Big Pivots, an e-journal chronicling climate change-driven transitions in energy, water and other resources in Colorado and beyond. To read more, go to: BigPivots.com. ■

The coal-fired Craig Power Station was scheduled to close in December. However, the Trump administration is expected to order it to stay open, citing an “energy crisis.” / Photo by Allen Best

GoodReads

Close to home

New book details tragic, real-life tale of survival and loss in Sawatch Range

by Missy Votel

It was just supposed to be a quick lap; an innocent little ski run through the trees right outside the hut.

Then, like the raging, blowing snow, things went sideways.

So begins the premise for Breckenridge author Devon O’Neil’s new book, “The Way Out.” A true story about a group of Salida friends and a 2017 10th Mountain Hut trip gone horribly awry, the book – which came out in hardback Nov. 11 – may hit close to home for many mountain dwellers.

Maybe a little too close. Yet, it is probably those of us who shy away from the “what ifs” of outdoor adventuring who need to read this book the most.

Without being too much of a spoiler – since, like a long uphill skin, the gripping story takes time to unfold – the book centers on 47-year-old Brett Beasley, a longtime Salida resident and avid outdoorsman, and his newfound ski buddy, 15-year-old Cole WaltersSchaler. The two are part of a father-daughter/son January hut trip to Uncle Bud’s Cabin, outside of Leadville.

It was supposed to be a time for family bonding, but instead of waiting for the group on that ﬁrst fateful morning, Brett and Cole – lured by several inches of fresh powder – duck out for a quick run. This is the last time either of them will be seen for the next 30 hours, setting off an epic and harrowing search during a storm that dropped as much as 3 feet on the Sawatch Range.

And while the search and rescue mission is arguably the most gripping part of the story, it is not the only part that will have you furiously ﬂipping pages. With painstaking research and hundreds of interviews, O’Neil deftly paints a detailed portrait of Brett and his family

(wife, Cari, and teen-age daughters, Bari and Brooke); Cole and the others on the hut trip; and the small, tightknit Salida community rocked by the events.

Brett Beasley is a character many of us know well, a mountain dude archetype; a “legend” and “Grateful Dead-loving free spirit who keeps a keg in his garage.”

A Kansas boy who makes his way to Colorado in the ’90s, he and Cari settle in the small town of Salida, which he considers paradise on Earth. In his nearly 30

years there, he learns to do all the things – from fly fishing and rafting to mountain biking, moto-ing and skiing – becoming a fixture and beloved adventure buddy among the outdoors set. In addition, he is a respected recreation manager for the Forest Service, doing the work of two people, uniting disparate user groups and preaching safety to his staff.

In other words, he should have known better. However, it is this wealth of experience – the expert paradox if you will – that makes the story all the more intriguing. On the day Brett and Cole venture out, mistakes were made, perhaps the biggest one being complacency. Weather reports weren’t thoroughly evaluated, and phones and maps were left behind, as were warm layers, survival gear and a game plan – all in the name of “a quickie.”

Of course, these are faux pas any of us could be guilty of, which makes the story all the more compelling. In the end, there is plenty of blame to go around – justiﬁed or not – and lessons to be learned. O’Neil, a 10th Mountain hutmaster and avid backcountry skier himself, takes a sober, honest and deeply personal look at our insatiable attraction to a natural world that is beautiful but ultimately indifferent toward our human foibles.

Yes, at its core, “The Way Out” is a cautionary tale about being underprepared and overcommitted in the backcountry. But, O’Neil does an exemplary job of putting an immensely relatable and human face on those decisions that put ourselves and others at risk, their aftermath and the long path toward healing that follows.

Before you head out to the backcountry this winter, do yourself a favor and read “The Way Out.” It will stay with you long after you’ve devoured the last of its 288 pages. And it just might help you get out of a sketchy situation and may even be the difference between life and death. ■

JusttheFacts

What: Author event & book signing with Devon O'Neil, "The Way Out"

When: Tues., Nov. 18, 6-8 p.m.

Where: Maria's Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.

Devon O’Neil

On shaky ground

Amid 10 dead wolves and federal interference, Colorado’s reintroduction is struggling

by Tracy Ross / The Colorado Sun

Colorado’s wolf restoration program is struggling amid federal roadblocks over where the state can source new wolves for reintroduction and the death of a 10th translocated wolf.

The latest wolf fatality, announced Nov. 7, puts the survival rate for the reintroduced wolves at 60%. That’s well below the anticipated survival rate of 70% to 85% for the early years of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program, according to the Colorado Wolf Management Plan. CPW released 10 wolves in December 2023 and another 15 in January 2025.

Luke Perkins, Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson, said the agency is “committed to fulﬁlling the will of Colorado voters in restoring a sustainable wolf population” and is evaluating all options to support wolf releases this winter. But an order by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director has limited those options.

Colorado signed a contract Oct. 3 with British Co-

lumbia to pay its government up to $400,000 for 10 to 15 wolves to bring to Colorado in December and January. But a week later, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Brian Nesvik said CPW violated special permitting in the Endangered Species Act – known as the 10(j) rule, which established Colorado’s wolves as a “nonessential population” – in sourcing wolves from outside the United States. Colorado wolves must come from northern Rockies states, Nesvik told CPW Director Jeff Davis in a letter Oct. 10. But most of those states – including Idaho, Montana and Wyoming – have said they do not want to be part of Colorado’s reintroduction project.

CPW’s most recent request is to the state of Washington, which will discuss the matter at the Washington Fish and Wildlife commission’s meeting Nov. 15.

Colorado sourced wolves for its ﬁrst releases in December 2023 from Oregon, unleashing a controversy when it was discovered that two had come from a pack blamed for predation. Colorado’s wolf management plan says wolves with a history of chronic depredation

should be excluded as a source population. But CPW spokesperson Travis Duncan said at the time that any wolves that have been near livestock will have some history of depredation, including all packs in Oregon, but that didn’t mean the two in question had a history of chronic depredation.

“If a pack has infrequent depredation events, they should not be excluded as a source population, per the plan,” he said.

Eight months later, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Nation in Washington rescinded its offer to give Colorado wolves, stating “necessary and meaningful consultation was not completed with the potentially impacted tribes” in Colorado when the state created and implemented its wolf reintroduction plan.

Last year, Gov. Jared Polis blamed ranchers for the high cost of wolf reintroduction, which has cost taxpayers around $8 million since Proposition 114 was passed in 2020. He said the state wouldn’t have had to go to British Columbia if ranchers hadn’t said, “don’t

A wolf runs across a snow-covered field in British Columbia as a helicopter flies overhead during capture operations in January 2025. / Photo courtesy Colorado Parks and Wildlife

get them from Wyoming, don’t get them from Idaho.” But statements from Wyoming and Idaho ofﬁcials suggested that wasn’t true, which drove a deeper wedge between the governor and ranchers.

CPW said one of the reasons it sourced wolves from British Columbia was to obtain animals with no prior interaction with livestock, thereby minimizing the potential for wolf-cattle conﬂict. Rob Edward, president of Rocky Mountain Wolf Project, said in the 11 months since their arrival, the British Columbia wolves have killed no livestock his group is aware of, “beyond wolf 2505, that was killed in Wyoming for supposedly preying on sheep.” So the block on wolves from Canada has left many scratching their heads and surmising that it was purely political.

The 10(j) rule, approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in November 2023, declared Colorado wolves an experimental population and authorized certain management techniques, including lethal removal.

Tom Delehanty, an attorney with Earthjustice, says the 10(j) rule at the heart of Nesvik’s block has nothing to do with where CPW can source wolves.

Rather, the rule is “purely about postrelease wolf management” in that it replaces Endangered Species Act protections with customized protections to provide greater ﬂexibility wolf recovery in collaboration with partners, especially private landowners, he said.

The rule also applies only to gray wolves found in the wild within the boundaries of Colorado. And because it “simply changes wolves’ legal status in Colorado, it does not, by its nature, apply to capture activities elsewhere.”

Putting up roadblocks

Mike Phillips, a wildlife biologist who was heavily involved with the Yellowstone wolf reintroduction and lives in Bozeman, Mont., has advised CPW on the Colorado program. He said the block by Nesvik makes no sense if his mandate as Fish and Wildlife director is to advance Colorado’s wolf recovery under the Endangered Species Act.

“(The Endangered Species Act) doesn’t say ‘proceed with recovery if you want to,’” Phillips said. “It says, clearly, ‘it’s mandatory.’ So if the gray wolf is listed as endangered in Colorado, the Fish and Wildlife Service is on the hook for advanced recovery.”

What’s more, if Colorado is doing all of the heavy lifting by sourcing “top-shelf wolves” from British Columbia, he said, why in the world wouldn’t the federal government just continue to say, ‘oh gee, this is really good. We’ve got to get this done until … and we should continue to go out of our way to help Colorado put

paws on the ground’ instead of standing in their way?”

Phillips said he believes Fish and Wildlife is putting up roadblocks because they fell into a political trap. “You could only conclude the director isn’t really worried about wolf recovery, because if he was, he’d be going out of his way to take the path of least resistance, which is to enable Colorado to put in place a population that could count against federal recovery criteria,” he said.

Many wolf advocates worry reintroduction opponents will continue to create reasons to pause the state’s effort until CPW meets criteria for “successful coexistence,” which were submitted in a petition to the wildlife commission last November by 26 ranching and rural groups. The commission rejected it in January, saying it was already working on these strategies.

Phillips said the decree laid down by Fish and Wildlife is a clear sign that “they’ve been captured by the antiwolf crowd” that is hoping for enough of a delay that the next administration in Colorado won’t be so sympathetic to gray wolves and, more importantly, to the will of Colorado voters.

Coloradans will vote on a new governor in 2026. Greg Lopez, who served as a U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District for six months in 2024, is running. A vocal opponent of

wolf reintroduction, he sent a letter to Nesvik about the alleged 10 (j) violations.

Exceptions for the capture of wolves may be granted by the federal government, as Phillips claimed, but Lopez said Colorado never ﬁled an amended permit to capture wolves in Canada in the Federal Register. CPW has said it coordinated with USFWS throughout the gray wolf reintroduction and has complied with all applicable federal and state laws.

Perkins, the CPW spokesperson, told The Colorado Sun that pausing reintroduction now “would introduce long-term costs and complications that far outweigh any short-term logistical or political benefit. A consistent, science-based release schedule as outlined in the Wolf Restoration and Management Plan is not only a commitment to ecological success but to public transparency, stakeholder confidence and long-term conflict reduction,” he said.

“Delaying wolf releases, even by a single year, poses signiﬁcant ecological, genetic and social risks,” he added. “This would also be a divergence from the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan, which calls for the translocation of 10 to 15 wolves every year for three to ﬁve years.”

The Colorado Sun is a nonprofit, awardwinning news outlet covering Colorado. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky. ■

Thursday13

Craft and Connect, 3-5 p.m., Fort Lewis Mesa Library, 11274 HWY 140

Parker’s Animal Rescue Open House, 3-6 p.m., 305 S. Camino Del Rio, Ste. U

Holiday Cards/Cartas para los dias festivos bilingual card making, 4-5:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Tools for Cancer Caregivers, 4:30-6 p.m., Cancer Support Community SW Colorado, 1701 Main Ave., Ste. C

Know Your Dough Fundraiser, 5-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Opening Ceremony for the Compassion Sand Mandala, 5:30 p.m., Dreams of Tibet, 988 Main Ave.

Artist Talk & Pottery Workshop with Yolanda LaMone, 6-7:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

“Four Corners Voices Vol. 2,” live readings, 6-8 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.

Nordic Night season kick off, 6-8 p.m., Hillcrest Golf Club, 2300 Rim Dr.

Nerds Night Out Trivia, 6-8 p.m., EsoTerra Ciderworks, 558 Main Ave.

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

Ben Gibson plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Open Mic Night, 6 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.

Bluegrass Jam, 6-9 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.

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

Next Gen Native Cinema, 6:30-9 p.m., Student Union Ballroom, FLC

“Once Upon a Mattress” musical, 7-9:30 p.m., DHS Auditorium, 2390 Main Ave.

“Anais,” performed by FLC Theatre, 7:30 p.m., FLC Mainstage Theatre

Trivia Night hosted by Aria PettyOne, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Friday14

BIDs Coffee and Conversation, 8:30-9:30 a.m., TBK Bank Community Room, 259 W. 9th St.

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

“Tabula Rasa” opening reception featuring artwork of Dan Groth, Jared Reed and Noah Stotz, 5-9 p.m., Studio & Gallery, 1027 Main Ave.

Traditional Tibetan Dinner & Cultural Night with the Gaden Shartse Monks, 5:30 p.m., Himalayan Kitchen, 992 Main Ave.

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

Irish Music with Tom Ward’s Downfall, 6-8 p.m., Durango Winery, 900 Main Ave.

Larry Carver & the Rando Zone play, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

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

“Once Upon a Mattress” musical, 7-9:30 p.m., DHS Auditorium, 2390 Main Ave.

“Anais,” performed by FLC Theatre, 7:30 p.m., FLC Mainstage Theatre

Jazz Church open jam, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Songwriter Night, 8-10 p.m., The iNDIGO Room, 1315 E Main Ave, ste 207

Elder Grown with Float Like A Buffalo, 811:30 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E College Dr

Saturday15

Stone Mani Mantra Painting, Sand Art & Tibetan Calligraphy for kids and adults, 10 a.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave.

Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Workshop, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Walk-in Personal Healings or Astrology Readings, thru the afternoon, Dreams of Tibet, 988 Main Ave.

Round Dance & Native Arts Market, free community meal, 12 noon-11 p.m., DHS, 2390 Main Ave.

Folk Jam, 1-2 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Silent Book Club, 1-3 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Emergency Warming Center Orientation, Sat., Nov. 15, 2-4 p.m., Sacred Heart Church Parish Hall, 254 E. 5th Ave.

“Once Upon a Mattress” musical, 2-4:30 p.m., DHS Auditorium, 2390 Main Ave.

Indivisible Durango General Meeting, 3-5 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

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

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

A Night of Cow Punk and Metal featuring Neighborhood Skeletons, Gutter Town, Fleshweaver and Decapitation of a New Day, 6:30 p.m., The Swarm at The Hive, 1175 Camino del Rio

Western Wallﬂowers and Safety Meeting perform, 7 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

“Once Upon a Mattress” musical, 7-9:30 p.m., DHS Auditorium, 2390 Main Ave.

“Anais,” performed by FLC Theatre, 7:30 p.m., FLC Mainstage Theatre

Durango Contra Dance Series, 7:30 p.m. class; 8 p.m. dance; La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave.

Family Reunion with special guests Steady Now perform, 8 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave.

DJS Deca, Savej and Codestar perform, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.

Sunday16

Smoke Puja & Blessing, 9-10 a.m., Himalayan Kitchen, 992 Main Ave.

Irish Jam, 12 noon-3 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.

“Silent Sundays with Swanson” silent movie with piano accompaniment, 2 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

“Anais,” performed by FLC Theatre, 2 p.m., FLC Mainstage Theatre

Sounds and Sights of Monastic Life video presentation, 6-8 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave.

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

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

Monday17

Youth Photography Showcase, 12 noon-6 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Sign Waving peaceful gathering, 4 p.m., corners of Camino del Rio and College Ave.

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

AskRachel Green washing, girls not gone wild and vegging out

Interesting fact: The triple-wash process for salad greens is 1) a rinse to remove dirt and bugs, 2) a dip in foodgrade sanitizer, and 3) another wash to wash off the second bath. Kinda how I take a shower after taking a bath, I guess.

Dear Rachel,

I don’t trust the pre-washed greens at the grocery store. They tell me they’re washed three times, which makes me trust them less. I don’t wash anything three times. What’s so bad with their washing system that it requires three times through the cycle? I end up rinsing them anyway. Should I be eating them as they come straight out of the packaging, or am I savvy to give them that fourth wash?

– Not Easy Eating Greens

Dear Mr. Clean,

Think of it like the stages of showering. First wash is for your hair. Second

“Holidays by the Dozen,” with authors Ed Cash & Kurt Zeiner, 6 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.

Chuck Hank plays, 6-9 p.m., Ofﬁce Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Tuesday18

Youth Photography Showcase, 12 noon-6 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Gift Gallery, 12 noon-6 p.m., The Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

“State of the Beaver: Upper Animas Watershed,” talk on using beavers to restore mining sites, 5:30 p.m., Santa Rita Water Reclamation Facility

Green Tara Empowerment, Guided Meditation & Dharma Talk with the Graden Shartse Monks, 5:30 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave.

Cookbook Club “New Native Kitchen,” 6 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Author Event & Book Signing: Devon O’Neil “The Way Out,” 6-8 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.

wash is all the face products you use. Third is the wash for the whole rest of your body. You could drizzle yourself with a men’s all-in-one wash to give yourself a fourth clean, but why? What amazes me is how we’re just supposed to give the rest of our produce a quick little rinsie-poo before we eat it, when spinach apparently requires industrial cleansing. Food is weird, yo.

– Good to the ﬁnish, Rachel

Dear Rachel,

The NCAA allows young male college students to go shirtless at the football games. I ask you, when is the NCAA going to let us young female students do the same?

- Dee Cup

Dear Deez Cups, I’m all for women’s liberation. Everything on the right side of that line, I’m pro. I’m not sure where that line is, but somehow, you’re on the wrong side of it. Just no. No no no no no. Nope.

Shop with a Cop, 6 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds

“Befriending the Body” beginnerfriendly mindfulness and meditation, 6-7:30 p.m., 4Corners Yoga, 1309 E. 3rd Ave., #32

Creating with AI free workshop, 67:30 p.m., FLC Center for Innovation, 835 Main Ave., Ste. 225

Jason Thies plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

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

Rotary Club of Durango hosts The Durango Olive Oil Co., 6-7 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave.

Wednesday19

Durango Winter Sports Club Ski Movie Fundraiser featuring “The Blizzard of Aahhhs,” 5:30 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino del Rio

Vajravidaran Healing & Puriﬁcation Ritual, 5:30 p.m., Dreams of Tibet, 988 Main Ave.

Gifts from the Pantry: Bean Soup

Nuh uh. Nein. Nyet. Nope. No. Maybe it’s the way you’re talking about yourself as “young.” It’s giving Epstein. You feel like an old perv hanging outside the sorority house with a ski mask and a Polaroid camera. Just no.

– Covered up, Rachel

Dear Rachel, I tell my wife we need to eat more veggies. She says we are: on football weekends, we eat potato chips, corn puffs, popcorn and French fries. And Doritoes. I say no. What’s your idea of a veggie?

– Muffin

Dear Carrot Cake, I got way freaking distracted by your pluralization of Doritos. They’re not actual food, so they don’t follow the same rules as potatoes (which you eat plenty of) and tomatoes (which you don’t). I’m now picturing Nacho Cheese-dusted little piggies going whee-whee-whee all the way to market, where they pick up one of those giant

Mix, 6-7 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Word Honey free poetry workshop, 67:30 p.m., The Hive, 1175 Camino del Rio

IF4 Fly Fishing Film Festival, presented by 5 Rivers Trout Unlimited, 68:30 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.

Donny Johnson plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

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

Colorado Pro Photographer Showdown, Sun., Nov. 19, 7 p.m., Community Concert Hall, FLC

Ongoing

Public viewing of Sand Mandala creation, Nov. 14-21, Dreams of Tibet, 988 Main Ave.

Danielle SeeWalker’s “Chó Snazz!” art exhibit, thru Nov. 19, FLC Art Gallery

“Southwest Remix” Invitational Exhibition, thru Nov.26, Blue Rain Gallery, 934 Main Ave., Unit B Indigenous Ink: Empowering

Email Rachel at telegraph@durango telegraph.com

barrel tubs of snacks for your game day gastrointestinal delight. At least put some ketchup on that stuff. Get some trace amounts of real food. But wash your corn nuts before you eat them.

– Full up, Rachel

Stories in Comic Books, thru November, Maria’s Reading Room, 145 E. College, Ste. 10W

“Fragments” by Andrea Martens, thru November, The Recess Gallery, 1027 Main Ave.

Dementia/Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group, 1st, 3rd & 5th Wed. of each month, 10:30 a.m.-12 noon, La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave.

Upcoming

Navajo Highways Screening & Conversation with Pete Sands, Thurs., Nov. 20, 5-8 p.m., FLC Vallecito Room

Spanish Conversation Hour, Thurs., Nov. 20, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Vision 2076, Thurs., Nov. 20, 5:307:30 p.m., LPEA, 45 Stewart St.

Poet Event & Book Signing: Amber McCrary, “Corn Tongue,” 6 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.

Friends of the San Juan Snow Series, Thurs., Nov. 20, 6-8 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave. Nov. 13, 2025 n 13

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In coming weeks, I invite you to commune intimately with your holy anger. Not petulant tantrums, not the ego’s defensive rage but the ﬁerce love that refuses to tolerate injustice. You will be wise to draw on the righteous “No!” that draws boundaries and defends the vulnerable. I hope you will call on protective fury on behalf of those who need help. Here’s a reminder: Calmness in the face of cruelty isn’t enlightenment but complicity. Your anger, when it safeguards and serves love rather than destroys, is a spiritual practice.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The Korean concept of jeong is the emotional bond that forms between people, places or things through shared experiences over time. It’s deeper than love and more complex than attachment: the accumulated weight of history together. You can have jeong for a person you don’t even like anymore, for a city that broke your heart, for a coffee mug you’ve used every morning for years. As the scar tissue of togetherness, it can be beautiful and poignant. Now is an especially good time for you to appreciate and honor your jeong. Celebrate and learn from the soulful mysteries your history has bequeathed you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): More than 100 trillion bacteria live in your intestines. They have a powerful impact. They inﬂuence your mood, train your immune system and communicate with your brain via the vagus nerve. Other life forms are part of the team within you, too, including fungi, viruses and archaea. So, in a real sense, you are not merely a human who contains small organisms. You are an ecosystem of species making collective decisions. Your “gut feelings” are collaborations. I bring this all to your attention because the coming weeks will be a highly favorable time to enhance the health of your gut biome.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I am born under the sign of Cancer, just as you are. So, as I offer you my ongoing observations and counsel. In the coming weeks, we will benefit from a phase of consolidation and integration. The creative flourishes we have unveiled recently need to be refined and activated on deeper levels. This necessary deepening may initially feel more like work than play, and not as much fun as the rapid progress we have been enjoying. But with a slight tweak of our attitude, we can thoroughly thrive during this phase.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In coming weeks, care more about getting things done than pursuing impossible magniﬁcence. The simple labor of love you actually ﬁnish is worth more than the masterpiece you never start. The healthy but makeshift meal you throw together feeds you, whereas the theoretical but abandoned feast does not. Even more than usual, the perfect will be the enemy of the good. Here are quotes to inspire you. 1. “Perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest order.” – Anne Wilson Schaef. 2. “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Now is an excellent time to practice the art of forgetting. I hope you formulate an intention to release the grievances and grudges that are overdue for dissolution. They not only don’t serve you but actually diminish you. Here’s a fact about your brain: It remembers everything unless you actively practice forgetting. So here’s my plan: Meditate on the truth that forgiveness is not a feeling; it’s a decision to stop rehearsing the resentment, to quit telling yourself the story that keeps the wound fresh. The lesson you’re ready to learn: Some memories are worth evicting. Not all the past is worth preserving. Selective amnesia can be a survival skill.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A Navajo blessing says, “May you walk in beauty.” Not just see beauty or create it, but walk in it, inhabit it and move through the world as if beauty is your gravity. When you’re at the height of your lyrical powers, you do this naturally. You are especially receptive to the aesthetic soul of things. You can draw out the harmony beneath surface friction and improvise grace in the midst of chaos. I’m happy to tell you that you are currently at the height of these powers. Be bold in expressing them. Even if others aren’t consciously aware and appreciative, beautify every situation you’re in.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Your theme for coming weeks is the fertile power of small things: the transformations that happen in the margins and subtle gestures. A kind word that shifts someone’s day, for instance. Or a refusal to participate in casual cruelty. Or a choice to see value in what you’re supposed to ignore. Meditate on this healing theme: Change doesn’t always announce itself with drama and manifestos. The most heroic act might be to pay tender attention and refuse to be numbed. Find power in understated insurrections.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A day on Venus (one rotation on its axis) lasts about 243 Earth days. However, a year on Venus (one orbit around the sun) takes only about 225 Earth days. So a Venusian day is longer than its year. If you lived on Venus, the sun wouldn’t even set before your next Venusian birthday arrived. Here’s another weird fact: Contrary to what happens on every other planet in the solar system, on Venus the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. Moral of the story: Even planets refuse to conform and make their own rules. If celestial bodies can be so gloriously contrary, so can you. I encourage you to exuberantly explore this creative freedom in coming weeks.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let’s revisit the ancient Greeks’ understanding that we are all born with a daimon: a guiding spirit who whispers help and counsel, especially if we stay alert for its assistance. Typically, the messages are subtle, even half-disguised. Our daimons don’t usually shout. But I predict that will change in coming weeks, especially if you cultivate listening. Your personal daimon will be extra talkative and forthcoming. So be vigilant for unexpected support. Expect epiphanies and revelations. Pay attention to the book that falls open to a page that has a hint just for you. Take notice of a song that repeats or a sudden urge to change direction on your walk.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Awe should be one of your featured emotions in coming weeks. I hope you will also seek out and cultivate reverence, deep respect, excited wonder and sublime surprises. Why do I recommend such seemingly impractical measures? Because you’re close to breaking through to a heightened capacity for generosity of spirit and a sweet lust for life. Being alert for amazement and transcendent experiences that could change your life for the better. I love your ego – it’s a crucial aspect of your make-up – but now is a time to exalt and uplift your soul.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What if your anxiety is actually misinterpreted excitement? What if the difference between worry and exhilaration is the story you tell yourself about the electricity streaming through you? Maybe your body is revving up for something interesting and important, but your mind mislabels the sensation. Try this experiment: Next time your heart races and your mind spins, tell yourself “I’m excited” instead of “I’m anxious.” See if your mood shape-shifts.

Deadline for Telegraph classified ads is Tuesday at noon.

Ads are a bargain at 10 cents a character with a $10 minimum.

Prepayment is required via cash, credit card or check. (Sorry, no refunds or substitutions.)

Ads can be submitted by emailing: classifieds@ durangotelegraph.com

HelpWanted

FT Financial/Operations

Coordinator wanted. Wildfire Adapted Partnership (nonprofit) seeks full-time position: Financial and Operations Coordinator to assist the Executive Director in financial and grant management and day-to-day org operations. Visit www. wildfireadapted.org to view full job announcement.

Lost/Found

Help Cid Come Home

Last seen July 21, 2024, by St. Columba Church. He is chipped, missing left canine tooth, white, big black spots, green eyes. Reward $2000. 970-403-6192.

Classes/Workshops

All Levels Yoga

Thursdays 10am, Smiley Room 32. Props provided. Accessible class for continuing beginners who want to focus on functional movement and fundamental actions within standing, seated, twisting, forward and backward bending postures. www.k-lea.com (303) 819-9076

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

Men's

Yoga

Every Tuesday, 7:30-8:30 AM at Yogadurango. All levels welcome.

Wanted

Books Wanted at White Rabbit Donate/Trade/Sell 970 259-2213

ForSale

Equestrian Motif Pillows

2 large pillows with horse head motif, 20” square, $20/ea. Call 937-271-9633

Screen Printing Business for Sale

Over 100 screens, multiple presses, flash dryer, screen maker, squeegees. Call Greg at 970-247-3457 to see equipment.

Reruns Home Furnishings

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

ForRent

Small Studio House

Private yard, 2-car parking, near College Hill & DNF. Call Chip @ 970-4034989. Please leave msg.

BodyWork

Massage by Meg Bush

LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199.

Services

Need Help Raking Leaves? Call Chris 970-442-1021

Boiler Service - Water Heater

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

Electric Repair

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

CommunityService

Snap Relief Fund Drives

97 partners over five counties are banding together to benefit pantries large and small. Shop and donate at Albertson’s, South City Market, and North City Market. Donate directly at bit.ly/ snapSWCO. Volunteer at signup sheet on our website: www.indivisibledurango.org

Dementia/Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support group and information/re-

HaikuMovieReview

‘Sinners’ I’ve long been suspect of bluegrass musicians, and turns out I was right – Lainie

sources to those caring for a loved one with dementia/Alzheimer’s on the 1st, 3rd & 5h Wednesdays of each month, 10:30 a.m. – 12 noon, La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. For info., email cajunmc @gmail.com or go to www.alz/ org/co

Dog Fosters Needed

Parker’s Animal Rescue urgently needs foster families to provide temporary homes for rescued dogs. We supply crates, food, leashes, toys and support, and cover vet visits. Apply at: parkersani malresuce.com.

Yoga of Recovery: Free classes meet in Durango Tuesdays 10-11:15 a.m., Smiley Building, Room 20A. Explore gentle movement, breathwork and meditation. Find support for addictive tendencies, sober curiosity or your recovery journey. Registration required at innerpeace yogatherapy.com/locations/durango/

New kid on the block?

(Don’t worry – the Telegraph is here for you step by step.) 50% OFF one month of display ads* for new advertisers

Ads start at just $80/week!

Email for details: missy@durangotelegraph.com Nov. 13, 2025 n 15

Maxson