The Pole

Here’s a little bit of good news in a week where it seems like the world is going to, well, garbage. An iconic headwaters in the San Juan Mountains has been saved from getting trashed in perpetuity.

We’ve all heard of “Who let the dogs out?” But what about the kangaroo?

And speaking of biking, there’s good news for those who are, shall we say, vertically averse. The City of Durango announced this week it is adding a new connector trail in the Twin Buttes system.  The new trail, roughly a half mile long, will provide a more user-friendly connection between the Cliffrock Loop downhill and the Upper Twin Buttes uphill, aka “switchbacks of death.” 

With snow in the forecast – several feet by some predictions – locals’ minds are no doubt shifting somewhat abruptly from bikes to skis. But if the trip to the gear closet or garage found your winter kit somewhat lacking, perhaps it’s time for a little bargain-hunting road trip.

Something last visible to the Neanderthals will be visible in the night skies over the U.S. this week. No, we’re not talking woolly mammoths – but almost as good. Last visible to earthlings 80,000 years ago, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, aka C/2023 A3 will once again come in for an extremely rare  up-close, naked eye viewing.

If it seems like a season of anniversaries, you’re not mistaken. Several longtime local institutions celebrated birthdays recently, including Durango Natural Foods, Ska Brewing, Maria’s Bookshop and yours truly. And now those flexible, grounded, soothing (and amazingly strong!) folks at YogaDurango are celebrating 18 years in the practice of making us all feel better.

The gold rush is on, but not in the way you might think. Apparently, every Coloradan and their dog(s) flocked to the mountains last weekend to gawk at Mother Nature’s autumn splendor. And while those of us in the San Juans might have experienced minor frustration over parking at the trail head, the Front Range was a whole different sort of peeping pandemonium.

Durango’s airwaves are going to the dogs. Literally. This week, Hutton Broadcasting, based in Santa Fe, announced the launch of DoggyFM KKDoG, 99.7FM. As the name would suggest, the new station is “tailored for man’s best friend” (we would assume all other people are included in that generalization as well).