Ear to the ground

“My husband competed in the First International High Five Competition. He didn’t win, but he scored a sweet T-shirt.”

-Local woman recounting a highlight of a weekend trip to Austin, Texas

The countdown begins

It’s almost time for blast off in New Mexico. Space tourism is expected to take off as early as 2009, and launches are planned for Las Cruces. For a mere $200,000 you, too, can leave the atmosphere aboard a Virgin Galatic rocket.

Virgin Galactic is an offshoot of British entrepreneur Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. The company is building a six-passenger spacecraft and will launch suborbital space flights as early as 2009. Travelers will be shot 75 miles above the Earth at speeds as high as 3,000 mph.

The complete trip is expected to last around two hours including 45 minutes each for take-off and landing. Initial trips will take off from Mohave, Calif., but Virgin Galactic plans to build a spaceport and hotel near Las Cruces thanks to $20 million in funding from New Mexico.

The flight’s $200,000 price tag (including a $20,000 down payment) may seem a little steep, but more than 200 amateur astronauts have already ponied up. The company plans to carry about 500 travelers into space in its first year. Virgin Galatic is also working on technology to allow orbital flights, which would mean one-hour trips around the globe, and expects all of the trips to become more “affordable” in time.

Equitrekking into Durango

Durango is going to get some major technicolor time beginning next week. The new public television series “Equitrekking” will profile Durango beginning May 7.

Hosted by Darley Newman, “Equitrekking” is the first television series to discover “spectacular destinations” on horseback. In May, Darley travels to Durango and visits Wilderness Trails Ranch and Vallecito Lake. According to the PR, “This series takes them out on several riding adventures and highlights the breathtaking scenery, the challenges of a cattle drive, and the fun to be had when a cowgirl’s work is done.”

The show will air on KNME, Albuquerque, beginning May 7. It shows Mondays at 9 & 9:30 p.m. and Thursdays and Saturdays at 7 & 7:30 p.m.