Ear to the ground

“My quality of life has improved significantly since I got this new pair of head phones!”

– An easy-to-please Durangoan basking in the glow of a new purchase

Cowboy Christmas

Durango will score a little bizarre Technicolor time next week. The local burg is set to be featured in an upcoming Home and Garden Television episode on “Top Christmas Towns.” The one-hour special will air at 8 p.m. on Dec. 7.

HGTV scoured the nation for cities, towns and communities that celebrate the holidays in unique ways. The 10 towns, including Durango, “tell one-of-a-kind stories from the people who live there,” according to producers. In the case of Durango, HGTV found an especially unusual side of the town, one that eludes most long-term residents.

“Families use found items from the Old West for ornaments and trimmings, including cowboy boots as stockings, chaps as table runners or bridle bits as garland to wrap around stairwells or railings,” the producers say.

While there’s no mention of cowboy Santa riding in on Christmas Eve and bucking down Main, the show does give a shout out to the D&SNG’s Polar Express which started its trips to the “North Pole” this week. Families should be turning out in force for the ride as soon as they’re done garlanding with chaps and bridles.

Towns and cities like New Orleans, San Antonio and North Pole, Alaska, made the cut as well. Viewers will also get a sampling of “Christmas by the Sea” and, of course, the highly anticipated “Ozarks Christmas.”

Parked in

Still think local land prices are wildly out of reach? A new for sale sign as one of our chi chi neighbors to the north represent the most expensive piece of real estate ever. A man recently listed his parking space in Vail’s Founders Garage at $500,000.

“That’s what I think the going rate is going to be from now on,” Buzz Schleper, the spot’s owner, told theVail Daily. “Parking is going up in Vail, and it’s a block from the Vista Bahn.”

Schleper may not be that far off the mark. Parking spots in the garage, which is heated and has 114 spaces, have sold for as much as $350,000. Schleper told the paper that he thinks his price is fair. The spot is located on the top floor next to the exit, after all.

“There’s always somebody out there who has money to spend on a good Vail parking spot,” he said. “I’m sure it’ll sell. There’s no hurry.”