Ear to the ground

“It’s ground zero for the jihad against hippies.”

– A local desert rat discussing the stretch of highway between Page, Ariz., and Kanab, Utah

Irish Olympics

Durango has a chance to add a green feather to its cap. The Irish Embassy, Durango’s very own taste of the Emerald Isle, is currently a front runner in the Best Irish Bar national competition.

Hosted by Strangford Lough Brewing Co. and Irish Beer Finder.com, the contest is based on the number and quality of reviews written for each of the pubs in contention. The bar with the highest ratings (which takes into account the number of reviews and the bar ratings) will eventually be crowned as the best Irish bar in North America. The overall winning bar and one lucky reviewer, chosen at random, will also win two flights to Las Vegas, home of the best benders in the country. Awards will also be given to the best Irish Bars in each state.

The competition is easy to enter – simply pour yourself a pint, sit down at the keyboard, log onto IrishBeerFinder.com and tap out a review. Feel free to take your time (and pour a second pint) – in the event of a tie, the winner will be selected based on the quality of the reviews. Every bar review written on Irishbeerfinder.com between now and 5 p.m. Oct. 31 will be entered into the competition.

Don’t delay. The Irish Embassy could use a few nudges toward the finish line. As of press time, the local pub was sitting in fifth place behind the likes of Croagh Patrick’s Pub in Ohio; O’Neal’s Irish Pub in Pennsylvania; Bub’s Irish Pub in Wisconsin; and Hibernian Pub in North Carolina.

The Hippy Loop

Durangoans can put their stamp on the Hippy Loop this Saturday. In honor of The Community Foundation’s first annual Make A Difference Day, Trails 2000 is going to add a little length to the Phil’s World trail system near Cortez. Volunteers are needed to help bust out a new trail in a day and enhance one of Southwest Colorado’s best singletrack systems.

The plan is to construct the Hippy Loop adjacent to the beginner loop (known as the Trust Loop). In a similar effort, volunteers built the Trust Loop in a single day last year. A big turnout is crucial to the project, and the Kokopelli Bike Club is already rallying the Cortez masses. Trails 2000 is hoping that Durangoans will put in a little time for their favorite shoulder season singletrack.

As if fresh trail isn’t incentive enough incentive, Trails 2000 will also buy you lunch and give you a schwag bag, courtesy of the Community Foundation. To sign up for the freebies, visit www.trails2000.org. The workday will get under way at 8:30 a.m. and run until noon. Bring your bike to get to the worksite.