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| Ear to the ground “Those aren’t Raisinettes!” – Local father offering junior an important lesson on wintertime scat identification Another near miss Among the amenities touted at our “Rockies outpost” neighbor to the east is the 2.5-million-acre San Juan National Forest that “shares much of the same terrain as Durango ... with fewer crowds.” It also extolled the virtues of the new Pagosa Hut and Trail System, with its 36-mile backcountry network, fly fishing for rainbows on the San Juan and the 18-mile Alberta Peak Loop on the Continental Divide Trail. Silverton was lauded for its Victorian charm and “old train station.” The best way into town, according to the mag, is a “ride on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad” – although strangely enough, it did not mention a round trip. The article also suggested “epic hiking” on some of the major fourteeners – Elous, Sunlight and Windom – and downhill biking on the “thrilling – and advanced level” Silverton Mountain. And last but not least was Telluride, our glitzier neighbor to the north, which was praised for options from “schussing around Mountain Village” to its bevy of summer festivals, all the while “Bridalveil waterfalls ... thunder down in the distance.” There was also a shout-out to Phils’ World (although sadly, Cortez did not make the list either) as well as a “whitewater assault” on the San Miguel. Other nearby towns making the grade were Moab, Vail and Carbondale (which incidentally was winner of the “most unlikely photo award” for a shot of a conspicuously dry-haired woman hiking from the Crystal River with her playboat and no dry top. Talk about adventurous.) Morgan buys a vowel |