"When they start raising their eyebrows and rolling their eyes at everything you say, it's time for them to go."

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Popping into The Ranch

Apparently, the fun wasn't over last Saturday night till the former fat man sang.

 

After delivering a soggy but spirited performance at the Aztec Speedway on Aug. 24, Blues Traveler frontman John Popper high-tailed it up to Durango, where he gave an impromptu show at none other than El Rancho Tavern.

 

The show was kept mostly secret, until a few days before the show, when El Rancho sent out a social media blast.

 

Max Duenas, owner of Bobbi D's Deli, was among those lucky enough to be front and center Saturday night, although he admits to not being slightly clueless as to the serendipity that was about to unfold.

 

"My buddy just handed me a wristband," said Duenas.

 

From there, it was not just another night at The Ranch, as Popper took to the "stage" with one of his side projects, My Brother's Keeper, a rock and roll band out of Vail.

 

"They probably took the stage at 10ish and played till the bar closed," he said. "They were completely jamming."

 

While Duenas admits he would be hard-pressed to find Blues Traveler on his iPod, he thoroughly enjoyed the show. "It was awesome," he said. "It was probably the best show I've seen in Durango."

 

In fact, he even went so far as to call the vibe in The Ranch that evening "intimate."

 

"I felt like I was back in a bar in the ’20s, listening to good music and drinking whiskey and scotch and smoking cigarettes."

 

Except, of course, for the "cigarettes" part, as the Ranch is smoke-free, something Johnny Depp allegedly learned during his visit to the local watering hole.

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Have clicker, will travel

Birds my be flying south for the winter, but volunteers are needed to track a migration of a different sort.

 

The City of Durango is looking for a few good folks to count bicyclists and pedestrians throughout town as part of The National Bicycle Pedestrian Documentation Project, Tues. - Thurs., Sept. 10-12. Volunteers are needed to count bike riders and walkers at nine strategic locations in town during the main commuting hours of 7 - 9 a.m. and 4 - 6 p.m. Having accurate numbers will help the City get a better handle on how bike and pedestrian infrastructure is being used, or isn't being used. The information gathered will also be vital in trying to grant funding for alternative transportation projects, such as sidewalk repair, bicycle facilities and transit system improvements.

 

To volunteer, go contact multi-modal organizer Wade Moore at wade.moore@durangogov.org or call 375-4952.