A day at the Durango carnival
To the editor,
When the carnival comes to most small cities, its transitory stature is its essence. In parks, makeshift little league baseball diamonds and otherwise formerly quiet fields, there is suddenly an oasis of inorganic oddity. Only in a city as diverse and fluid as Durango does it seem to be just another individual – in the middle of nowhere, on its way somewhere and who knows when.

With enough observation blurred by oversized pretzels and fried dough, one begins to understand the magnetic fascination these places hold. The anticipation builds as you walk through the parking lot toward the show and start to occasionally trip over the massive black electric cords leading toward the noise like funky metallic roots nourishing an enormous electric tree.  

Then, a rich mixture of glucose, fat and “fresh lemonade” in vapor form enter your lungs – having the fascinating effect of making you willing to spend over $100 in one night on machines scientifically orchestrated to make you throw up your roasted corn onto your funnel cake and maybe, just maybe, win an inflatable hammer or a two-ton teddy bear that couldn’t fit in the rec center, much less on your girlfriend’s bed. And even if it happened for you afterward by coincidence, rest assured that it was neither of the aforementioned that got you lucky that night.

But that is definitely not what the carnies would have you believe. Not as you walk by their booth and they taunt you to step up and be more of a man for your date and win her a stuffed pink cheetah by squirting a steady stream of water into a clown’s mouth. Or throwing ping pong balls into little glass bowls filled with water in hopes of winning a goldfish (of which I now own two – Marcello and Wanda).

The carnies are one of the most awesome parts of the festival. They all have nametags indicating the Midwestern city from which they hale, but I have come to the conclusion that these are untrue attempts at hiding their truly Martian awesomeness. These beings come from Planet Carnie – a planet whose natives learn two skills: 1. the art of the three-second-rapid-fire-verbal-hustle; and 2. the power to bend the rules of physics just enough to get $20 off of you but not enough to get Homeland Security interested.

What’s that? You want me to try and cover that red circle with five steel discs that are nearly the same size? Can’t be that hard – don’t be ridiculous. What was ridiculous (but fun) was the $15 failingly spent on winning a $1 stuffed animal and the knowledge that my eighth-grade geometry teacher owes me an apology.

Or how about the guys beckoning you to come over and “just toss the ball in the bucket, man!  Here look, it’s this easy.” Then they say some wicked juju prayer in their heads et viola ... witchcraft works! Either that or Ground Control on Planet Carnie was listening and ready.

As inherently odd as this spectacle is and as spectacularly odd as you have become by joining it, that, I found, is the fun of it. Whomever you go with, be it your family, or spouse or buddy, for that brief time you become Siamese twins – joined at the weirdness. And only in a place as eclectic as Durango do you wonder if perhaps this colorful traveling show might somehow decide to stay.

 
– Nathan Lucy, Durango

Keep Sailing Hawks challenging
To the editor,
Have you seen the recent trail “improvements” to the Sailing Hawks mountain bike trails? How someone sledgehammered rocks and cut down trees? It makes my heart sink. This is just the latest – and most extreme – episode in a trail simplification process that has been ongoing for more than a year, and represents a real loss to our mountain bike community.

Simplifying the Sailing Hawks riding experience, whether by sledgehammering, cutting trees or stacking rocks, ruins the very thing that makes Sailing Hawks great: its challenge. This has been my favorite riding area for years exactly because it’s hard. My first ride there was humbling; I dismounted time and time again. But, year after year, every ride there made me a little bit better as I slowly gained the techniques necessary to maneuver through complex rock gardens and coax the bike over table sized boulders. Riding cleanly through a section or over a feature for the first time felt like a real accomplishment, like winning a fight. “One day,” I’d joke with friends while sessioning a tricky bit, “we’ll clean every feature on this ride and feel like Rocky Balboa pumping his arms in the air at the top of the stairs.” But, with each tree removed, unnecessary rock added to a feature, and section of trail simplified, I’ve felt that goal steadily cheapened.

This raises the question how are we to judge good trail work from bad? I suggest we use the standard offered by one of Durango’s master trail builders. While teaching me how to give an overgrown trail a haircut he wisely offered, “the most important thing when working on popular and established trails is maintaining their character.”

From Horse Gulch to Test Tracks, we’re blessed with abundance singletrack whose character is buff and flowing. But, that’s not what Sailing Hawks has been, and I strongly disagree with folks pushing it in that direction. If Durango really is the great bike mecca we fancy, why are we allowing one of our only expert level non-freeride trails to be taken away from us? After all, where else besides Skyline can one encounter committing technical obstacles and practice the bike handling skills necessary to confidently ride Moab, Grand Junction and countless other areas?

So, I propose that we make a commitment as a bike community to keep Sailing Hawks challenging. If you see someone changing its character, please talk to them. If you’re going to stack a rock, don’t selfishly cheapen a line that others have worked hard to figure out. How about creating a new line instead? And if you can’t clean a section, keep trying. One day you will, and that’s what makes riding there special.

– Chris Strouthopoulos, Durango

Shan finally gets it right
Dear Ed,
In as much as I’ve been a strong critic of Shan Wells’ progress/liberal stance in his editorial cartoons, it’s only fair to extend kudos when he gets it right (pun intended). His take last week on Attorney General Holder’s attack on the media was spot on. In light of the many scandals like Fast & Furious gun running, Benghazi, IRS targeting conservative as well as Christian nonprofits and attacks on the media, I want to change my view on this administration: It is not only incompetent, but it appears to be dishonest, too. Perhaps Obama is channeling Nixon! I can hardly wait for the full roll out of Obamacare. I’m sorry to say, Nancy Pelosi was right when she said, “We have to pass this bill in order to know what’s in it.”

– Dennis Pierce, Durango