WebDurango Special Sections: South West Summer Guide 2003

If you are fortunate enough to be in Durango on July 11, 12 or 13, you have the opportunity to attend the Four Corners Gem and Mineral Show at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. This is a show that rockhounds won�t want to miss and even if you aren�t a true rockhound, there are many terrific displays and fascinating demonstrations. Dazzling samples will delight children and adults alike.

This summer, the Four Corners Gem and Mineral Club will present its 50th annual gem and mineral show July 11-13.

It is free and open to the public, so all you have to do is just go and enjoy! There are more than two dozen educational displays that fascinate and inform. Thirty quality gem, mineral, fossil and jewelry dealers will be showing their wares too. Children�s grab bags, hourly door prizes, a blacklight fluorescent display and food vendors will round out this event.

For more information, call Tricia Jacobson at 970-385-6877 or 970-749-8980, or Marie Wester at 970-247-9648.

The Four Corners Rally in the Rockies is the new name for the motorcycle rally that has been held here each Labor Day weekend for the past 10 years. Although the rally officially begins August 28th, scenic rides will be organized for early birds starting August 24th.

Lodging and events will be offered throughout the area including Durango, Durango Mountain Resort, Ignacio, and Aztec, NM.

Concerts by Edgar Winter, Blue Oyster Cult, Smokin� Joe Kubek and others will keep the rally rockin� for the long weekend. Biker events include poker runs, scenic rides, the Vietnam Memorial Wall, bike and car shows, contests, races and field events, and a parade through downtown Durango.

There are 55 acres of camping space available, as well as lodging packages at local establishments. For more information and a complete schedule of events, call 866-TO-RALLY, or visit www.rallyintherockies.com.

The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic started with a boy, a bike, and a brother. Young Tom Mayer was a bike enthusiast and his older brother Jim was an engineer on the local railroad. Tom challenged Jim to a race. The steam whistle blew, and they were off! The two raced north to the tiny mining town of Silverton with Tom on a 10-speed and Jim in the train engine. Tom pedaled 47 miles over two mountain passes and 5,500 vertical feet. When he became strong enough to win, people sat up and took notice. In 1972 a group of 36 riders celebrated the season�s first train by racing it to Silverton.

So began the annual rite of spring known as the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. The 32nd race is scheduled for May 24 � 27 this year. It is one of the 10 largest such races in the country and is the largest continuously run cycling event in the U.S..

The train, with limited speed, takes 3 � hours to reach Silverton, following a shorter and easier route than the highway. Of the professional bike riders, men finish in about 2 hours, women in 2 � hours.

Travelers should be aware that U.S. Hwy 550 north of Durango will be closed from Durango Mountain Resort to Silverton between 8:30 a.m. and noon on Saturday for the road race. You can even race the riders � ride the Heart Train! The historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train leaves Durango at 8:15 a.m. Saturday for Silverton. Round-trip tickets are $59 each, with a portion of the proceeds going to the American Heart Association.

In addition to the road race, there are many other events such as criteriums, circuit races, BMX races, dual slaloms, and more. About 2,000 total competitors are expected for the races, with another 3,000-6,000 spectators to cheer them on. For more information on the Iron Horse Classic, call 970-259-4621 or visit the event website at: www.ironhorsebicycleclassic.com.

Durango�s premier arts event celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The Main Avenue Arts Festival will be held August 9th and 10th in downtown Durango. Festival hours are Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

This lively outdoor festival features nearly 100 artisans from around the country, offering painting, jewelry, pottery, photography, sculpture, and metal, glass, wood, and fiber arts. The Food Court has delicious samplings from area restaurants and microbreweries. Creation Station features face painting and hands-on children�s activities.

The Wells Fargo Bank Main Stage will be the setting for an eclectic array of artists performing rock, jazz, and folk music, Celtic music and dance, Afro-Caribbean drumming and dance, Native American flute, juggling, and more.

The Main Avenue Arts Festival is the major fundraising event for the Durango Arts Center. It�s also a great place to enjoy art, music, people watching, strolling and shopping on historic Main Avenue. For more information call the Arts Center at (970) 259-2606.

This summer�s season of fine classical music will feature two Van Cliburn medalists along with more than 50 world-renowned musicians and many noted soloists, all of whom relish their role as members of the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra under the accomplished baton of Maestro Mischa Semanitzky. The 2003 program will provide these professional musicians with opportunities to perform classical works as varied as our diverse audiences here in the Four Corners region.

From favorite compositions by Beethoven and Brahms to great American contributions from Bernstein and Copland, the 25-concert season will offer music lovers of all ages a host of choices, including:

Five Festival Orchestra concerts at the Purgatory Village Tent; Five Chamber Music concerts also held at Durango Mountain Resort; Three special concerts at the stunning BootJack Ranch east of Pagosa Springs; Seven performances by Conservatory Faculty and Young Artists held at Fort Lewis College; and such special community events as the Family Festivo and Instrument Expo as well as the highlight of the season, Vaughan Williams choral masterpiece, Dona Nobis Pacem, to be performed by the Durango Choral Society and the University of New Mexico Chorus at the Community Concert Hall.

The season begins July 13, with Brass & Barbecue at the Silver Mountain Guest Ranch, and runs through August 3. For ticket information, please call the Festival office at (970) 385-6820 or visit the Web site: www.musicinthemountains.com. Music in the Mountains is a 501(c)(3) organization and is supported by grants from foundations and generous donations from many individuals and local businesses.

Embellishing on Roy Rogers� classic western tune, and celebrating the 100th anniversary of western film, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad 2003 Railfest celebration is "Happy Rails to You�"

In 1903 Edison films released the very first �motion� picture, a western called The Great Train Robbery. One hundred years later, trains still hold our fascination and continue to play an important role in western film.

Each and every year in late August, friends from around the country pay tribute to the history and culture of railroading at the D&SNGRR�s annual Railfest celebration. This year�s event, scheduled August 21-24, 2003, includes special excursions pulled by the 1875 Eureka & Palisades wood burning locomotive, Rio Grande Southern�s 1933 Galloping Goose Motor numbers 1 & 5, and model railroad exhibits. There will also be an invitational Single Action Shooting Society western shooting match and train robbery. A slide presentation by famed railroad photographer and historian Al Chione depicts the last year of trains from Alamosa in December (1968). The Presidential Special train will include all of the D&SNGRR�s first-class private coaches.

In 1949 Denver & Rio Grande painted locomotive 268 with a brilliant black and gold paint scheme for the Chicago Railroad Fair. The locomotive was so colorful, management decided to make a "painted train" on the Silverton branch as well. Up until that time, all the locomotives were basic black and the coaches were a dull "Pullman Green." Locomotive #473 and three coaches were refitted with the "loud" paint job in the Alamosa shops in an effort to help the railroad attract tourists to ride the line. Attract tourists it did and additionally, Hollywood picked up the colors. Paramount Pictures used the same colors for the locomotives and coaches in their 1952 release of Rio Grande.

The locomotive paint scheme was a combination of black and gold and was referred to as the "Bumble Bee" paint scheme. The gold coaches looked so good traveling through the green forests of the San Juan, management decided to paint the rest of the fleet. The Rio Grande Gold remains the signature color of the rolling stock on this line today. To celebrate this Hollywood western tradition, locomotive #473 will again be repainted in the black & gold colors for Railfest 2003 and will only remain these colors for a short time through the September 20th fall photo special.

Roland Healy, owner of the Vallecito Country Market, is shown with some of the carvings from the Tour of Carvings � this gives a true perspective of the size of these works of art.

Last summer�s Missionary Ridge Fire�s destruction also brought with it a fascinating tale of the creative thinking and abilities of individuals who remain to deal with the aftermath of such a devastating event.

Dave McGinnis, a resident of the Vallecito Resort area for the past 30 years, along with other determined Vallecito residents, has put together a brand new attraction in the Four Corners. It is simply called the Tour of Carvings. But simple it is not.

After the fire was finally brought under control, McGinnis�s son, Paul (now a resident of Texas), asked his father what would become of the burned trees in the area. McGinnis, Vallecito Community Council special projects coordinator, decided to look for artists who could make carvings from the massive partially burned and dying trees. He discovered someone by the name of Chad Haspels, when he called the Dolores Ranger Station of the US Forest Service where Haspels works. Haspels took an old college-days sculpture to the council to show his sculpting ability. The council went into action and an agreement was struck on the concept for the Tour of Carvings.

Each of Haspels� carvings is different from all the others. Haspels� creative artistry with chainsaw, then side-grinder and finally chisels and mallets and burnishing with a torch, makes a very interesting piece to see.

Haspels, like any true artist, was less concerned about the length of time it would take to complete each carving than he was about the quality of each. Thus, each piece is carefully worked into a very specific, unlike-any-other carving. Beginning with a chainsaw to create negative space and basic forms, Haspels then uses a side-grinder to further define the sculpted image. Next comes the finishing of the carving with chisels and mallets. The final stage to the carvings is the use of a propane torch to burnish the piece, creating a rich, finished appearance.

There are twelve carvings in all and none are for sale. Instead, people and businesses can donate monies toward the current project and its future development and have their names permanently inscribed on plaques. For individual donations, those individuals� names will be on a large plaque at the Vallecito Chamber. For businesses contributing $1,500 or more, the business name will be put on a plaque on the actual piece of art.

Maps identifying carving locations around the lake are available just below Vallecito�s dam at an information center and also at hundreds of locations within a 100-mile radius of the lake.

Of the twelve 3,000+ pound carvings, here are just a few of the unique examples to expect when enjoying the Tour of Carvings �an eagle and a female EMT, a woman of the La Plata County Sheriff�s Department (complete with very detailed cords from her phone/radio), a representation of a Colorado Mounted Ranger and his stabled horse, and a firefighter with his chainsaw. Each one is worth seeing and it is a wonderful example of recycling trees from a tragedy. It is bringing forth something new to the Four Corners that is meaningful to county residents and to visitors to our county as well. It is a beautiful tribute to all who fought the fire and worked to end it. We know you�ll find the Tour of Carvings inspirational.