Driving the roads of La Plata County in search of the elusive glow in the sky while playing dodge-the-deer and turn-into-the-skid gives one time to ponder some eternal questions:
“How many people fell off the ladder while putting up their Christmas lights?” With the corollary, “Are local orthopedists taking their families to Bali for Christmas after the increase in business?”
“How much do these people's electricity bills go up in December?” (For most, not much. Light-emitting diode bulbs have cut the cost to a fraction of what it used to be.)
“Who has enough faith that if they put lights up in the back of the beyond, people will come?”
And, of course, the ultimate quandary – “If I say I'm just an appreciative audience, and I'll only put up outside Christmas lights when pigs fly, does Chris and Lynn Caldwell's porcine aloft mean I'll be up on a ladder next year?”
After more than 280 miles on our highways and byways, and more than a few oohs and aahs, I have discovered that while there aren't as many huge displays as in the early 2000s when I started this gig, area residents are still in the spirit and still finding new ways and new ornaments to display.
I begin with a disclaimer: These are choices based on my personal taste. I like big light displays if there's a sense of design. I am impressed by the effort, although not the display, when things seem to be thrown up willy-nilly in a random display with no sense of color or proportion.
That said, here's what I discovered in my ramblings.
King and queen of lights
Without a doubt, the king and queen of the light scene are Bill and Buff Rogers. They started small in Dallas before moving to Durango, and now their home at 2314 Scout Ridge Road has become a must-see light stop, particularly on Christmas Eve.
Santa and his posse – Frosty the Snowman, the Gingerbread Man, the Blue Spruce and Santa's head elf – spent about six hours one evening handing out candy canes – and on one memorable evening, presenting an engagement ring to one happy couple.
People also leave thank-you notes and children's letters to Santa in their mailbox.
“My favorite was, 'Your lights make me happier than a Christmas puppy,'” Buff Rogers said.
Highlights in their massive display include the Eiffel Tower, a Ferris wheel, penguins and the flagpole tree that can be seen from way down on Florida Road. And if you stop by, be sure to open your window for the Christmas carols soundtrack.
The veteran lighting gurus have some advice for first-timers.
“Beware, it's addictive,” Buff said, while “Get a good handyman,” was her husband's response.
Coming in a close second is the home of Joe Puckett at 620 County Road 233. Sure, being an electrician gives him an advantage, but his house clearly is a labor of love. Some of my favorite items in Puckett's yard are the polar bears on the teeter-totter, Santa taking off through the trees in the side yard and the carolers on the roof of the carport.
A touch of elegance
Three houses tie for my vote on the most elegant. Carroll “Pete” and Maxine Peterson's home at 622 East Third Ave., has gotten a vote in all 11 years I've been checking out the lights. Pete, now into his 80s, spent a number of years fine-tuning his design, including getting the scalloped lights hanging from the eaves with perfect spacing, and now their Victorian looks like a giant, magical gingerbread house every year.
Tom and Debra Cummins at 23 Ophir Drive in SkyRidge have a small, serene glade with “reindeer” grazing, while the front of their home is all white lights, greenery and red bows.
“I wanted to create a winter wonderland because all the grandchildren will be here,” Debra said, beaming at the thought of her family's next generation, which ranges in age from 7 months to 5 years. The family actually will be four generations for the holiday, with Tom's mother, Barbara Cummins, 89, coming up from Farmington for the festivities. “Christmas at our home is big.”
No kidding. New this year is a row of giant handmade red-and-white lollipops leading up to the front door.
“It's amazing the ideas you can get from HGTV,” Debra said.
By now readers probably have realized that I am a sucker for an all-white lights display when well done. So, the third elegant home falls in that category, too.
New this year but clearly just getting started are Mike and Monette McCallum at 1017 East Third Ave. They clearly worked with the design of their Craftsman-style home in their display.
“I need an electrician,” she said about her new passion. (See Joe Puckett, above.)
In another disclaimer, my family owned the house for a period in the 1960s, but it never looked that good while under Butler management.
Variety is the spice
I am the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of blow-up Christmas decorations, but for sheer volume and variety – including the aforementioned flying pig, which isn't a blow-up but a lighted decoration – and for taking full advantage of their corner lot, the Caldwells, who live at 1932 Forest Ave., on Crestview, score a nod.
Their display, which takes the whole family several days to assemble, is particularly meaningful when you learn that Chris Caldwell, who had been struggling with vision issues, lost the remainder of his sight this year. But he was determined to put the decorations up anyway because he “loves hearing the laughter and joy in the children's voices as they pass by,” Lynelle Caldwell said.
Now that's the Christmas spirit!
Who'd decorate all the way out there?
Three homes are remarkable not only for their lights but for the fact that they do it far out in the county, where you have to get complicated directions just to find them.
For the Emeneger clan, decorating is all in the family. Rex and Donna Emeneger, at 280 Sundance Circle, live just across the field from his 96-year-old mother, Grace Emeneger, at 382 Cassidy Drive, off County Road 510. Both homes are decorated to the nines.
Rex Emeneger worries the glow from their lights will distract pilots on a landing approach to Durango-La Plata County Airport, and the glow certainly is magnified by the snow combined with the surrounding darkness. But Rex, I'm going to have to give the bragging rights to mom because her decorations just ooze charm.
So far out I was afraid I might not be found until the spring thaw is the home of Fred and Wendy Wolsleger at 456 Misty Mountain Lane, off County Road 228. It was worth the drive. The first thing you see is the 10-foot star on top of the house, which is visible in the sky from one-third mile away.
“We started six years ago with the star,” Wendy Wolsleger said, “and over the years have added music and more lights each year.”
Man, have they. Their barn is decorated with a light show set to the music on 92.3 FM, and it's great fun to watch. I didn't go up the very steep hill to check the lights up at their house, but even from a distance, they were beautiful.
And far on the other side of the county, the home of John and Debbie Lee at 11442 County Road 120 is an oasis of lights in the darkness. Also first-timers in the lighting department, the Lees and their four children, Johnnie, 16, Jessica, 14, and twins David and Danielle, 12, spent several days building and installing their decorations.
Theirs are much more detailed and easily seen after going up their driveway for a closer view, but the family's very protective dog wasn't crazy about a stranger approaching his house in the middle of the night. I'm pretty sure he's still gloating about having routed the threat.
Bits and pieces
Bill and Jerri Morris, at 327 Hillcrest Drive at the corner of Lewis Mountain Lane in the Hillcrest subdivision, don't have a huge display, but what they do have are two of my favorites.
The Charlie Brown Christmas includes the whole gang – Charlie, Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and his doghouse – in a vignette built by the couple. And the train with the rolling wheels may be the single best decoration in town. At the home of Sonia and Lawrence Miera, at 604 Pleasant Drive off Junction Creek Road, the first thing that catches the eye is the large star on top of the tree at the corner.
“That's getting harder every year,” she said about installing the star. “He backs his truck up next to it and puts the ladder in the bed to reach the top.”
My favorite decoration at their home is the countdown to Christmas. Only nine days to get that shopping and baking done and those cards written. Yikes.
Sandy Burke does have some lights at her house, but it's the folk art-style theme she creates every year from recycled and repurposed materials that makes her home at 863 East College Drive, just before the curve when the street turns into Goeglein Gulch Road, special.
She has had Santa's sleigh capsized in a tree and other catastrophes, but this year the theme is Dueling Santas. I imagined they are trying to decide which one gets to take out Rudolph and Dasher, Dancer, Vixen et al. for this year's deliveries.
Other houses I found when I had already finished my official driving included one on Arroyo Drive just up from Needham Elementary School and a charming display on 32nd Street. (It's a bit of a curse – once you start looking for lights, it's hard to stop.)
The Leonard home at 1812 Crestview Drive is a symphony in red and white, and Gary and Jan Derck's home at 34 Tanglewood Drive in Rockridge is besieged by, uh, decorated with, its customary flock of flamingos.
Shag Reimer's home out at 470 County Road 218 may include the only decorated windmill in La Plata County.
Which just goes to prove that there still are hidden light delights around every corner. Check out Oak and Aspen drives off Florida Road and the streets of old Animas City to make some discoveries of your own.
Just remember to drive safely, so you don't end up playing dodge-the-deer or turn-into-the-skid, too.
abutler@durangoherald.com
Put your house on our map
Go to www.durangoherald.com/holidaylights to view a map of holiday lights and submit your own.
How to get there
In the city of Durango, most of the houses mentioned are easy to find. But those in the county require a GPS or some navigation tips:
To reach the Puckett home at 620 County Road 233, go east on U.S. Highway 160 to Three Springs Boulevard, the turn for Mercy Regional Medical Center. Turn left, then immediately turn right on County Road 233. Continue to the top of the hill.
The Emeneger households at 382 Cassidy Drive and 280 Sundance Circle can be reached by heading east on U.S. Highway 160 past Elmore's Corner and down the hill to the new intersection. Turn right (south) on County Road 225A and follow it to the stop sign. Turn left at the sign on County Road 510 and continue up the hill and around to Cassidy Drive. Turn right on Cassidy.
The Wolsleger home at 456 Misty Mountain Drive is perhaps the trickiest to reach. After heading east on U.S. Highway 160 to Elmore's Corner, turn north on County Road 234 and continue north to County Road 228. (It also can be reached by going out Florida Road to the fire station and turning south.) Turn right. Where it merges with County Road 225, make a right turn, and then County Road 228 takes a left fork. Continue on 228, passing the intersection with County Road 224 and going another 1.3 miles after the pavement ends. Turn right on Misty Mountain Drive and proceed straight up the hill. The road is narrow with a small turnaround, so if you see a lot of cars ahead of you, give them a chance to come back down before proceeding. And don't forget to tune your radio to 92.3 FM for the musical accompaniment.
To check out Shag Reimer's windmill, go south on U.S. Highway 550 to Sunnyside Elementary School. Turn left immediately after the school on County Road 218 and proceed around the curve to 470 County Road 218.
John and Debbie Lee's home is in the southwest corner of the county. Go east out U.S. Highway 160 to Hesperus, and turn south on Colorado Highway 140. (It also can be reached by going out Wildcat Canyon and turning north on Highway 140.) Turn left, and go south past the Old Campus of Fort Lewis College. Turn right (west) on County Road 120 and proceed to the intersection with County Road 122. The house is at 11442 County Road 120.
