Horseback riders on Main Avenue, the scrumptious scent of sizzling bacon and eggs, and the sound of prop pistols firing into the air were telltale signs the Durango Cowboy Gathering was back in town on Saturday.
After a night of rain, thunder and lightning, the skies over Durango began to clear just in time for the Horseback Social, a newer feature of the Cowboy Gathering first introduced last year that returned on Saturday.
Equestrians on the backs of horses, mules and burros moseyed up and down Main Avenue, which was gated off to motor traffic, offering rides to eager youngsters.
The Cowboy Gathering was held Wednesday through Saturday this year.
Staples of the Cowboy Gathering such as the chuckwagon breakfast, the Wild West shootout and the Cowboy Parade were held Saturday.
Several thousand spectators lined the sidewalks on Main Avenue to watch the Cowboy Parade. The Bayfield Belles, the Victorians and Durango Cowboy Church proceeded up Main Avenue along with groups such as Salt of the Earth Ranch and Bears Ranch.
The parade was completely motorless, in line with old Western themes. Participants walked, rode their horses or were pulled in wagons.
“I just love bringing history to life. Like, it’s so cool. There's so much culture and history just in Durango,” Jessica Sugar Wolf, a member of the Victorians, said.
Dan Walstad, who played the outlaw in the Wild West shootout on Main Avenue, said he enjoys playing cowboys as seen in old Western films, and he has fun performing shootouts.
He performs shootouts at the Georgetown Loop Railroad and reenacts four train robberies per year.
“Die every time,” he said of the Durango shootout, which is a reenactment of a real shootout that occurred in Durango in 1906.
“And I cry every time,” Sugar Wolf chimed.
Chari Perce was brushing her burro Charlie beside her horse trailer on East Second Avenue as the stormy weather cleared.
“We’re going to be miners,” she said with a smile.
She reached into her trailer and produced a puppet miner that had a gray, long and a bedraggled beard. The miner will ride Charlie, she said.
Perce enjoys entertaining children at the Cowboy Gathering and other events like the Mancos BurroFest.
The Cowboy Gathering represents fellowship with family, friends and community, she said. And, of course, Durango’s history.
She said she has plans to portray a prominent figure from Durango’s history for next year’s Cowboy Gathering, but the details are a secret.
Charlie, she said, is a 7-year-old “BLM” burro – a wild burro that was rescued by the Bureau of Land Management and auctioned off to Perce.
Charlie leaned his head against Perce as she talked. He was nervous and hard to approach at first, she said. But after a lot of time and dedication, he came around.
“You’d better have a lot of patience,” she said. “If you don’t have patience, you’re not going to make it. Burros and mules have an amazing memory. They’re different from horses. If you hurt them once, that’s it, they’ll hold a grudge forever.”
Charlie is enthusiastic when it comes to giving kids rides, she said. She held a children’s program at Durango Cowboy Church over the summer, and Charlie was having as much fun as the kids.
“How cool is that, for a kid to get to experience riding a burro? I never got to do that. This is passing on to the next generation just an understanding of history,” she said.
It’s important Durango’s history and how tough the mining life was is not forgotten, she said.
Saturday was packed full of events, including a Western Dance scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Wild Horse Saloon. Poets and musicians were scheduled to perform at Toh-Atin Gallery, where artist Clark Kelley Price will sign posters of his work. Singer Dave Stamey was scheduled to perform at the DoubleTree Hotel at 7:30 p.m.
A full event list is available online at durangocowboygathering.org/schedule/
cburney@durangoherald.com
