Columnists - The Durango Herald

Sit spot in the ponderosa

It was mid-day at 8,500 feet amid the Ponderosa and Oak scrub of Top of the Pines Preserve outside Ridgway. The grasses, dried and aromatic, reminded me of chaparral. Luckily, I had been sit...

DATE: Sep 12, 2025 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

Do simple things well, to mow or not, and other retirement musings

To mow or not to mow. That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler to cultivate green, weed free space or to xeriscape. Here in dry Southwest Colorado, I have felt some guilt for still having a...

DATE: Sep 12, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Cousin mired in miserable rough patch

DEAR ABBY: I love my cousin “Carly” like a sister. We come from a large family, and both of us are estranged from our mothers (who are sisters) as well as our siblings. We’re OK with this be...

DATE: Sep 12, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Following one of the wanderers

Greetings, stargazers. Saturday is named for the prominent figure in Roman mythology. In addition to stargazing, this month should be great for Saturn-gazing. To ancient astronomers, Saturn ...

DATE: Sep 11, 2025 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Westward Wagons on the Oregon Trail

Between 1840 and 1860, 300,000 to 400,000 Americans moved west on covered wagons for 2,100 miles across the Oregon and California trails. In those two decades they transformed our nation and...

DATE: Sep 11, 2025 | CATEGORY: Gulliford's Travels

2-Bit Tom Kipp serves up an all analog listening experience

Tom Kipp is into sharing the music he’s collected his whole life. A DJ in the most traditional sense, he spins music from vinyl records played on a good-old turntable. If he hasn’t tattooed ...

DATE: Sep 10, 2025 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Students lose when districts ignore teachers’ previous degrees

Durango School District’s pay scale may discourage teachers with advanced degrees and undermine student success

DATE: Sep 10, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Boyfriend has personal relationship with boss

DEAR ABBY: I am a man whose long-distance boyfriend of one year has a married female best friend. (She’s his boss.) She is also a tobacco-addicted narcissist who drinks a lot. They chat on t...

DATE: Sep 10, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

The diet that fights inflammation – and why it matters for your arthritis and beyond

We hear a lot about the Mediterranean diet and its many health benefits. So, what makes this eating pattern so powerful? At its core, the Mediterranean diet is one example of an anti-inflamm...

DATE: Sep 9, 2025 | CATEGORY: Healing Nutrition

Thirty-one years of experience proves to be no help

Even in a drought, fly fishing can be fun with the right steps

DATE: Sep 7, 2025 | CATEGORY: Flies & Lies

A better deal for students, employers and communities

For too long, we’ve treated “going to college” as if it were the same thing as “getting an education.” But that’s like saying “putting food in your mouth” is the same as “good nutrition.” It...

DATE: Sep 7, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

America is abandoning its most powerful defense against disease

For more than two centuries, vaccines have been humanity’s most effective shield against viral disease. In 1800, Boston physicians began using Edward Jenner’s smallpox inoculation; by 1809, ...

DATE: Sep 7, 2025 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns