Travel - The Durango Herald

Car rental companies rev up exotic offerings

LAS VEGAS – There’s a chance now for the middle class to feel like movie stars. Or for a movie star to feel like a movie star away from home. In the past few years, some of the b...

DATE: Jul 19, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Busting five myths about tipping

Tipping may be the most confusing travel behavior of all. Haven’t we all wondered about when to tip, whom to tip and how much? Let’s debunk five myths to help guide you on your next trip. ...

DATE: Jul 5, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Tiny Belize teems with jungle ruins, sea life

SAN IGNACIO, Belize – The same turquoise waters that lure tourists to Caribbean destinations slosh around Belize’s island chain. But tiny Belize has a major advantage in reeling in the holid...

DATE: Jul 5, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Scientists resume digging at La Brea Tar Pits in LA

LOS ANGELES – The public can once again get a close look at scientists working to uncover the bones of saber-toothed cats, mastodons and mammoths in the heart of Los Angeles. Offi...

DATE: Jun 28, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Fidel’s former limos reborn as taxicabs

HAVANA – In a former life they were the “comandante’s” cars: A fleet of black, boxy, Soviet-made limousines that for years were at the disposal of the presidency in Fidel Castro’s Cuba. ...

DATE: Jun 28, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

For World Cup tourists, sticker shock to kick in

RIO DE JANEIRO – World Cup visitors, welcome to Brazil, land of soccer, sun and sky-high prices. Unlike nearby Latin American nations where a tourist’s U.S. dollar or European Uni...

DATE: Jun 14, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Mysterious Manaus

50,000 World Cup tourists expected in this rainforest city

DATE: Jun 14, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Roaming the ruins

An old villa beckons darkly

DATE: Jun 14, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

More airports adopt free Wi-Fi

ATLANTA – Steve Parker, sitting in the atrium at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, was about to dig into his bag for a hot spot device when he noticed a poster nearby. ...

DATE: Jun 14, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Remembering WWI

Serenity – and beauty – emerge from Flanders Fields battlegrounds

DATE: May 31, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Swooping into Normandy

70 years after D-Day, history is alive in western France

DATE: May 17, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Airlines are expecting more travelers to fly this summer

NEW YORK – More travelers will take to the skies this summer, the U.S. airlines’ trade and lobby group predicted last week. About 210 million passengers – or 2.28 million a day– a...

DATE: May 17, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Colorado history gets weird, wild, wacky at Fashion Do’s and Don’tsAnnual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Cowboys. Fancy ladies. Gold miners. Even-toed ungulates that some in Durango might consider more like rats.Where can you find a runway show that takes you on a whirlwind tour through the weird, wacky and wildly exaggerated 150 years of Colorado history? Only at Durango’s annual Fashion Do’s and Don’ts, held Wednesday, where models and audience members wore costumes celebrating Colorado’s sesquicentennial – the theme of this year’s two-week Snowdown celebration.Standout acts included the Ghosts of Durango, which featured four of Durango’s most famous ghosts: a Rochester hotel ghost in a Victorian get-up of a more “modern” variation; the Strater Hotel’s head of housekeeping, also head of more discreet services; a young girl haunting El Rancho’s bathroom; and Sheriff Bob Thompson, killed in a 1906 gunfight. according to emcee Suzan Lane. A Another act was the Secret Circus Society, featuring Rubi Starr, Jeni Gross, Tabatha Joy Bettin, Adrienne Young and Ethan Deffenbaugh dressed as a car and the roadside pests better known as deer. Group members said the inspiration for the costume came from lived experiences driving Durango roads. The two-person Cantine Couture act starred Leslie Ponce and Tyler Frakes in an homage to the plentiful variety of Mexican restaurants found in any Colorado town. Ponce, dressed in comically large Mexican pointy cowboy boots, ambled down the runway as if taking a stroll under the hot, dusty, high-altitude sun, while Frakes flitted about the stage in a bright yellow salsa dress. Ponce said this year’s costume had been tough to decide, but the final decision was inspired by TikTok videos of Mexican cowboys in pointy boots. This was the duo’s third year strutting down the runway. Why they keep coming back for more, Frakes said laughing, was, “for the fame, the glory and the attention.”

Fashion Do’s and Don’ts has been one of the most highly anticipated Snowdown events since its inception in the 1990s. It has more than doubled in size over the past several decades. Last year, there were a record number of models, and in order to keep the event at a manageable size, this year’s fashion show was the first one to require the acts to audition. But many of the models were unfazed by the change. “It was actually easy,” said Jodi Zuber, one part of the two-person duo that made up the 1950s Texas Invader Ski Couple. Her partner-in-costume, Danny Jaques, said they had been doing this for several years, and it’s good with everything going on in the world to “get some levity and let your hair down.” The performers were not the only ones in costume. Audience members also dressed in a wide variety of unique takes on what makes Colorado, Colorado. JonBenet Ramsey made a miraculous appearance, being played by an 82-year-old woman, as did Casa Bonita, an ensemble that included a taco, sopaipilla and gorilla in chains – to name some of the characters. By the end of the show, people were in high spirits, as usual. “It was just delightful,” said a first-time audience member. If blessed with the chance to get the much coveted tickets – he said he would jump on it. jbowman@durangoherald.com

Annual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Photos: Snowdown 2026 Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Durango High School basketball teams lose to Montrose High School

Photos: Local girls high school wrestling at La Plata TriDurango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Durango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Photos: Fort Lewis College women’s and men’s basketball take on Westminster UniversityBoth Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Both Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Photos: An afternoon in 2004 with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell as he works on Capitol HillDurango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Durango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Photos and video: ICE protests return to DurangoAbout a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

About a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

The Durango Herald’s year in photos 2025

Photos: Chapman Hill fires up the snow guns

Car rental companies rev up exotic offerings

Busting five myths about tipping

Tiny Belize teems with jungle ruins, sea life

Scientists resume digging at La Brea Tar Pits in LA

Fidel’s former limos reborn as taxicabs

For World Cup tourists, sticker shock to kick in

Mysterious Manaus

Roaming the ruins

More airports adopt free Wi-Fi

Remembering WWI

Swooping into Normandy

Airlines are expecting more travelers to fly this summer

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