Travel - The Durango Herald

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

In Yellowstone’s vastness, many wonders

Let the basics open the door to nature’s majesty

DATE: May 17, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Resurrecting a steam giant

At 132-feet long, 1.2 million pounds, Big Boy an engineering marvel

DATE: May 3, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Museum honoring Sept. 11 victims to open May 21

NEW YORK – A long-awaited museum dedicated to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will open to the public at the World Trade Center site May 21. The opening will come af...

DATE: May 3, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

On foot in remote Scotland

Hills, lakes and hostels on the edge of civilization

DATE: Apr 19, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

What to call that trip?

Staycation, glamping – don’t worry there’s a made-up word for it

DATE: Apr 19, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Crocodile close calls can’t stop Nile walk

British man navigates numerous dangers during 4,250-mile African trek

DATE: Apr 19, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Is it safe to go in the water this summer?

When Ken Siegfried heard that the U.S. Consulate General in Hamilton, Bermuda, had issued a warning about ongoing dumping of raw sewage off the island’s south coast, he had flashbacks to a v...

DATE: Apr 19, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

When Death Valley comes to life

Springtime is beautiful – and not that hot, really

DATE: Apr 5, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

Vegas wheel spins to record

LAS VEGAS – Tourists began taking in the view last week from a skyline-changing observation wheel that offers a unique overview of sparkling Las Vegas Strip resorts, wide skies and craggy br...

DATE: Apr 5, 2014 | CATEGORY: Travel

The rural, quirky Oklahoma Panhandle

Toss cow chips, visit ghost towns, carry paper map

DATE: Mar 29, 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

Swooping into Normandy

Airlines are expecting more travelers to fly this summer

In Yellowstone’s vastness, many wonders

Resurrecting a steam giant

Museum honoring Sept. 11 victims to open May 21

On foot in remote Scotland

What to call that trip?

Crocodile close calls can’t stop Nile walk

Is it safe to go in the water this summer?

When Death Valley comes to life

Vegas wheel spins to record

The rural, quirky Oklahoma Panhandle

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