Swimming - The Durango Herald

Durango swimmers place at state to conclude season

Rion leads team with eighth place finish

DATE: Feb 11, 2022 | CATEGORY: Sports

Behn dives to 10th place at state meet

Rion, Knight advance to Friday’s finals

DATE: Feb 10, 2022 | CATEGORY: Sports

Rion, Behn break DHS swim and dive records

Durango taking 10 swimmers to state meet

DATE: Feb 8, 2022 | CATEGORY: Sports

Durango High School grad swims the Catalina Channel

Natalie Mooney Lang completes the 21-mile open water swim off California coast

DATE: Aug 21, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

Lake Nighthorse shortens hours for lack of seasonal staff

Popular recreational area will close at 6 p.m. beginning Monday

DATE: Aug 20, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Cortez man swims 9.5 miles of McPhee Reservoir

‘I entered a trancelike state, and the endorphins kicked in’

DATE: Aug 26, 2020 | CATEGORY: Local News

Tri the Brain: Robbins completes epic challenge in return from concussion

Durango mountain bike star conquers post head injury fears through triathlon

DATE: Aug 21, 2020 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

Colorado high school football postponed to spring

Polis applauds plan for four seven-week seasons for 2020-21 high school sports

DATE: Aug 4, 2020 | CATEGORY: High School Sports

Beat the buzzer to nominate Durango Athletic Hall of Fame candidates

Deadline for inaugural nominations sent to selection committee is April 30

DATE: Apr 28, 2020 | CATEGORY: Sports

Back to the pool: USA Swimming unveils tentative schedule

USA Swimming is planning a return to the pool. Though, no one is quite sure how it will all play out during the coronavirus pandemic. The national governing body unveil...

DATE: Apr 27, 2020 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

A triathlete was doing well in a virtual race - until her ‘idiot’ husband unplugged her bike

Things were going well for Australian triathlete Mirinda Carfrae as she competed in a bike race from the confines of her home in Boulder, Colorado. Suddenly, Carfrae, a former tri...

DATE: Apr 5, 2020 | CATEGORY: Sports

Durango girls swimming takes fifth at state championships

Relay team delivers stellar swims to clinch fifth place

DATE: Feb 15, 2020 | CATEGORY: High School Sports

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Haunted house northeast of Durango gets bigger every yearCody Petersen’s Halloween hobby is his escape from the daily grind

Durango resident Cody Petersen said when he moved into his home at 15 Edgemont Way several years ago, his house on the corner looked lonely and spooky.Today, it’s a madhouse. Halloween decorations are splayed practically on every inch of his lawn, in the trees and up and down his home.

A group of school-aged kids stop in front of his house every day to pose with a little gothic doll in the lawn, he said. It’s the favorite attraction amongst hundreds of decorations Petersen bought locally and online as early as July in preparation for Oct. 31, Halloween.He said he doesn’t want to think about how much money he’s spent on fog machines, animatronics and Christmas lights, but the bill easily totals several thousands of dollars.

For trick-or-treaters on Halloween, whom he encourages to visit, jumpscares abound at Petersen’s home, featuring animatronic spiders, growling wolves and other monsters, he said.He’s working on his own animatronic coffin, which shakes and rattles, and a pulley system that will push and pull a ghost up and down the yard, but neither will be ready for this year’s Halloween.He said he has fond memories of his parents decorating for the holidays during his upbringing and he’s a huge horror genre fan. So he enjoys going all out on decorations for the spooky season. He justifies his hobby with the logic his kids will only be in high school a few more years, and it isn’t as cool to decorate the lawn for Halloween when one doesn’t have children living at home.But the neighbors enjoy his haunts as much as the rest of the community. He said his Halloween scene has gradually grown larger every year; at least 50 trick-or-treaters turned up at his home last year.“I'm a home inspector, so I do have a lot of tools and no fear of trying things out,” he said.

He said typical Halloween animatronics cost $400 a piece, but they only last one year or so without breaking. That’s frustrating, he said, and he believes he can do better by building his own.He said this year’s display and experience is more organic than past years thanks to his handiwork. Among his myriad decorations, trick-or-treaters can spot easter eggs referencing “Beetlejuice,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Pet Sematary.”Among the horror props are real animal bones Petersen said he’s found on hikes across the countryside.“I've got ghosts and spiders and witches and that kind of thing,” he said. “Here in Edgemont, we have giant spiders for real. ... We get these huge wolf spiders that are bigger than my hand. I mean, huge, bigger than tarantulas.”

Petersen said he was motivated to make his first decorations within the first month he and his wife moved into the home on the corner at 15 Edgemont Way.A lone pine tree, a typical Christmas tree that would be strung up with lights and ornaments in December, stood out to Petersen in the yard, he said. He just felt compelled to decorate it and light it up.He said he thoroughly decorated the tree and left it lit year-round. Within a month of moving into the house, his neighbor died. The man was old and suffering from Alzheimer's.

Months later, the man’s wife approached Petersen and told him she and her husband’s last salient moments together were spent looking out at Petersen’s lighted Christmas tree, pretending it was Christmas. In the following hours, the man succumbed to delirium. He died several days later.“I don't know why I had that tree, why I lit it, but that's why that tree, even when Halloween is over, all year round, that Christmas tree always stays lit now,” he said.Petersen is a horror movie fan, and in particular he’s always enjoyed the sinister character Michael Myers of the “Halloween” franchise.

He said every year, after thrilling trick-or-treaters at his home, he takes to downtown and East Third Avenue in his Michael Myers costume, bearing a giant bowl of candy, to continue the fun.The highlight of his yard, the creepy doll neighborhood kids like to pose and take pictures with, is Petersen’s “elf on the shelf,” he said. He likes to move the doll around the house, sometimes propping her up to hold animal bones.“I have a real busy and pretty stressful job,” he said. “I just love the fall so much. And to come home, it's just a good way to wind down and, you know, de-stress, just go out and work in the yard.”cburney@durangoherald.com

Cody Petersen’s Halloween hobby is his escape from the daily grind

Reader-submitted photos of Halloween decorationsLast week, we asked readers to submit photos of their Halloween decorations or a neighbor’s decorations. We received dozens of photo submissions. We have selected some of the most spooky, elaborate and fun photos to share in this gallery. Enjoy!

Photos: FLC volleyball returns homeFort Lewis College volleyball took on Adams State University on Tuesday

Fort Lewis College volleyball took on Adams State University on Tuesday

Photos: Expert leathercrafter and collector estate sale near IgnacioItems belonging to the late Alex Pappas were auctioned for sale on Saturday

Items belonging to the late Alex Pappas were auctioned for sale on Saturday

Photos: Pro boxing in DurangoLegends on the Animas boxing showdown took place on Saturday

Legends on the Animas boxing showdown took place on Saturday

Fort Lewis College women’s soccer loses to Colorado School of Mines 5-1

Photos: Durango Cowboy Gathering draws crowd with Horseback Social and paradeThe cowboys, cowgirls and their horses took center stage Saturday in downtown Durango

The cowboys, cowgirls and their horses took center stage Saturday in downtown Durango

Durango Cowboy Gathering hosts its first ever mechanical bull roping competition

About 1,000 sheep move along down Buck Highway during the annual event on Saturday

Durango swimmers place at state to conclude season

Behn dives to 10th place at state meet

Rion, Behn break DHS swim and dive records

Durango High School grad swims the Catalina Channel

Lake Nighthorse shortens hours for lack of seasonal staff

Cortez man swims 9.5 miles of McPhee Reservoir

Tri the Brain: Robbins completes epic challenge in return from concussion

Colorado high school football postponed to spring

Beat the buzzer to nominate Durango Athletic Hall of Fame candidates

Back to the pool: USA Swimming unveils tentative schedule

A triathlete was doing well in a virtual race - until her ‘idiot’ husband unplugged her bike

Durango girls swimming takes fifth at state championships

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