What's up In Durango Skies - The Durango Herald

Why dark skies are dark

Greetings stargazers. We are fortunate to live in one of the darker corners of the continental United States. Most of you could correctly explain this darkness is because of the absence of a...

DATE: May 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Cosmology tackles big subjects

Greetings stargazers. How did we get here? Where are we going? How big and how old is the universe, and what is our place in it? These are some of the big questions that some might argue go ...

DATE: Apr 9, 2023 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Meaning of nebula remains ‘fuzzy’

Greetings stargazers. Many scientific terms are very specific, but the term nebula is, well, nebulous. In a very generic sense, it simply means a fuzzy thing. But there are a wide variety of...

DATE: Dec 8, 2022 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

New telescope users can look for these night-sky targets

Greetings, stargazers. One of my favorite activities is to introduce new telescope users to the wide variety of objects that are visible in the night sky. To be successful, this...

DATE: Oct 12, 2016 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Photos: Fashion at its bestSnowdown Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Snowdown Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Snowdown on SaturdaySnowdown’s Canine Fashion Show and Outlaw Josie Pete’s Golf

Snowdown’s Canine Fashion Show and Outlaw Josie Pete’s Golf

Photos: Snowdown Rock-em-Sock-em Snowbots pillow fights

Snowdown Light Parade can boast another successful yearLights flashed, fire trucks wailed and a foam cannon spewed suds

Bright lights, screaming fire trucks and children bundled up so thoroughly it seemed like an army of Michelin men had taken over downtown Durango. Yep. It’s the much anticipated Snowdown light parade, this year distinguished by a crowd of onlookers peppered with scrabble tiles, Clue characters and playing cards.

Locals flocked to Main Avenue on Friday to get a look (and maybe a Smartie or two) at the floats parading through town on various, creatively decorated vehicles. There were some obvious standouts at this year’s board game-themed parade. After a fire truck’s opening sirens came the Purgatory car, toting a brightly lit ski bum moonlighting as a DJ, likely giving the women of Durango some unpleasant déjà vu. Best dressed had to go to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s bulldozer, wearing the most believable Hungry Hungry Hippos costume seen yet. Biggest crowd pleaser? The dancers boogieing to Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” while the crowd sang and wiggled along. But what got the biggest rise out of the onlookers was the white plumes of motorcycle exhaust, courtesy of the Harley-Davidson club. The smell of burning octane was a convincing enough reason for people to briefly unclutch the rails and step away from their coveted positions at the front of the fence. Last but not least, another machine spewing its interior into the crowd: a foam cannon, the first one to make an appearance in the history of Snowdown. Much better received than exhaust, it extracted gleeful screams from kids and adults alike. jbowman@durangoherald.com