The countdown is on, say the minds behind Discovery Museum at the Powerhouse.

After years and years of planning, they have scheduled a grand opening for October of this year.

Haz Said, director of marketing and communications for the museum, called it exciting and “slightly terrifying.”

“The time is passing very quickly, and we’ve got so much to do,” he said in a phone interview Monday.

The power plant, located on Camino del Rio right before its junction with Main Avenue, was built in 1893 shortly after Durango’s founding and was one of the first steam-powered alternating-current plants in the country.

It had been shut down for decades and faced possible demolition when the city signed a deal to lease the space for a museum that emphasizes energy and science.

Phase I, which included exterior renovation and environmental remediation at the site, was completed a couple of years ago for about $1.1 million.

Since then, organizers have been busy with Phase II, which included drawing up designs, planning exhibits and raising funds.

Construction on those plans is scheduled to begin at the site later this month. In all, the estimated cost of Phase II is $2 million. Read more.

I’ve been reading The Beast in the Garden: The True Story of a Predator’s Deadly Return to Suburban America by David Baron. My husband asked how it is and I said, “If we lived in Boston, I’d say interesting, since we live in Durango, I’ll say terrifying.” 

The book documents the evolution in the state’s cougar population from the early 20th century, when they were practically wiped out of the state, to the present, when conservation has helped their numbers rebound and urban interface has caused them to be habituated to humans — and occasionally view them as prey.

The book recounts a chilling attack in which a young girl was snatch from her mother’s side in California. The attack was so quick and stealthy that it almost seemed the girl had vanished into thin air. They were able to find and rescue her, but she was severely injured.

That such a danger exists here is undeniable. Just last week a mountain lion was killed in the courtyard at Park Elementary after being spotted by a passer-by. And last year two other lions were killed in town. On Aug. 22 the Center for Southwest Studies is opening an exhibit called Mountain Lion! to raise awareness about the growing issue of human encounters with mountain lions.

Knowing that children, by virtue of their size and frenetic behavior, can trigger the predatory instinct of lions has certainly given me pause when recreating with my kids in wild, wooded areas. I feel very conflicted about the balance between caution and enjoying the place we live. Fatal attacks are exceedingly rare, and some simple precautions – such as traveling in a group, keeping kids close and avoiding times when lions are most active (dawn and dusk) — can help minimize the threat. In the end, though, the danger is just part of living “where the wild things are.”

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Dakota "Kodi" Wood, 7, with her 4-month-old Suffolk ewe, Quilt. Credit: Yodit Gidey/Herald

The La Plata County Fair, which started Wednesday and runs through the weekend, reminds me each summer why I love living here. It’s such a kick to see such a timeless tradition alive and thriving. And for my toddler, it’s a little paradise: animals of all varieties to pet, tractors of all shapes and sizes to inspect. See today’s story in the Herald for a schedule. The carnival, exhibits and animals are on display all day.

Each year for the newspaper I cover the “Catch-It” contest on Sunday. The competition gives 4-Hers the opportunity to score a free farm animal if they can catch it in the ring. The sight of a petite, blond rodeo queen single-handedly taking down a hefer that outweighed her by a couple hundred pounds is one I will not soon forget. Those kids are something else.

It’s summertime and kids are bored. How to entertain them? Rafting? Swimming? Hiking? Biking? No, no. More thrilling than that. A trip to the La Plata County Courthouse! Check it out …

Local children learn about the judiciary from Josh Stephenson on Vimeo.