It was an exciting time which launched a lifetime love of books and bookselling.

We would eventually go on and start two more brick and mortar bookstores- one in Denver, and one in Taos.

When online bookselling began in the late 1990s, we began selling used and rare books. Our basement and garage were always full of books.

We are past that stage now, but my library of close to 2,000 volumes helps me write the books which launched this website- www.4Cornersbooks.com. No secret where that name came from!

Nearly fifty years ago (where DOES the time go?) my wife Mary Jane and I started the Avalanche Bookstore in Durango, Colorado.

After an eighteen-month teaching stint in Australia, we were desperate to return home and find a place to start a bookstore business. Colorado was calling, and we found a great spot in a new indoor mall in downtown Durango.

It was tough- we had to build from scratch- new walls, new carpet, new fixtures, and the beautiful new quilted sign made by Mary Jane.

With the help of how-to books and materials from the American Booksellers Association, we plunged ahead.

We purchased book stock from wholesaler Gordon’s Books in Denver. Publisher’s sales reps visited us, and we purchased books from their lists.

We planned our Grand Opening for April of 1977. Between local support and thousands of tourists in summer (Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad) and winter (Purgatory Ski Area), we managed to scrape together a living.