The Story Behind Horsefly

Meet Laine Johnson, founder of Horsefly History Tours in Durango, Colorado.

Most of us start out with a Plan A in life. Mine was to become a wildlife biologist stalking jaguars through some remote jungle. I pictured myself in a little cabin, drinking strong coffee and listening to the shrill calls of exotic birds.

Life, of course, had other ideas.

Somehow, through all the twists and turns, it guided me back to another deep love: history, storytelling, and a connection to place. In the end, those things were never separate at all. Every wild adventure, every hard lesson, and every unexpected detour was quietly preparing me for the work I do now as the founder of Horsefly History Tours in Durango, Colorado.

I’m a native Coloradan and grew up exploring alpine lakes, pine-scented trails, and mountain towns full of character. I spent my earliest years in Jamestown, Colorado, where I attended a one-room schoolhouse and had the same wonderful teacher from pre-K through 3rd grade. After later living in Boulder and spending a stint in Vermont, I earned a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University and an M.S. in Zoology & Physiology from the University of Wyoming.

During those years, I worked in Rocky Mountain National Park as a naturalist, leading nature walks, presenting campfire programs, and sometimes even stopping traffic for bighorn sheep. That job helped me find my voice among some of the most inspiring people I’ve ever known, and it is still the same voice I draw on today when I share Durango’s rowdy, fascinating, and often surprising past.

After Rocky, I radio-collared mountain lions in Wyoming’s Snowy Range as part of a two-person field team traveling by snowmobile in winter and horseback in summer. My master’s research focused on the genetics of American marten in Southeast Alaska, which led to plenty of unforgettable adventures, including baiting live traps with sardines in brown bear country.

In 2005, my husband and I moved to Durango and chose lifestyle over the big-city career track. It didn’t take long for me to become completely captivated by the history of this place. I started reading everything I could get my hands on about Durango and the Animas Valley. One book led to another, then another, and before long I was deep down the rabbit hole.

The more I learned, the more I wanted to share it.

I love stepping into an old building and feeling the layers of the past still hanging in the air. I believe deeply that a connection to place, whether it’s a town, a trail, or a weathered old storefront, feeds the soul. Once you learn the stories behind historic Durango, you start seeing it differently. The streets feel richer. The buildings feel alive. The past stops being something dusty and distant and becomes something you can feel all around you.

That belief is what led me to create Horsefly History Tours.

What began as one woman’s obsession with local history has grown into a locally owned Durango tour company built on original research, community relationships, and a genuine love for this town. Horsefly is not a canned script or a generic tour you could pick up and drop into any Western town. It is rooted right here, in Durango, shaped by years of reading, walking, researching, asking questions, and listening closely to the people and places that make this community what it is.

I also could not do any of this without my family. You might spot one of my kids helping with lanterns on a ghost tour or handing out photo books on a history tour. Horsefly has always been a family affair.

Durango is our home, our community, and our place in the world. I feel incredibly lucky to share its stories through Durango history tours, ghost tours, and local storytelling experiences that help people connect more deeply to where they are.

This is my Plan B, and truthfully, it feels like the plan I was meant for all along.