San Luis Valley (Colorado Springs, Aurora, Salida: house, rent, lease)

[mhouse2001]

I did a little more research and discovered that the San Luis Valley is the largest intermountain valley in the world. It is 122 miles long and 74 miles wide and extends into northern New Mexico. When I was there last, I wondered if it was the highest valley in Colorado, but I think the valley south and east around Fairplay is around 8500' up (and just as barren, if not more).

[jazzlover]

South Park is actually well over 9,000 feet, some of it near 10,000. Fairplay is around 9,600. Both Middle Park and the upper Gunnison valley are about the same elevation as the San Luis Valley. North Park is in that same elevation range, too.

South Park did not used to be barren. Most of it was subirrigated ranchland and the grass could be up the cows bellies by mid- to late summer--lush and green. Then Denver, Aurora, and Colorado Springs got a hold of all the water and dried the place up--of course, so they could keep those non-native pesticide-ridden lawns in the suburban sprawl green. Denver also owns most of the water in Middle Park, so it will be drying up at some point in the future, too. But, hey, we're supposed to accept and like that kind of "growth" and "progress"--or so I get frequently told on these forums.

[Market Mama]

I've read that the San Luis Valley has a very high occurence of dustdevils or whirlwinds -- kind of mini-tornados. Is that true? If so, when and where are they most likely to occur? Having lived most of my life on the High Plains, weather is always a big deal so in addition to my specific question about dustdevils/whirlwinds, I'm also interested in the Valley's history of big storms. Anyone got a good story about rain, hail, lightning, windstorms, etc? Thanks in advance! Mama

[jazzlover]

Market Mama,

Being a high desert valley, summertime heating can create some small dust devils--no big deal. One of the interesting (and sometimes dangerous) phenomenons in the Valley is the mirages that can be created on the roads in summer. It sometimes is dramatic enough to make it difficult to see oncoming traffic.

The Valley does not get very many big storms, summer or winter. The rainshadow effect of the surrounding mountains just doesn't permit it. In 40+ years of traveling in the Valley, I saw one what I would call significant hailstorm. It raised hell with the potato crop and knocked down untold acres of barley that were just ready for harvest. Needless to say, the farmers were quite upset.

Now, weather in the surrounding mountains is another matter. Big snowstorms in winter, lots of thunderstorms in summer, etc.--but they seldom make it to the valley floor.

[MorningGlory]

My friend did a one-year internship in monte vista and every time I talked to her it was freezing cold wind, wind, wind, wind

[froggin4colorado]

I lived in Saguache, northern end of the valley/northern end of the gun barrel (Hwy 285 on Rd. T) when I was a senior in HS. My parents moved me from AZ my senior year in HS. I attended Mtn Valley HS and graduated with a class of 10. Our football team included Moffat HS so we could make a 9 man team. I remember the COLD winters, driving home from Monte or Alamosa and the thermometer reading -19. I don't remember the wind being too bad, but I do remember never being hot in the summer. I don't recall a lot of dust devils, at least anything abnormal. We could see the Sand Dunes from our house, and I don't recall seeing the dunes sand blow either. I do have fond memories of doing the hot springs in Valley View. I worked at the La Garita Trading Post part time. I do recall gang activitiy between Center, Alamosa, and Monte. Center has mostly potato farmers (wealthy) and then the migrant Mexican farmers who lived in shacks. A few of the shacks were made of metal patio roofing...poor living conditions. Many times I remember cruising Alamosa (college town) and dealing with the gun shots between cars. I don't think the cruising happens much anymore. Villa Groove, don't blink, you will miss it. Del Norte was a nice community, my brother lived there shortly. I enjoyed the pizza! My sister's ex in-laws own a construction business there in the area and they do a lot of business. Crestone was hippyville, if I remember correctly (mediums, budda/hindu, naturalists, etc..). There isn't much to the valley, but if you like the small town atmosphere, go for it.

[marshaki]

My girlfriend would love this thread. She was born and raised in Alamosa and her family has been there for generations. She is always drawn back to it. When deciding between Boulder and DC for us to live, she threw in Alamosa just to completely freak me out.

We go down there about once a month and I really like visiting but couldn't imagine living there. Compared to some other towns in the Valley, Alamosa is doing well - but that basically means that Walmart and other chains have set up shop on the outskirts of town while the old stores close up. Having Adams State College there helps and the scenic railroad is supposed to bring in tourists and their business as well.

However, if there were ever an Armageddon-type scenario, it would be high on my list of places to hide out. I've been there once when no credit card machine in what seemed like the entire Valley worked because a comm tower was damaged. Another time the only place to get milk was to order the Wacky Pack at Sonic because bad weather had kept deliveries out for a few days. You can always survive on potatoes.

[parkfan]

The San Luis Valley and Alamosa is the the great wide-open, but as someone previously stated, The distance from the mountains and temperature extremes is daunting. If you like a high mountain valley, but would like to be closer to some amenities, the South Park Valley feels like the mountains are accessible and nice towns like Breckenridge and Buena Vista are not far. If reclusive living is your goal, I guess the San Luis Valley would be a better choice.

[jazzlover]

I disagree with parkfan. South Park may be closer to Denver, but it has no ecomonic base, save tourism and being a bedroom community to Denver. When fuel skyrockets in price (it will), that will make places like South Park not very pleasant places to be. South Park once had a vibrant ranching economy, but Denver, Aurora, and Colorado Springs took all of the water--so much for ranching.

The San Luis Valley, though remote by some standards, still has a vibrant ag economy (though the Front Range would still like to grab its water) and several towns in the Valley have at least basic shopping and service businesses. It also still has rail service which will be a big plus in the future.

The SLV is no paradise, and living there is an acquired taste, but it's high on my list as one of Colorado's relatively few remaining desirable locales.

[mrgoodwx]

I've recently retired, and my wife and I have decided it's time to evacuate Albuquerque after 20 years. We've been to Colorado many times in the past 30 years, and spent some time last month west of Fort Collins on the Poudre River. However, somewhat to my surprise, the highlight of the trip for me was the stop in the San Luis Valley on the way north...then I found myself looking forward to it coming back south. The fact the SLV is not very popular with tourists (and others?) is very appealing to me. I'm not sure we could take the cold throughout the entire winter, but just maybe the dead of winter is a good time to go see all those relatives we have in southeast Texas. We're going to head back to the SLV next month and spend more time looking around from Salida to Crestone. Jazzlover made a point about the front range wanting to grab water from the SLV. I recall seeing a sign or two along the road about that topic. Jazzlover (or anyone)...do you have a "feel" for how likely it is that CS or other front range sprawl will have their way with the water in the Arkansas River Basin?