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Old 01-17-2011, 11:30 PM
 
610 posts, read 3,009,153 times
Reputation: 803

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What's the "deal" with the people and culture of Southeastern CO. This past summer, I drove through some of the towns along 287 North such as Springfield, Lamar, and Limon. I stopped in those towns to get gas, grab a bite to eat and to sleep.

I am an "outsider" (God forbid that) to Colorado and the people in those towns were not friendly and gave me stares that insinuated I was not welcomed there.

I served in the military for a few years and I have spent some time in the Middle East. The way the people of Southeastern CO were acting towards me reminded of my time in the Middle East when my unit would go through a town and everyone would stop, stare, and view us as suspicious people.

I understand foreigners in other countries are usually not welcomed, but come on, this is America and I am an American citizen.

BTW, I am 27 year old white male. I do not have any tattoos, piercings, and I consider myself "normal."
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Old 01-17-2011, 11:43 PM
 
Location: Pueblo - Colorado's Second City
12,259 posts, read 24,363,575 times
Reputation: 4395
To me is sounds like small town America. I would not take it personal if I were you but that just how they can be.
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Old 01-18-2011, 12:25 AM
 
Location: Na'alehu Hawaii/Buena Vista Colorado
5,529 posts, read 12,577,377 times
Reputation: 6187
We spent time a couple of summers ago in both Lamar and LaJunta and had a great time. The lady at the bed and breakfast where we stayed was exceptionally nice, as were the people working at the visitor's centers. Maybe I'm just a pollyanna, but we didn't experience any of the things that you talk about.
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Old 01-18-2011, 10:23 AM
 
103 posts, read 394,445 times
Reputation: 244
Quote:
Originally Posted by heeha View Post
What's the "deal" with the people and culture of Southeastern CO. This past summer, I drove through some of the towns along 287 North such as Springfield, Lamar, and Limon. I stopped in those towns to get gas, grab a bite to eat and to sleep.

I am an "outsider" (God forbid that) to Colorado and the people in those towns were not friendly and gave me stares that insinuated I was not welcomed there.

I served in the military for a few years and I have spent some time in the Middle East. The way the people of Southeastern CO were acting towards me reminded of my time in the Middle East when my unit would go through a town and everyone would stop, stare, and view us as suspicious people.

I understand foreigners in other countries are usually not welcomed, but come on, this is America and I am an American citizen.

BTW, I am 27 year old white male. I do not have any tattoos, piercings, and I consider myself "normal."
Heeha.....Sorry that you had a bad experience with a non-representative sample of Eastern and Southeastern Colorado. Generally, you will find it the complete opposite. La Junta is certainly representative of the type of reception visitors usually receive in Southeast Colorado, so I can give you one expample.

When planning their ride from Mexico to Canada, the Best of America by Horseback sent "spies" to towns to find a place for their 100,000 milestone for all of their rides. They told no one what they were here for and chose La Junta as the place they would reach that milestone based on the friendliness to strangers.

They arrived, the community embraced them and were featured on RFD channel. Some of the riders wrote blogs about their trips:
Nancy’s Mexico to Canada Weblog | Just another WordPress.com weblog | Page 2

Mexico to Canada by Horseback June 19

La Hunta, Colorado

Once again, we can only apologize for the reception you were given by a few people.....but ours is just one story of the overall friendly reception that an overwhelming majority of the visitors to Southeastern Colorado receive, and I don't think it is vastly different from other communities.

I invite you to visit the region again and see the cultural, artistic and heritage attractions in the area and see if it was a rare instance or the way it always is! Most of the communities have websites posting their activities and attractions. Ours can be seen at www.VisitLaJunta.net or www.LaJuntaEvents.com
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Old 01-18-2011, 10:26 AM
 
Location: Wherabouts Unknown!
7,841 posts, read 18,932,540 times
Reputation: 9584
hehaa....Remember that people have bad days when things ain't going their way. Sounds like you showed up in town on one of those days when everyone in town was having a bad day....and they saw you as a convenient scapegoat for their frustration.
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Old 01-19-2011, 04:08 AM
 
168 posts, read 380,144 times
Reputation: 138
Ok, I'm surprised no one else has asked first, but did you smile and wave/nod at any of them? Before they decided to stare?.....maybe you were unaware that you were giving them the same military stare that you had to use (for that type of respect) in the middle east.....

If you didn't smile/nod/wave/relax upon approaching them, then anyone would be wise to watch back cautiously.....it may be America but scary people live anywhere......don't take it PERSONALLY unless you are one of those scary people......
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Old 01-19-2011, 07:50 AM
 
Location: Arvada, CO
13,824 posts, read 29,783,571 times
Reputation: 14418
I've had similar experiences to the OP, but mostly in the northern parts of Eastern Colorado, but never in Limon (people in Wray were nice too ).

I too am a
Quote:
27 year old white male. I do not have any tattoos, piercings, and I consider myself "normal."


Oldies but goodies:

September 2009:
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Aguilar View Post
I don't know how to describe it exactly (and I don't mean to offend), but people in some of these towns seem proud of their ignorance (or something). Over the past couple of years, I've had the opportunity to travel CO, KS, NE, WY, MT, ID and WA pretty extensively, and this plains area (Eastern CO/W KS/W NE) has made me feel the least welcome as a traveler/outsider.

When I go to some of these towns, I'm kind of half-expecting somebody (gas station attendant, strangers, etc) to look me in the eye and say something like "What are you doing here, boy?" Burlington, Sterling, and Holyoke, Colorado, along with Sidney, and Alliance in Nebraska, and Kanorado, Colby, and Oberlin in Kansas are all towns where I have felt this hard-to-describe "vibe". Anybody know what it is?
September 2010:
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Aguilar View Post
I know a guy from La Junta. He's alright.

Burlington seems like a really unfriendly place. That goes for Kanorado as well (watch out for the dogs).

Wray is very nice. Kind of a treed/hilly oasis in the middle of barren flatness.

In Akron, everybody seemed related.

Sterling is just okay, quaint in parts, seems rather unfriendly as well (IMO). As they say, a river runs through it.

Yuma, the lady at 7-11 made a new pizza just for me because the one on the rack was old.

Limon is Truck Stop U.S.A. in case you've never been. There's a really cheap 70's era motel there that has a clerk that will chide you if you're a Broncos fan.

DISCLAIMER: When I say "seems rather unfriendly", or a "really unfriendly place", upon each visit it always feels like nobody wants me around. Holyoke fits this as well.

I've never been to Lamar, La Junta, or Springfield, but I get what the OP is saying. I think it'd be safe to say that it wouldn't be that way if he moved there, for example. Heck, I've gotten unfriendly stares in my own hometown!

Maybe they're just wondering what you're doing there.
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Old 01-19-2011, 03:18 PM
 
Location: Kingman AZ
15,370 posts, read 38,985,577 times
Reputation: 9215
I was born n raised in Limon....went back for my 50th reunion....Ive viseted on a coupl eof occasions but usually 10-15 years apart....I was amazed at how friendly the people were and MOST assumed that I was a total stranger....
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Old 01-19-2011, 10:35 PM
 
610 posts, read 3,009,153 times
Reputation: 803
Even though those towns in Southeastern CO are not too friendly (in my opinion), I wouldn't mind living in one of those towns due to the fact that I like small rural towns in the middle of nowhere.
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