towns closest to wolf creek ski... (Craig, Kremmling: 2009, how much, calculation)

[Shuffler]

Here's some GREAT news about Wolf Creek...long story short, there will be a reprieve from the twisted fantasies of a couple of greedy Texans:

No new application seen for Wolf Creek ski village - The Denver Post

For now, anyway, Wolf Creek should remain quaint, simple, and affordable for most folks. A little silver lining during this recession...

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by njstinks0622

this all sounds intense.... Id love to be apart of the CDOT crew who does it... needless to say im definitely applying once i get out there... Anyone know people on the road maitenance crew? It says they always have open applications out even if its for part-time.

You really need to get a reality check. First, about CDOT. Yes, I know some folks who work for CDOT. Outside of the metro areas, any kind of full-time CDOT job is fiercely coveted by locals. It's a halfway decent-paying job with benefits and a pension plan in areas where there are few of those. Long-time locals are usually given preference for those jobs when they come available. The people fortunate to get the few full-time jobs there are tend to hold on to them until retirement. You would be competing against a lot of "30-year men." Of course, the best jobs go to those with the most seniority.

Second, going to live in some isolated cabin sounds like a romantic, idyllic life--especially to people who live cheek-to-jowl in some city or suburbia, but the reality of it is usually something quite different. Having to plow your way out to even get to the highway gets old really fast--even under the best of conditions. Then try to do it sometime when you're sick as a dog--but you still HAVE to get somewhere--like to a doctor, maybe. If you're living by yourself, it's even worse. Think you'll find some "soul mate" who will embrace that lifestyle with you? Well, maybe--but chances are that one or the other of you will tire of the lifestyle before the other. To be fair, I've known some people who have lived that lifestyle and been quite happy with it. However, most of them are people who grew up in that lifestyle--living on isolated ranches, etc.--it's the life they knew from childhood. The other factor to consider is that cheap fuel made that isolated-living lifestyle a little easier to take. When fuel is no longer cheap (and no one should think that the current respite from high fuel prices is going to last), isolated places are going to get, well, a lot more isolated again.

Of course, in the case of Wolf Creek--if that slimeball Texas developer gets his way, there will be 10,000 people living up there. Hopefully, the collapse of the economy--if it does nothing else--will drive a wooden stake into the heart of that asinine idea.

[Shuffler]

To add to what Jazz said, I doubt CDOT is going to be doing any hiring in the foreseeable future with the economy the way it is.

[SheridanL]

Well,......according to our new President, we should see tons more jobs building new roads, bridges, etc,etc,etc. Maybe that would create more CDOT jobs,...no???

[Shuffler]

Originally Posted by SheridanL

Well,......according to our new President, we should see tons more jobs building new roads, bridges, etc,etc,etc. Maybe that would create more CDOT jobs,...no???

That's foolish spending, IMHO, and would likely be only temporary, low-paying jobs at best for all but the execs of big contracting firms who'd oversee such projects.

More roads = more speculative development = continued dependency on automobiles = more of the same. That ain't change.

This is getting off topic for this thread, though.

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by CherryMagic

Scenic highway 160 from Walsenburg to Durango has to be - to this day, the most beautiful and trecherous roads I have ever driven...

A much more treacherous road than 160 from Del Snorte, er Del Norte! [I'm sorry Del Norte Tigers! Whazzup?!...] from South Fork to just about 10 miles this side of Pagosa would be from Del Norte to Ouray via 550; but it's not even open in the winter.

If 160 gets too bad, you take that diversion south through Antonito from Alamosa, then to Chama to 84 to Pagosa Springs or 64 further west and up through Ignacio and back to 160 or further west still all the way to 550 and up to Durango. I think I've found every way to Durango you can go.

As Esya unfortunately found out, there's trophy elk in the area of Chama and along the Colorado NM border. I had to slow down through there to a crawl myself a time or two. I wonder if WCP still shuts down at certain times during the week due to road maintenance/construction.

We may be getting off topic, but it's good to hear WCP war stories.

[CherryMagic]

McGowdog - I got dizzy just reading your second paragraph! LOL

I don't have any war stories - but I am sure some of those drivers who experienced the run outs along that road...did. That is, IF they lived after loosing control.

We stopped at a few of them to see how far some of the semi tire tracks went up. Oh my!

[njstinks0622]

ooooo where do i start.

First off, a reality check? come on now... if you read my posts, my gf and i are looking to relax for a year. Id like an isolated area like that so i can enjoy the snow they get and do my little snowboard thing for a year and relax.... catch up with life do to the high paced nj life-style im living now. Plowing through snow sounds fun to me and is fun to me here when it does snow. that wouldnt be a problem when you have a good vehicle for it. I talk about renting a little cabin for $450 in my posts which ive seen plenty of times and talked to the people who rent it. We plan on paying it in advance for a few months so we dont have to worry so much about work. But we still plan on coming out there before we move to put some applications out and visit and set things up and what not.

As far as this CDOT thing is concerned, they take applications for temporary work which is about a 6 month thing. common sense would tell you that it would be during the winter months due to the conditions . They accept applications all year round and the link below is for you to see (jazz and followers that believe everything he says). They must be lying though with an open link bc Jazz knows everything right guys? Just because the economy is bad doesn't mean that ALL jobs are hurting? Roads still need to be plowed. And yes I've talked to their human resources department so don't try and tell me otherwise. Just because Denver metro isnt accepting applications doesnt mean the rest of Colorado doesnt need someone. Now yeah it might be temporary but read this situation carefully my friend... Are you ready?
I picked up a job in the same building I work in during the holidays because business was up for that company. A few weeks ago, they started laying people off because business became slow again. It just so happened that because of my work ethic, they chose me to stay over someone who had been working for them for a while because I was a harder worker and more useful. Now if I get hired as a temp, the smart thing to do for those 6 months is for me to bust my little tush off so when it comes down to laying people off, they'll keep me over some other "TRANSPORTATION MAINTENANCE I (Statewide)" average joe who just shows his face everyday and has only been with them for a year. Reality check for you there buddy. There's a system, yes, but theres also a way to work it... "Hard work and sacrifice don't show up on tests." Especially when it comes to labor jobs, they dont care how smart or old you are. They want someone whos going to do the job right and better and I my friend have the capability to do so.

https://www.jobaps.com/cdot/sup/images/default.asp

Then like you said, that Texan gets his way... uhhh ohhhhh? njstinks0622 has a job? Thanks but Ill put my app on file anyway

Another thing is i was told by jazz "for the thousanth time. weatherbase.com has the info i need. THAT SITE SUCKS AND IS COMPLETELY INACCURATE. its a 24 year average of records...

On the other hand though, Jazz some of your stuff has been helpful and I thank you for that. Just know that Im on here to research my efforts on making a better life for my girlfriend and myself out in your beautiful state and still plan to do so.

[jazzlover]

Weatherbase gets its data from datasets collected by cooperative weather observers contracted by the National Weather Service. So, their source is official weather data sanctioned by the National Weather Service. Those multi-year averages use the same data collection and statistical analysis protocols that climate data reported anywhere in the US uses. It's the best data that is out there. Of course, you can always contact the Colorado Climate Center and get their data (it is also online, but harder to access)--but, guess what?--they use the same datasets that Weatherbase is mining. I have been researching and using those records for about 30 years now--so don't tell me what I know and don't know about their quality. They are not perfect data by any means, but it's the best that is available.

Lesson 2 about the State of Colorado personnel system. Any position openings are generally posted publicly--even those quite likely to be filled internally or by transfer from another area. Yes, it is possible to get a temporary laborer position. By the way, do you have a Colorado Commercial Driver's License (CDL)? They are not that easy to get these days. (I know something about this, too--I used to have a Colorado Class "A" Driver's License, the earlier and most more "lenient" version of what is now the CDL. Also, a good friend of mine is a Colorado Driving Examiner--he and I have had long discussions about this.) One last thing about the state personnel system. When you apply, it will likely be some low-salaried HR person in Denver that will "grade" your official state application. That person will decide if your application ever even gets to the person doing the hiring out in the field. If you lack even one trivial qualification required by the job description, you go on the reject pile. As I am a former high-level manager in a couple of governmental agencies, that used to drive me crazy, but that is the way most state personnel systems work.

You very well may be a hard worker and might be a great employee--I don't know that--but there are also plenty of other people out there who have the same qualities. And, with the deteriorating economic conditions, there are going to be legions of them--many of them friends and neighbors of the people doing the hiring at CDOT or anywhere else--competing for those few jobs. You might just succeed, but know that you are trying to locate into an area where jobs are scarce, low-paying, and coveted by local residents.

[Coloradoan]

CherryMagic - no, Chips is no longer in Pagosa. The closest type of hamburger joint would be the Malt Shop which is in the little shopping center as you are coming into town from the east on HWY 160.

McGowdog - yes that stretch of 84 from Chama to Pagosa is full of deer and elk. A really beautiful drive, especially if you are coming from as far south as the Ghost Ranch area, but the wildlife jumping out at you makes it veryy dangerous at times, especially at night.

njstinks - What Jazz says about this area is pretty accurate, however I think you may actually like the Pagosa life style from what you have said. I'm sure CDOT drivers have to have special licenses, training, etc. especially for the mountain work so you might also check out the federal jobs with the forest service. They hire a lot of seasonal workers around here and not all require specialized degrees or experience. About this time is when they start putting out job announcements.

Now, as to the Wolf Creek Village: there are actually mixed feelings around here as to the project. Some people in Pagosa Springs are for it and see it as a huge boost to the local economy which is definitely hurting right now. The problem is most of the tax revenue would end up in Mineral County where the land for the proposed resort is located. The damage that would be done to the mountainside is unquestionable, and I still can't imagine 10,000 people living up there at that altitude.