La Junta?

[Todd TCE]

Originally Posted by COflower

I am appalled at the misuse of something as precious as water in the entire state.

You should see what we waste in Phoenix. Your waste is a drop in that bucket.

[SheridanL]

So that does that mean my ditch water rights that I pay for here in Canon City are jeapordized?? Hmmmmmm. I will have to think on that one.

[la junta econ devel]

Originally Posted by kerrymac

This maybe a dumb question but why do I never read about east of Pueblo..Like La Junta and the towns around it.
Are they bad in terms of crime or employment?

I mean I never read about this part of Colorado.

Just wondering.

Be glad to share information about La Junta.

We are a town of about 8,000 in the Southeastern part of Colorado. We are on historic (3,073 miles long, coast to coast) US Highway 50, have great schools, friendly people and a great place to raise kids. Have been here 39 years, 3 grown daughters, two have come back to live, brought spouses and grandchildren, all but grandchildren (4yrs and 11 months) have found good jobs!

We are a safe community, with a low crime rate and a quality police force dedicated to keeping La Junta a great place to live and work.

Our industrial park houses businesses that are thriving and expanding: Debourgh Manufacturing (www.debourgh.com), Lewis Bolt (www.lewisbolt.com) and Oliver Manufacturing (www.olivermfgco.com).
Coffee Holding Company (www.coffeeholding.com), on Highway 50 west of town is also expanding their coffee roasting operation.

Arkansas Valley Community Center (www.arkvalleyccb.org) provides quality care for developmentally disabled adults and Colorado Boys Ranch(www.coloradoboysranch.org) provides residential services and education for at risk male youths. Job openings exist at both of those agencies.

We just had a business announce that they will be moving most of their operation here in the next two years....www.liqcrytech.com.

Another major business www.bonnieplants.com just opened a facility at our 1500 acre industrial park. All of the vegetable plants that forum members in Alamosa, Canon City, Raton, Trinidad, Lamar, Pueblo, Colorado Springs and La Junta bought this past summer at K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Lowe's came from this facility.

La Junta is home to two sale barns (La Junta Livestock and Winter Livestock) which together comprise the biggest livestock sale market west of Oklahoma City.

Please feel free to check out www.lajuntaeconomicdevelopment.net for more information about employment.

www.VisitLaJunta.net gives you a lot of information about the La Junta and you'll find some pictures on the following threads:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/color...hoto-tour.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...ycation-4.html

I am not nearly as adept at posting photos as McGowdog is, but I will try to put up a few more on this thread later.

Just for an outside opinion, it might be worth checking out what the the oldest paper in Colorado, (Rocky Mountain News..Denver), ran on Friday, Feb 6, 2009 about La Junta. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/06/griego-economys-down-but-la-junta-isnt/

Plenty of open spaces for horses, etc., and just general enjoying the view and being able to see for 100 miles!

We are not surrounded by mountains, but my wife and I have property in the Sangre de Cristo range (Cuchara) about 1 hour and 40 minutes from our house. Great mountain views, etc....AND we don't have to put up with the winter snows. Great hiking, biking, etc. in some of the most beautiful mountains in Colorado.

Hiking trails, paddling in Canon City and Salida are an hour and a half to two hours away in the same Arkansas River that makes us such a fertile valley that still grows and supplies front range Albertson's and King Soopers with fresh cantalope and watermelons.

Plenty of great biking trails (paved, no traffic county roads!), hiking trails in the canyon lands, etc.

For more about parades, small town activities, etc., check out www.lajuntaevents.com and check out this past summer. Also, you might look at www.musicatthejunction.com (Foghat was here last year)

We are in the Arkansas River Valley...irrigated farm land and great crops and still the most fertile river valley in the State.

We have 2 museums in town, Bent's Old Fort Historic Site, dinasaur tracks and historic petroglyphs within 45 minute drive. One of the museums (Koshare Indian Kiva and Museum) is home to a Scout Troop that has more Eagle Scouts than any other troop in US! Plus a multi-million dollar museum of Native American Art and artifacts.

We don't get as much splash as the touristy areas of Colorado....but we are a very friendly and welcoming area of the State with a lot to see and do.

We have a great retirement community called Casa Del Sol. Their website is Casa del Sol, A Caring Retirement Community

Have an awesome junior college system in Colorado and Otero Junior College (www.ojc.edu)

We have a three different community theatre groups (one for children) and a wide variety of artists in the area.

We have a great hospital (Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center), which is licensed as a 90 bed hospital and 100+ bed nursing home. We have quality medical care available here and a heliport if someone would need to be transported by helicopter to Pueblo or Colorado Springs. Our airport allows for Lear Jet transport if necessary.

The lower Arkansas Valley has eight golf coureses where golfers are able to play over 330 days a year...with no tee times! There are courses in Fowler, Rocky Ford, La Junta, Las Animas, Cheyenne Wells, Eads, Lamar and Springfield (sand greens).

To the East you can visit the Rawlings Museum and Boggsville in Las Animias, the Sand Creek Massacre site in Eads, Big Timbers Museum in Lamar, and Camp Amache in Granada (an internment camp used in WWII to "imprison" over 7,500 Americans of Japanese ancestry after the attack on Pearl Harbor).

You can drive to Trinidad, CO (quaint historic coal mining town...1 hour away...pop about 8000) via highway 350 and then take the scenic Highway of Legends (Colorado Highway 12 )through the beautiful southern range of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains....(Cucharas Pass, Cuchara, La Veta).

We are 2.5 hours from Denver....have Bronco tickets...don't miss a tailgate or a game (2.5 hours to Invesco from house). Air Force Football is an easy ticket about 2 hours away.

Plenty of concerts, etc in Pueblo (1 hr), Colorado Springs (2hrs) and Denver (2.5 hrs.), plus our own membership as a community in the Community Concerts organization that brings various lesser known, but very talented groups to town.

Thanks for asking about our area. It gives us an opportunity to try to dispel some of the misconceptions that people have about all areas of the State that aren't mountains.

[McGowdog]

Nice post LJ!

[kerrymac]

Thanks for all the info follks.