weather in Alamosa area? - need help (Denver, Monte Vista: motel, big house)

[no.apology]

I'm moving to Colorado soon, but am not sure which town. I like smaller towns, away from cities. Is anyone familiar with the San Luis Valley area, who could recommend a town there? Or any other small towns, not too close to Denver, as I have an aversion to larger cities. Don't like really windy areas.

[jazzlover]

The San Luis Valley is hailed as the largest alpine valley in the Western Hemisphere. It sits at around 7,500 feet elevation. It is definitely a high desert, with somewhere around 7-8 inches of precipitation a year. It's growing season is relatively short--long enough for barley and potatoes, the main crops grown there (all under irrigation). Few days reach above 90 degrees in the summer. Winter is cold, with nighttime temperatures regularly dropping well below zero. Contrary to popular belief, it snows relatively little on valley floor--many years the ground is bare much of the winter (usually what does fall will stay for awhile, though). There can be some wind in the winter and spring, but not like some truly windy areas.

The San Luis Valley is very heavily Hispanic, with many residents tracing their roots there back several generations. Alamosa is the trade center for the area, with Monte Vista being a secondary center. Two San Luis Valley counties, Conejos and Costilla, hold the distinction of being the poorest counties in Colorado (and probably in the nation) in terms of per capita income.

There is some beautiful mountain country surrounding "the Valley" on all sides. The farms in the valley are generally very nice, as well. Unlike much of the rest of Colorado, it hasn't (yet) been ravaged by trophy homes and yuppie resorts.

I happen to like the San Luis Valley very much--it is, for most however, an "acquired taste." It's very different than much of the rest of Colorado.

[no.apology]

Hey, thanks jazzlover. Very helpful. I know they have a Vet health facility, so that's good. I was married to a lovely Latina for 10 years *sigh*; love Spanish food, another plus. I'm on limited income, another plus, I guess you could say. I've lived in the "big house", and don't need to be near all that. Simple is good for me.

You really know your state. I congratulate you!

[randalmartin]

I would suggest Alamosa or Monte Vista area to live. South Fork is primarily a tourist center but on the plus side is close to the mountains at the foot of Wolf Creek. Areas north and south of Alamosa the population get's very small quickly.

[randalmartin]

Also Del Norte is where the new Regional Hospital was built. Very nice.

[BillRadio]

I love the San Luis Valley, but I couldn't live there. The winters are too bitter. Since it is so sunny, winter daytime is quite pleasant, but oh, those nights. Their location right along the river catches cold air settling from the mountains. Other towns in the area don't suffer from such cold drops.

To find a reasonably-priced home you need a trade-off. In Alamosa's case, the weather is the trade-off and if you can accept it, it is a nice area. Many of the towns in the area have an above-average charm, though. One town that has turned from ugly-duckling to swan is the town of San Luis itself. It started with a bronze artist (and maybe his foundry?) and expanded to a handful of artists looking for somewhere reasonable to live & work. Stores and nicer houses followed...not much new, just a lot got fixed up.

The folks in Fort Garland are very close and not as hispanic as I thought, but they, and several other towns have benefitted from the designation of the Sand Dunes as a National Park.

My favorite, though, is the town of Crestone. It's a "hippie" community, but they have lot of community activities. The setting of Saguache is one of the nicest, but I've never met anybody there, I just stopped in the store for a bag of chips.

Get a motel room and spend a few hours in each town and ask questions at the local store.

[thepizzaguy]

Crestone also has a sign that reads, " Do not discharge guns within City Limits". I thought that was funny. I stopped at North Crestone Campground. There's a nice creek flowing through it. The only reason I didn't stay over nice was the ant population. So I ate lunch and continued on my merry way. Too bad too, there a trail at the back of the campground that leads up into the mountains.

[Market Mama]

If you really "Don't like really windy areas" you'd better avoid Colorado entirely. Between the extreme changes in altitude, a never-ending series of fronts moving through from west to east, and an occasional boost from the jet stream, it blows here -- hard and often. I don't know personally about the San Luis Valley (although I've driven through there several times and find it very appealing and scenic in an Old West sort of way) but I have read that the Valley has more than its share of dustdevils and whirlwinds (mini-tornados). Anyone know if that's true?

[jazzlover]

The San Luis Valley can get some wind, but probably not as bad as what much of the Front Range can see. The wind does blow enough there (over the eons) to have picked up sand and dust from all over the Valley and deposited it at the foot of the Sangre De Cristo mountains. That's how the Great Sand Dunes were formed.