San Luis Valley Colorado The Hidden Jem

Welcome to my home town… Have you ever been here?

The San Luis Valley is located on the southwest corner of Colorado

The San Luis Valley includes a 125 mile stretch that surrounds the valley which includes the Rocky Mountain Range, The Sangre De Cristo Mountains and San Juan Mountains.

The altitude in the San Luis Valley is above 7000 feet and is technically a high desert but below the surface there aquifers and warm Springs of water

Our valley gets visited every year by thousands of sandhill crane’s migrating between New Mexico and southern Idaho we even have a festival every March for the Sandhill Crane’s

My home town called Alamosa is in the heart of the San Luis Valley its a town of around 9000 people and is home to Adams State University.  This is the town where I grew up, got married, had my kids and ran a business with my husband for eleven years.  My family moved to the San Luis Valley in the late 1950’s because the cost of land was so affordable, my grandpa opened a concrete/construction business that was later inherited by my dad and uncle.  We have a large family in this area.

Here is a picture of our Glass Shop and we were able to build our building from the ground up and make a custom shop for our business, it was an awesome experience

My husband and I also had the opportunity to build our first custom home in the San Luis Valley, it was dreamed up by my husband, and with the help of my dad we were able to make our dream a reality.  Here is a picture of our home, it had an indoor garden and all the bedrooms surrounded it, we had palm trees, bamboo and flowers blooming year round!

Our Town has a small local museum that features the region and the multicultural history and artifacts of the Indians and their pottery that used to live in this area.  We have a large agricultural farming community for growing potatoes and grains, some that can ONLY be grown and harvested in this high alpine region, as well as a large mushroom farm.  We have a lot of migrant workers that come to our area that work in the farming community. The San Luis Valley is home to six of the poorest counties in the state of Colorado.  We were not as affected by this because we all own our own businesses in that area, so we are able to help create our own economy, which is a great thing.

We have many local artists and photographers that enjoy shooting the wildlife in this area, the food specialties include authentic Mexican and some of the press best green chili in the state.

Blanca peak is one of the mountain ranges in the San Luis Valley at a height of 14,000 365 it is the highest peak of this southern range of mountains at the base of the mountain is the home of the Sand dunes national Park, we have over 300,000 visitors come to enjoy this geological wonder and the wildlife that live there. One of the dunes called star doing to the west of the high dunes is actually the tallest Sand Dunes in North America raising rising 750 feet

This is Mount Blanca and the Great Sand Dunes National Monument (the view from outside my Mom and Dads window)

San Luis Colorado  is another small town in the San Luis Valley founded in 1851 it is the oldest town in Colorado

My favorite things about my hometown and the San Luis Valley is that I still have many family members and great childhood friends that live there.  I also love the great food, the natural Hot Springs the fresh crisp air, the wide-open space and the wildlife found here.  Also living in a Valley surrounded my majestic mountains is awesome!

Hope you enjoyed a tour of my home town…. till next time

Rachel