Part III

Colorado!

We have arrived in the San Luis Valley. It was a long day, but not nearly as long as it could have been. Kansas was very empty. After we got off I-70 we found ourselves truly in the middle of nowhere. We fueled up at what we thought could be the last gas station and trudged forward on federal highway 40.

After meandering southwest, we crossed the mountain time zone and lost an hour. The GPS wanted to take us further into the unknown of Kansas/Colorado, but we decided to stay on the state roads that would have more services in the long run. After about four and a half hours we arrived in civilization. We stopped for lunch in Pueblo, CO. The sky was clear with a scattering of clouds on the horizon. Pueblo is shadowed by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Blood of Christ), which also happens to be the eastern boundary of the San Luis Valley. We waited all morning to see the peaks of the Rocky Mountains appear and they were impressive.

You might also find it neat to know that the Sangre de Cristo Mountains have several peaks over 14,000 ft. The highest peak is just across from me now—Blanca Peak. On the other side of the San Luis Valley is the San Juan Mountains, which also has several 14,000 footers. I am excited to learn more about the geology in the area, which you all will most likely hear about.

Alamosa is the largest “city” in the valley, and will be the town I go to for groceries and other services. It is about an hour from the ranch. I could bore you all with the history of the town, but I’ll just give you the Wikipedia link. Tonight we drove around the 4 square miles, and ate at the local brewery—San Luis Valley Brewing Company. Alamosa also has a small state college, Adams State College, which started out as a normal college in 1921 and has evolved into a school of ~3,500 students.

Tomorrow, if snow holds off, we will go up to the ranch so my parents can see it.