Driving from New Mexico to Colorado yesterday was fun because the differences were detectable. I had forgotten how large and agricultural the San Luis Valley was. I went into the Big R hardware and ranch supply store in Alamosa. It's funny how your first impressions in a town mean something.
They had a sign telling people that the restrooms were in the northeast corner of the store. Information like that is useless to most of the human race. Who besides a few sailors or midwesterners navigate according to the compass? Looking the town over more carefully, I noticed more baseball caps than cowboy hats. Hmm? It was impressive to see a place out west where the agriculture was as serious as in the midwest.
First day in Salida, CO: The little poodle and I biked into town this Sunday morning. The first building of significance was the LDS church. I groaned. Well after all, Colorado shares a long border with Utah.
Downtown, near the Arkansas River, there was a real surprise: a large bicycle shop was actually open at 9 a.m., Sunday morning. Adjacent to it was a coffee shop. Now this is civilization! This ain't no Utah.
It wasn't just bikes that seemed prominent in Salida. A large part of the area's tourist economy seemed tied up with river-running on the Arkansas. Now here is something that you don't see much of in New Mexico:
Since I toot the horn of the Four Corner States quite a bit, it might surprise you to hear me admit that they are not particularly bicycle-friendly, Colorado excepted. Arizona is the worst, I think. The great exception is Flagstaff. Colorado exudes an enthusiasm for outdoors activity, right down to the nitty-gritty of yielding to pedestrians. And where are all the fat people? I may learn to like this state. If only all the grown men didn't wear short pants...
They had a sign telling people that the restrooms were in the northeast corner of the store. Information like that is useless to most of the human race. Who besides a few sailors or midwesterners navigate according to the compass? Looking the town over more carefully, I noticed more baseball caps than cowboy hats. Hmm? It was impressive to see a place out west where the agriculture was as serious as in the midwest.
First day in Salida, CO: The little poodle and I biked into town this Sunday morning. The first building of significance was the LDS church. I groaned. Well after all, Colorado shares a long border with Utah.
Downtown, near the Arkansas River, there was a real surprise: a large bicycle shop was actually open at 9 a.m., Sunday morning. Adjacent to it was a coffee shop. Now this is civilization! This ain't no Utah.
It wasn't just bikes that seemed prominent in Salida. A large part of the area's tourist economy seemed tied up with river-running on the Arkansas. Now here is something that you don't see much of in New Mexico:
Since I toot the horn of the Four Corner States quite a bit, it might surprise you to hear me admit that they are not particularly bicycle-friendly, Colorado excepted. Arizona is the worst, I think. The great exception is Flagstaff. Colorado exudes an enthusiasm for outdoors activity, right down to the nitty-gritty of yielding to pedestrians. And where are all the fat people? I may learn to like this state. If only all the grown men didn't wear short pants...
Comments