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
Post a Comment
For the Brave browser, you might have to turn off Reader Mode to comment.
Feel free to disagree as much as you want with any ideas, but resist the ad hominem approach.