Southwest Colorado questions

[bowkill02]

therea a possibility I may be relocating yo the Delta region on Colorado for a work assignment. I'm curious how the hunting is down this way? I'm rather accustomed to hunting here in NW Wy so I'm kinda leary. I woukd be taking several horses with me if the opportunity permits there use.
Feel free to PM me if anyone can help and wants to keep things private.

 

[gbflyer]

There’s a lot of public land access. Quite a few folks from the lycra - spandex crowd moving across from the E side. Lots of ATVs. It was a good place to grow up in 30 years ago. You will not be impressed coming from WY.

 

[bowkill02]

I'm afraid of this!

 

[Amos Keeto]

Had big dreams of living in Colorado "way back when"!
Bought a lot and moved to Pagosa Springs in 1983.

Sadly, very little was left of the local life.
Nearly ALL the county commisioners, planning committee and most positions of "authority" were retirees from California, Texas, Oklahoma, etc, etc......
The moved to Pagosa and got bored. When they finally established "residency", they began running for local political positions, turning Pagosa Springs into "Somewhereelse Springs"!
It was pretty bad.
Most of the local small businesses shut down because "out-of-towners" came in and opened "gim crack" stores and ran all the local tourist stores out of business.
The old hardware store that had been there since way back when was shut down because an old retiree decided to open an ACE Hdw.
Not to mention all the building contractors that literally took over the local home construction trade, shoving the locals from contractors to laborers.

The county planner was an out-of-stater. His assistant was an out-of-stater.
My wife worked in their office for a short time. They (out-of-staters!) wanted to open up an area for development.
Sadly, it was along the Piedra River drainage where the elk and mule deer migrated every fall! NOT an area anybody with any sense would want to develop!
A meeting which the locals had been invited to voiced their displeasure with the idea. When the meeting broke up, one of the developers told the county planner, "We'll call another meeting and not invite the locals. Then we can pass anything we want!"

I haven't been to Pagosa in decades!
It was no longer a "sleepy little mountain town" when we lived there.
I'm quite certain the Californios, Texicans, Okies and heaven only knows what other staters have pretty much ruined the place.

By the time we left, I even felt like an intruder that added to the problem.

Decatur, TX and Weatherford, TX went through the same thing.
Just far enough (25 miles) outside of Fort Worth, TX that a doctor, lawyer, CEO, etc, etc could commute back and forth and get junior out of the ever increasing gang population. Mom and her professionally married friends were now stuck out in the boondocks (?) with no fancy stores or malls!
Bored out of their gourd, they ran for county commisioners, city council, school board until the old Stetson hat, Justin boot, belt buckle wearing gents that kinda kept a lid on things were drummed out of office!
Today, if it weren't for the city limit signs, you'd never know when you left Decatur or Weatherford and got to Fort Worth!
An absolute "OCEAN" of asphalt shingles as far as the eye can see!
Even Springtown has grown exponentially! No longer Small Town, USA!

Excuse me for my rant! Seeing those quaint little towns get drowned out just chaps my chili!

 

[roadrunner]

Not to deter you from an opportunity, but are you positive you want to relocate to CO?

 

[bowkill02]

No I'm not. the opportunity could be good career wise but I have extreme reservations. Politically I don't think my family will fit too well and I'm equally concerned about the lack of wilderness opportunities. backcountry packing and recreation is huge with us. housing could be an issue as well? being we have horses our requirements are slightly differant than the norm. real-estate is quite High in that area from what have seen so far.

 

[gbflyer]

No I'm not. the opportunity could be good career wise but I have extreme reservations. Politically I don't think my family will fit too well and I'm equally concerned about the lack of wilderness opportunities. backcountry packing and recreation is huge with us. housing could be an issue as well? being we have horses our requirements are slightly differant than the norm. real-estate is quite High in that area from what have seen so far.

Horsey farms are pretty expensive here. Probably not Idaho expensive but close. Most people who grew up here are conservative but the dynamic is changing rapidly. Theres a push for a national monument that would consume a good amount of unit 61. I would be surprised if it doesn’t pass. They have designated “wilderness study areas” locking off mechanized access to a lot of the Unc (that may not be so bad for a horseman). Also the petty crime is out of control from what I can see. I grew up here and moved to Alaska in 1996. I am here now dealing with my FIL’s estate. Theres a nice house but no acreage.

If it’s a good job, which I cannot think of what that would be here locally unless you’re a medical doctor, it is worth a look. It would be very difficult to find a rental that would accommodate your horses so it would be hard to just give it a try for a year. Services are spotty, I’ve been waiting for a week to get a call back from an estate attorney as an example.

It is no longer the town I grew up in for sure. They let in a Walmart and that was the beginning of the end.

 

[Phaseolus]

No I'm not. the opportunity could be good career wise but I have extreme reservations. Politically I don't think my family will fit too well and I'm equally concerned about the lack of wilderness opportunities. backcountry packing and recreation is huge with us. housing could be an issue as well? being we have horses our requirements are slightly differant than the norm. real-estate is quite High in that area from what have seen so far.

Delta, Grand Junction, etc are quite conservative, The West Elk, Ragged, Oh Be Joyful, Maroon Bell wildernesses are close by to
Delta.

 

[roadrunner]

Delta, Grand Junction, etc are quite conservative, The West Elk, Ragged, Oh Be Joyful, Maroon Bell wildernesses are close by to
Delta.

But even if you're in conservative towns and counties, you still feel the effect of liberalism.

San Juan county in NM is red, but we get to deal with the emotional and controlling shenanigans of the Left.

 

[Phaseolus]

Horsey farms are pretty expensive here. Probably not Idaho expensive but close. Most people who grew up here are conservative but the dynamic is changing rapidly. Theres a push for a national monument that would consume a good amount of unit 61. I would be surprised if it doesn’t pass. They have designated “wilderness study areas” locking off mechanized access to a lot of the Unc (that may not be so bad for a horseman). Also the petty crime is out of control from what I can see. I grew up here and moved to Alaska in 1996. I am here now dealing with my FIL’s estate. Theres a nice house but no acreage.

If it’s a good job, which I cannot think of what that would be here locally unless you’re a medical doctor, it is worth a look. It would be very difficult to find a rental that would accommodate your horses so it would be hard to just give it a try for a year. Services are spotty, I’ve been waiting for a week to get a call back from an estate attorney as an example.

It is no longer the town I grew up in for sure. They let in a Walmart and that was the beginning of the end.

The proposed National Monument is not going to be in unit 61, I hope it doesn’t pass though. It’s going to be along the Dolores River down to utah in unit 40 and 60 If it passes.

 

[justinspicher]

I enjoy living in Colorado, politics or not. I live in a small town surrounded by National Forest. I grew up here and returned after I retired from the military. If you only look for the bad in every place that’s probably all you’re going to find.

 

[gbflyer]

I enjoy living in Colorado, politics or not. I live in a small town surrounded by National Forest. I grew up here and returned after I retired from the military. If you only look for the bad in every place that’s probably all you’re going to find.

That’s a very good outlook on it.

 

[roadrunner]

I enjoy living in Colorado, politics or not. I live in a small town surrounded by National Forest. I grew up here and returned after I retired from the military. If you only look for the bad in every place that’s probably all you’re going to find.

Until all the good you identify is compromised by all the bad that is glaringly obvious.

Nobody ever thinks it's a big deal until it affects them directly.

 

[fngTony]

Until all the good you identify is compromised by all the bad that is glaringly obvious.

Nobody ever thinks its a big deal until it affects them directly.

Agree but as a frustrated Coloradoan myself I don’t see moving anywhere else out west that isn’t at least threatened with crazy politics and cost of living issues. Maybe if I no longer want the mountains I will find a spot in the Midwest or south.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Had big dreams of living in Colorado "way back when"!
Bought a lot and moved to Pagosa Springs in 1983.

Sadly, very little was left of the local life.
Nearly ALL the county commisioners, planning committee and most positions of "authority" were retirees from California, Texas, Oklahoma, etc, etc......
The moved to Pagosa and got bored. When they finally established "residency", they began running for local political positions, turning Pagosa Springs into "Somewhereelse Springs"!
It was pretty bad.
Most of the local small businesses shut down because "out-of-towners" came in and opened "gim crack" stores and ran all the local tourist stores out of business.
The old hardware store that had been there since way back when was shut down because an old retiree decided to open an ACE Hdw.
Not to mention all the building contractors that literally took over the local home construction trade, shoving the locals from contractors to laborers.

The county planner was an out-of-stater. His assistant was an out-of-stater.
My wife worked in their office for a short time. They (out-of-staters!) wanted to open up an area for development.
Sadly, it was along the Piedra River drainage where the elk and mule deer migrated every fall! NOT an area anybody with any sense would want to develop!
A meeting which the locals had been invited to voiced their displeasure with the idea. When the meeting broke up, one of the developers told the county planner, "We'll call another meeting and not invite the locals. Then we can pass anything we want!"

I haven't been to Pagosa in decades!
It was no longer a "sleepy little mountain town" when we lived there.
I'm quite certain the Californios, Texicans, Okies and heaven only knows what other staters have pretty much ruined the place.

By the time we left, I even felt like an intruder that added to the problem.

Decatur, TX and Weatherford, TX went through the same thing.
Just far enough (25 miles) outside of Fort Worth, TX that a doctor, lawyer, CEO, etc, etc could commute back and forth and get junior out of the ever increasing gang population. Mom and her professionally married friends were now stuck out in the boondocks (?) with no fancy stores or malls!
Bored out of their gourd, they ran for county commisioners, city council, school board until the old Stetson hat, Justin boot, belt buckle wearing gents that kinda kept a lid on things were drummed out of office!
Today, if it weren't for the city limit signs, you'd never know when you left Decatur or Weatherford and got to Fort Worth!
An absolute "OCEAN" of asphalt shingles as far as the eye can see!
Even Springtown has grown exponentially! No longer Small Town, USA!

Excuse me for my rant! Seeing those quaint little towns get drowned out just chaps my chili!

I would say you’re wrong about okies.
Okies are about as blue coller gun loving as you can get.
Obviously there’s always a few nut jobs.
Maybe you were soured by one but thats not the norm.
There won’t be one county in Oklahoma that votes for Biden.

 

[Phaseolus]

“Had big dreams of living in Colorado "way back when"!
Bought a lot and moved to Pagosa Springs in 1983. “.

Amos, I’m curious where you came from to live the ‘local’ life in Colorado.