You’ve probably heard something about this area, at least enough that you have paused long enough to stop, wander around a little and pick up this local newspaper. So, let me tell you about our Valley.
First, we are a place. By that I mean we are distinct from the surrounding region. You know when you are in the area and you know when you’ve left. That condition of place is getting more and more rare in the modern world.
We are more than the place with all the organic farms and fruit orchards or the place with those coal mines by the highway. More than a Colorado Creative District. Or the place famous for the quality of its marijuana. Or the secret valley tucked along a little known river surrounded by hundreds of square miles of scenery. Or the place to go fishing or hunting or hiking. Or the place with all the hay fields and cattle ranches. Or the place where you can live in a yurt or a tipi and no-one cares.
We are what we are. Not one thing, but a hundred things: fields, farms, coal mines, irrigation ditches, mountains, aspen groves, gravel roads, little towns, streams, barbed wire fences, cows and deer grazing. Also people: miners, artists, ranchers, farmers, refugees from more hectic lives, Millionaires and those just getting by.
The founders of the modern Valley, beginning in 1881, were also a mixed lot farmers and ranchers, but also wheeler dealers, gamblers and developers; people looking for new opportunities. One of those things that the West has always been about.
We also have new pioneers, organic farmers and entrepeneurs, that are not that much different in motivation from the old pioneers. As in previous days some succeed and others fail or grow discouraged and move on. We are a place, but we are not the place for everyone.
It is a great place to visit, taste some wine, buy some fruit, go camping, hunting, and fish a little, but if you want to live here you will need to face certain realities. Unless you come here to take an existing job or to retire, you will be best served to either bring your own employment with you or quickly create your own. There is a reason why “transfer of payments” (mostly retirement income) is our county’s largest source of income.
There is an old Valley joke: What’s the best way to end up with a small fortune here ? Answer: Come with a large fortune.
That joke is both funny, and in many cases, true.
And, despite the wish of some locals to have it otherwise, we are not one of those Lake Woebegonish places that never change. We are always changing. The coal mines have opened and closed, people moved out and people have moved in. The highways were vastly improved and now the valley serves as a convenient short cut between other more affluent areas. Some of those travelers pause, take stock of their lives, and pay a visit to a local real estate agent.
Say what you will about the future of the Valley it will be created by those who love this place. It is said that the coal industry probably has only about a decade of economically minable coal left, but that prediction has been made before. Organic/natural produce farming, wineries and organic orchards have seen an upswing over the last two decades. A steady stream of retirees (many of whom have started new businesses) have reinvigorated the area.