Alamosa, Colorado
- Details
- Parent Category: Travel Over There
- Category: 2014 - Gap Year
- Created: Monday, 29 September 2014 21:30
18 years ago I visited Colorado while my sister was here on a student exchange. While I was here I made a friend that I stayed in contact with over the years, first by hand written letters and later via email and Facebook. Considering that I had not returned to this part of the world since then, I made plans to head back to Alamosa, Colorado to see my friend again. I flew from Vancouver to Denver then caught the bus south to Alamosa arriving in the early evening.
The five hour bus ride was quite interesting as I became involved in numerous conversations with the passengers, trying to learn a little about the culture and their current world view. The conversations covered the recent legalisation of Marijuana and the various issues associated with state law and federal law being out of sync; the American prison industry; hiking; climate change; skiing; distrust of the media; the obstructionist and divisive American democratic system; and the all-pervasive fear that has gripped America over the last 13 years. It made for a very interesting ride and I learned a great deal about the perspectives of individual Americans.
Alamosa is in the San Luis Valley, the highest agricultural land in the US at an elevation of approximately 7500ft, and had changed a great deal from what I remembered. It has grown substantially to a population of around 9000 and become the central commercial district of the San Luis Valley. The area still had not become a tourist destination and I don’t quite understand why as Alamosa is a short drive to a number of excellent sites including the Great Sand Dunes Monument, the San Luis National Forest, a few 14000ft mountains are accessible from here in the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan Mountain Ranges. It’s not that I think that it should be a tourist mecca but it should not be treated as a “Why would you go there?†place, which is what I was asked several times when I was travelling to and from there as well as while I was in town. And while Lonely Planet mention the nearby Great Sand Dunes Park they inform people to travel over 100 miles from Pagosa Springs or Crested Butte to get there, as though there are no other options.
Michelle picked me up from the bus and introduced me to her three children. When I was last here we bonded over a passion for writing and love of fantasy and science fiction, which we both still enjoyed. Sometimes when there has been years between seeing a person, it can be difficult to get the conversation flowing again, but over the week we spent most of the time talking.
Michelle had planned a few activities for me to enjoy while I was staying with her which included camping and a few sites but first she had one more day of work. She works at a local radio station and I accompanied her to work on the first day to be her guest host. The show went as follows:
followed by: Cream ~ White Room; Eric Clapton ~ Wonderful Tonight; The Cars ~ Just What I Needed; Led Zeppelin ~ Fool In The Rain.
followed by: America ~ Sister Golden Hair; The Allman Brothers ~ Ramblin' Man; Bob Dylan ~ Rainy Day Women #12 & 35; Whitesnake ~ Here I Go Again; The Who ~ Pinball Wizard; Supertramp ~ Goodbye Stranger.
finishing with the songs: Led Zeppelin ~ Ramble On; Janis Joplin ~ Piece Of My Heart. It was a cool experience and I learnt a little about what it takes to put a radio show together.
Microbrewing has grown across America and the world in the last decade with many pubs and restaurants offering a selection of house or limited supply microbrews. Alamosa has one restaurant that I visited that does that, the San Luis Valley Brewing Company. Their restaurant is located on Main Street in a quaint old building that has been converted. The interior is all polished dark woods creating a western style saloon feel but not tackily. The menu is a single broadsheet newspaper, which is quite cool although could be put to better use with more small articles associated with their food and drinks. They offered me a choice of six beers of which I tried the Hefe Suave (American style wheat beer), Alamosa Amber (Ale), and Grande River IPA. The beers were good representations of American microbrewing, balanced and consistent but not impressive. But if your choice is between something in a bottle or can from the liquor store then these beers are miles ahead of what is widely available. They offer a variety of pub grub, 5 sausage dishes, 7 burgers, 12 sandwiches, and a variety of starts and mains. It is well worth dropping by here for a beer if not a quick bite when you are in the area.
Visiting Alamosa and Southern Colorado again was an excellent experience and there are many ways for a visitor to occupy their time here. For me, the best part was catching up a friend and spending time with her and her family. Getting to see their world from their perspective is the bonus, and I know that they were able to experience their home differently as well.
P.S. There is an interesting urban legend in Alamosa of a witch buried at the cemetery. In the rear left of the cemetery is the grave of Wihelmina Becker, Died October 36th 1913. There are no county or cemetery records for Wihelmmina Becker and offerings are left on the statue. Many people have said they have felt a strange energy and gloominess around the statue, especially at night, with other reporting strange lights around the area, although these could easily be explained by the airport opposite the cemetery. The myth also says that the date of her death also alternates between the 36th and 32nd of October.
Other USA Articles
American Conservation Experience - Catalina Island
Catalina Island - USC Indigenous Food Experience
Utah – Food & Liquor in the Land of Purity
Utah - The Great Outdoors part one
I had a few days remaining in Europe before flying to Vancouver for the next leg and I thought it would be great to spend m shaped island in the north of Germany with 40 kilometres of beach. The island is constantly changing shape as the North and 
The campground had an access to the beach over the dunes and our camping fee included beach access. I’m not used to the idea of paying to access a beach but I would guess the fee goes towards paying for the dredging that keeps the island from eroding to nothing. The beach is beautiful, around 50 metres of flat white sand being lapped at by the North Sea, skirted by sand dunes as far as the eye can see. The beach never seemed crowded while we were there, maybe because we were too early in the season or just because there is so much beach you only have to congregate if you want to.
The beaches are quite clean near the lifeguard towers but have the usual scattering of plastics between. We spent a bit of time collecting the trash and dropping at the frequently placed bins along the way and feeling a little disappointed that beachgoers here were so tardy with litter.
Around Westerland there is the beach, a small wood to wander through, dozens of restaurants and hotels, and boutique stores selling chocolates, trinkets and souvenirs. The island is considered a culinary icon but personally I found the food to be rather plain. I was also disappointed that nowhere I looked could I find a take away that served fish and chips to eat on the beach. Westerland is a resort town, and doesn’t pretend to be anything else. If I came again, I would more than likely head north or south of Westerland into the less populated regions to spend my time and see what else the island has to offer.
Beer is an integral part of the German Culture I have experienced, and every bar and biergarten will have a small selection of beers available for you to choose from based on your mood. One of the more interesting parts of this culture is the German Beer Law which is based on the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516. This law established how beer was to be brewed including safety of product and to ensure that brewing did not interfere with the production of bread as both were staples of Bavarian life and utilised ingredients that placed the industries in direct competition. By 1906 this law had been adopted by all German states and colonies and was thus established as the German Beer Law. You may think that this would place many restrictions on the creativity of brewers but from my experience it created an excellent framework of minimum standards from which to build an industry.
Schlappeseppel
Another beautiful biergarten that offers some excellent food is the