Seeking a rural, SE ranch town w/grasslands & mesas? (Canon City: condo, how much)

[naturegirll]

LOL-ing @ what CAVA said

[bovinedivine]

Me, too! Yet so, so true...And I love the nickname "Bo"!

[NW Crow]

I hadn't looked in to this thread before. I've poked around for information about small towns in SE Colorado / NE New Mexico before but hadn't checked Branson. In large part because I was mainly looking at place over 1,000 population and I tended to look closer to the interstate or west of it.

I'll throw out a few questions and comments to you bovinedivine, if you want to consider them and respond.

How are relations between Branson and Trinchera? Do they work together on a lot of stuff or nothing or in-between? Given the small sizes, I'd really look into the possibilities of cooperation or even perhaps combination for perhaps greater chance of success. Under 100 people is a really hard proposition to make progress with. Having 200- 250 people sounds better.

How is the hunting and, alternatively, the bird watching? If either or both are good that probably ought to get mentioned on any promotion efforts.

I assume the night sky is real good. Where to sky watchers go in the part of the state and could Branson attract them once or a few times a year with a local involved cook-out?

Can you get very far, with 2wd or 4wd drive into Raton Mesa coming at it from the Colorado east side? If so, that would be attractive.

Does anyone ski in Sugarite Canyon in NM or snowmobile anywhere between Branson, Folson NM and Sugarite Canyon? if so, that would be worth mentioning. If not, would it be worthwhile to develop and promote it?

Anyone in the area with the facilities and interest to host small-scale horse events? How much land do you typically need to feed a horse off it around there?

With a lot of these small events, the event itself is just a starting point. Trying to entice some of the visitors to become residents probably would take active intent & effort.

I see tons of windmill indicators on my map. I assume they are old ranch windmills for local power. But have any wind power companies shown any interest in the area? Have the locals pursued wind power development as an economic catalyst or even main industry? How practical would it be to generate power out there and send it to the front range grid?

Branson is pretty close to Trindad, its airport and other services. Telling people the exact distance / time of travel might help re-assure. Is the local highway in decent shape? Plowed in winter?

Is there any organized Trindad pick-up and delivery service or just families and friends handling it informally? Would a commercial Trindad pick-up and delivery service for pay have any prospect of getting customers or are people just not of a mind to do it that way for personal preference and cost reasons?

Where do kids go to high school? Potential residents might want to know that.

Is public safety, just call & wait a long time for the county sheriff? How does that situation seem to be working?

How easy is it to get locally grown food (meat and beyond)? That could appeal to some potential residents.

Has anyone tried to network and cooperate with Trindad chamber of commerce types? Or simply getting some information about Branson in their materials? Would that meet indifference or competitive cold shoulder or would they see value in including outlying area property information in their portfolio to prospective residents for those who may prefer that option (since they will get the bulk of shopping & services money anyways)?

At this point I am just mildly curious and trying to be helpful. Good luck with your efforts.

[debbie at bouontiful]

Were going to drive through Branson sometime this eary summer.

[CO.Native.SW]

I love Southeastern Colorado and Northeastern New Mexico. They feel practically identical to me. I always resent it when people compare the HIGH PLAINS of Eastern CO, Eastern NM, and West TX to the midwest lower elevation and humid plains. They should really be compared only to each other, seeing as the similar climates, demographics, people, etc.

All in all, SE Colorado and the high plains of CO and NM are hidden gems in this country. They have beautiful grasslands, mesas, buttes, canyons, cacti, etc. They are truly WAY different than the midwest, and people who have been to both would know what I am talking about.

[bovinedivine]

Soooo sorry to be away from the thread for so long. Life (and death) happens. It's wonderful to return and see CO.Native.SW waxing poetic about this formidable and precious region of the state.

And, Debbie, pls feel free to contact me via private msg if you'd like to connect up before your visit to Branson.

NW Crow, I can barely respond to all the great questions and suggestions in your thoughtful post. But I'll give it a whirl:

Folks from Branson and Trinchera get along fine. Branson has a school (T. does not), so we're ahead of them in population and amenities (ahem). Put the two towns together, though, and we're still quite a ways from 200-250 inhabitants!

Some of your questions (hunting, birding, stargazing) always come around to the fact that nearly all the land out here is privately owned. A number of ranchers derive a significant amount of income by hosting lots of hunters through all hunting seasons -- whether by guiding, lodging, feeding, you name it. Definitely hunter-friendly country -- as long as you play by the rules, get permissions, connect up with the right landowners. I could help somebody with that -- and BTW, hunting season is already booking up pretty quickly!

There is a consortium of landowners from CO and NM working on the issue of windpower development. Between them all, they are willing to offer up easements for transmission, which is the key issue out here.

Branson is home to the Branson School Online, a state-accredited K-12 online school with other 400 students from around Colorado. We also have a K-12 brick and mortar school, though population has dwindled and there are questions about whether the High School will remain open this coming year. After graduation, we will have only one remaining student in the High School. The lower grades are doing great -- we have students who bus in from Trinidad to take advantage of our very small class sizes and safe, family atmosphere. Two seasons ago, the Girls Basketball team from Kim/Branson took State!

Trinidad is 50 miles from Branson. Depending on how much of a local you are, it takes 40 to 60 minutes to make the drive.Paved highways all the way (or you can take the back way on dirt if you prefer). In winter, Hwy 160 from T'Dad to the Branson turnoff (Hwy 389/"The 10-Mile Road"), is NOT plowed during the evening/overnight hours. Main road in good shape, though local wisdom is that everybody should have 6-ply tires out here, so that's an added cost-of-living expense.

As we speak, a dedicated core of folks here are very big on the idea of local food production. We're already a bit late, but we're determined to get a Branson Community Garden up and going. We've got the donated land, and an organic farmer/grower from the Western Slope might join us for the summer to help.* fingers crossed * We're also strengthening our connection with the Trinidad Community Co-Op, which has started up a small, growing retail store, bulk ordering, CSA, etc. Earth Mountain Education Farm, W of Trinidad, is a big mover with all of that.

Locally-raised beef is, of course, always available. Bison, too. There's talk of some of us going in on a fully grass-fed cow (everything here is primarily grass-fed, though usually "finished" with a bit of grain.) We've got some local chickens, and of the laying is good, we can buy local eggs. We're also exploring getting a "town cow" to provide local milk, and eventually butter and cheese, too!

Friends of Historic Branson, Colorado, the organization I helped to birth, is a member of the Trinidad Chamber of Commerce, and we've got lots of "friends" in Trinidad and beyond. It is a bit challenging, though, since our reality is so different than "town."

Bottom line always, always,always: We are actively seeking honest, contributing, resourceful people/families interested in moving to our tiny town. Efforts are underway right now (as we speak) to get our Old Schoolhouse/Church Library, our Thrift Store, and several special events up and running for the summer/fall season. One local booster (!) is also envisioning a used bookstore that will attract those types who love to travel the Blue Highways and find unique and surprising outposts along the way. There are also some good conversations going on with Colorado Preservation, Inc., for some future heritage tourism possibilities.

Sorry, we don't have a great website up and going yet. But, I am thrilled to report that we got a bit of rain and snow recently, and things are finally starting to green up!

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by bovinedivine

We're also exploring getting a "town cow" to provide local milk, and eventually butter and cheese, too!

That's actually a golden oldie idea. At one time Durango had a town herd that provided their milk. Socialism at work!

You might want to consider goats, then make the town famous for its artisanal goat cheese. Some folks here in VA did that quite successfully.

[bovinedivine]

Hey, CAVA1990,

Good to "hear your voice." Though, not sure I've ever heard the words "socialism" and "Branson, Colorado" ever uttered (uddered?) in the same breath...

The person most interested in the cow-share idea has already done goats, and wants to do something new. That's pretty much how things get decided around here...

BTW, did you get my msg some time back with the Guadalupe contact address?

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by bovinedivine

Good to "hear your voice." Though, not sure I've ever heard the words "socialism" and "Branson, Colorado" ever uttered (uddered?) in the same breath...

Perhaps a less offensive term for the faint of heart would be "cooperative". Love the "uddered". Just PMd you.

[bovinedivine]

Yes, much better word choice. Certainly less likely to get me ridden out of town on the next coal train that passes through....