A Traveler's Blog

Do you want to visit Alamosa like you know a local? Here is your chance! Enjoy the following feature articles written by a traveler enjoying some hidden (and not so hidden) treasures around the San Luis Valley.

In Search of - Path Finding Adventures

Amazing how many places and physical features in the West are named after John Fremont and Kit Carson. Cities, towns, streets, rivers, peaks, counties, schools, National Forests, even a ghost town, and probably other things I have missed!

Recently, Outside Magazine had an article that adventures in nature, considered 'outdoor therapy,' are as good for mental health as they are for our physical well-being. For me it was a 'duh' moment for I have always felt that way, hence my level of excitement and butterflies when I think of an adventure with a purpose.

MY EMBARGO CREEK ADVENTURE

Cruising Crestone and Crestone Brewery

The town of Crestone is the 'Outer Limits' of the San Luis Valley in a good way. Resting on the perimeter in the north part of the valley, 38 miles north of Alamosa, and 12 miles east of Highway 17, the town is easily accessible. During festivals and special events, Crestone is busy. Other times, like the day before Halloween, late October being considered off season as the calendar flows into the dark and chilly days of winter, Crestone is pleasantly peaceful. I took advantage of the perfect weather to go for a run up North Crestone Trail 744. I normally go up the Willow Lake Trail but it is good to change things up. I parked near the Crestone Art Museum in town on a quiet Sunday afternoon in perfect weather, no wind, with temperatures in the low 60s. Soft clouds filtered the low angle of the autumn sunlight. Alder Street going north will put you on the Camino de Crestone which will lead you up to the trailhead. Signs in town are lacking to point trail seekers in the right direction. I had to ask a gentleman out for a stroll.

Hiking and Biking in the SLV

Hear ye, hear ye, one and all, it is still Fall, as evidenced by the color still available on several trails in the San Luis Valley and along rivers, streams, and hillsides. September's full dress of colors, and our festivals celebrating such, are over, but it does not mean the trails close! Colors dull down in the aspen trees, but there are still plenty of good reasons to get out and hike or bike. This year the aspens, due to a late dry summer, showed more oranges and reds beyond the golds they usually give us. It has been an excellent color season! What about now into late October and early November? If an early winter storm with ripping winds holds off, colors will remain for a month or more. A few renegade aspens and cottonwoods hold their brilliant yellows, so bright in the sunshine that they look as if they are drawing additional power by being directly plugged into the Earth.

Healthy Trends for Healthy Living in the SLV

With all the outdoor adventures to be found in the San Luis Valley, it's nice to know there are several healthy filling stations to fuel our fun. My super sustenance for my insanity, running up the steepest gnarliest trails I can find, is not about super sizing, or super foods that get hyped in the media, like 'zing zing berries.' No such berry of course, but they would be rare and cost big dollars. Not to worry, because zing zing berries do everything for us, cure our ails, give us 12 hours of energy and provide motivation to clean our houses! I am referring to normal super foods that are nutritious and have always been available to us if we source them properly. How much is our health worth? Seems as though we all have a different price tag...

12 Hours of Penitence Rides Again

The mountain bike trails in Penitente Canyon are intense, beautiful, unforgiving, joyous and full of pleasures and perils for riders who are intermediate level to off the scale crazy, skilled and phenomenal. High praises to all riders who take these trails on for serious fun and adventure. Oh, and for a good cause too.

So... Attention all mountain bikers who need a supreme riding challenge fix on Saturday October 8 in the very place to which I have just made reference!

Presto Pesto!

The bounty of harvest season allows, for those of us who like to play in the kitchen, or those who want to learn the skills of cooking, to become mad food scientists! Eating fresh garden vegetables are about the nutrition they provide, the flavors we can ignite within them, while preparation allows for us to cook vegetables in ways that are magically wonderful. Like any other science experiment, creating new flavors involves trial and error. Requirements? Come to the kitchen with a few basic skills, a willing to learn, and not be afraid!

Wheeler Geologic Area Pyroclastic Breccia!

At a time when birthdays come with mixed feelings, I decided to visit a place where things were older than me. Way older! The Wheeler Geologic Area foot the bill by 26 - 40 million years. And I learned a new term - Pyroclastic breccia! So, my birthday was good!

The area is not easily accessible but if a day trip to a unique place fits into your adventure schedule then your experience to the WGA will be memorable.

Poncha Pass Pondering

Having driven over Poncha Pass many times, I often wondered why I had never gotten off the beaten asphalt path of Highway 285, and stopped for a hike or a run. One explanation is that there are no brown Forest Service Access signs inviting me, and all of us, into the San Isabel National Forest! I pulled off at the gravel road a few hundred yards on the San Luis Valley side of the summit last Spring and though it looks like there were once information signs for the access road and the Poncha Pass Loop as it is called, they are no longer there. I parked and started running up the road but ran into mud, ice and deep snow, and though entertaining, I had to abort the mission that day after about a mile...

A Potpourri of Pleasures in the SLV

Rumor has it, with 2016 being the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, that Great Sand Dunes National Park is busy. The sand dunes have plenty of room for people and dogs, yes, even dogs are welcome, but the infrastructure of parking lots, campgrounds, and other facilities are beyond capacity. Go, and enjoy, but... If the desire strikes to get far from the crowds, there are other places in the San Luis Valley that offer unique and wonderful views, experiences, and fuel our adventurous internal fires. My brother and I are of the same mindset when we set out on a new trail or even a regular 'go to' trail because we always see something new. The same awaits you and your traveling companions in other parts of the SLV.