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Come Home To The Real Wild West... Come Home to Your Own Gorgeous Piece of Colorado Mountain Real Estate... Where It's Still Uncrowded, Available and Affordable... |
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Area Real Estate: Blackhawk Ranch Silver Spurs Ranch Spanish Peaks Estates Other Areas: Trinidad area Walsenburg area Mountain Land 
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| "Where ya from?" the white-bearded cowboy asked. "Colorado," I said, a little bit nervous. "Colorado," he repeated quietly, with reverence in his voice, "I thought so," he said, his eyes misting over with remembrance. "Mountains or plains?" "Near La Veta in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo's," I answered. "Truly God's Country," he said, and a tear ran down his cheek. |
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Live trout water, magnificent views, near National Forest, the feel of history, the call of a nearby National Wilderness Area: That's the Cucharas River Valley of southern Colorado |
 Select the image to see a larger version of this aerial photo of the Cucharas River Valley. The Cucharas River Valley is one of the last undiscovered treasures of Colorado. The Utes and Jicarilla Apaches considered this area to be the original birthplace of all living things. This valley and the mountains around it had special significance for many tribes in their spiritual lives. When the first Spanish explorers came through this area in the 1500's, the tribes were able to steer them clear of the valley and preserve its purity a little longer. There is a legend about a group of Jesuit priests and Spanish soldiers who found gold in the Spanish Peaks region. During the argument over how to mine the gold the priests left. The soldiers captured and enslaved a number of Native Americans to dig the gold out for them. When they thought they had enough gold, they marched all the Native slaves into the mine and killed them, then they collapsed the mine on top of the bodies. When they packed up and started to leave the area, they were ambushed and wiped out in the Purgatoire River Valley, just south of here. That's how that river got its' Spanish name: Rio de las Animas Perdido en Purgatorio (River of Souls Lost in Purgatory). Folks figure the Cucharas got its' Spanish name from the shape of the valley: like a spoon. |
 The Cucharas River |
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Trappers and mountain men came and went for the next 200+ years. The first settlers in the Valley came from Fort Garland in the San Luis Valley in 1862. They built Fort Francisco where La Veta now stands. La Veta was incorporated as a town in 1876, the same year that Colorado attained statehood. That was also the year that gold was found in the valley between the East and West Spanish Peaks. The gold rush lasted two years. At its' height there were 55-60 mines in operation. About the same time, coal was discovered and miners came into the area from all over the world. Coal mining and cattle ranching were the primary industries in the area for fifty years. With the end of World War II came the end of the coal era. These days, the local population is about a quarter of what it was in 1900. |
 Looking toward the Sangre de Cristo's from downstream on the Cucharas River |
After a minute the old cowpoke spoke again:
"Is the Valley of the Cucharas the same as it was?" "Yes," I answered, "exactly the same. More deer and elk than people, the biggest view in the West, the prettiest valley in all of Colorado." "That's how I remember it," he said, "country big enough for a man and his family, a place where respect goes hand in hand with responsibility for the land." "That it is," I said, "that it is. Truly God's Country." And tears ran down both our cheeks thinking about it. |
 If you are searching for the Colorado that existed before the crowds came, you owe it to yourself to come and have a look at what we offer. You won't be disappointed. Now is your chance of a lifetime to easily build a legacy for your own future generations. |
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Land, Homes and Other Properties For Sale:
Blackhawk Ranch - Silver Spurs Ranch - Other Mountain Properties For Information About: La Veta - Cuchara |
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The information contained herein has been obtained from sources deemed reliable but cannot necessarily be guaranteed by the broker or its agents. Sellers reserve the right to raise or lower prices at any time without notice. All photos, images and text are copyright © 1997-2009 by Leah Schaeffer All rights reserved. Void where prohibited by law. |