Well, I’ve caught the same bug. A month ago I pulled the trigger on 10 acres right off the Rio Grande and 142 sight unseen. I have land in the Chihuahuan Desert so it’s not like it could be any harder there. Plan on just camping off and on during the summer and maybe some time down the road dig a well and start a home. Would be nice if the county ever finds a way to make something out of the public green belt there.
@@Gauthierbrad27 I just got some land close the the Blanca peak gorgeous view i stopped to see it as I drove home after getting out the Army, beautiful place I figure it’ll only get more difficult to buy land in the future especially five acres idc where it is
When I moved to NW New Mexico several years ago, I was very excited to see the Land for Sale signs as I drove through the San Luis Valley! I came back to work talking about it and a colleague said that the SLV has the coldest winter temps of the lower 48 AND horrendous dust storms! I drove through one later on - white dust made white-out conditions! I started to understand then that the "cheap land" was cheap for a reason! Later I came across the 1970's advertising campaigns and just shook my head at all the dreams that had gone up in dust over the past 50 years. Thank you for this in-depth report and looking forward to Part 2 as I am still fascinated by the San Luis Valley despite all the negatives.
i looked at the San Luis property listings for years online. came really close to buying land there. hard to go wrong paying like eight grand for five acres! but ultimately, the area just looked too desolate and barren. i ended up finding listings for cheap land in Soda Springs Idaho. paid $19,900 for five acres on top of the hills south of town looking down on the Bear river. got offered $65,000 for it last summer, and said "no thanks"
Bought some cheap land here, it looks absolutely beautiful to me, the entire area, spent a month out west last year and went right thru Alamosa, had no idea.
This is a beautiful and inhospitable environment, with a short growing season. We spent 3 years off grid and eventually moved to San Luis for the services we could not readily get out on the prairie. Still in love with the places around the Valley and explore the area when possible. So much history..read Ted Conover's "Cheap Land Colorado" for more.
thank you for sharing. We spoke with Ted about his new book in this article: www.rmpbs.org/blogs/rocky-mountain-pbs/ted-conover-cheap-land-colorado/ Part II of this series airs Feb. 16 at 7pm. You can watch here: th-cam.com/video/Ju0IuyxDnxk/w-d-xo.html
"Beautiful and inhospitable environment" is exactly right (and so is the short growing season.) Hardscrabble is also an accurate word for the life lived here. But if you can handle it and find that peace that doesn't exist in urban areas, you'll be in touch with a part of you that was drowned out by the white noise of Rattus Urbanus. And that's pretty darn nice.
I'm a nomadic person but spend most of my time going back and forth from south texas to Denver. I wouldn't want to live on this land full time but it seems like a perfect area to have a little bit of cheap land that I can throw a tiny cabin on. Sort of a "camp" that I can stay at and explore the area. There are tons of beautiful places in the vicinity
Its so sad that water is still such a big deal! Many families are being displaced or having to find alternate means of water. The state is closing another water well that has been open for public use for many many years! This closure is personal to me as it has cut my family off from water and may be forcing us to sell and leave this dream we have.
I grew up in Mesita, and people forget that in the 60s and 70s The Colorado Aggregate mine flourshed and employed many Valley residents, lava pumice was mined,packaged and sold as landscape material and later for gas bbq grills. When it was sold in the mid 80s my hometown started becoming a ghost town. If people are intersted I can go exploring childhood haunts and post them. The abandoned lava mine is awesome.
I am a Sanchez from this area.. my mom and grandma were born in Monte Vista in the San Luis Valley… my grandma migrated north to Denver with my mom and her 6 siblings in 1946… interesting video… thanks for sharing!
Drilling to secure your own water is a commonality anywhere. The problem is lack of consistent water. I wonder what is the difference of securing water here and Arizona.
Colorado sends water to Arizona. Arizona has everything shipped in, no natural resources and as everyone else's resources dwindle less and less will make way to Arizona.
Part II of "Colorado Voices: Cheap Land" airs Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. on Rocky Mountain PBS and on TH-cam. Here is the livestream link: th-cam.com/video/Ju0IuyxDnxk/w-d-xo.html For more stories from across Colorado, sign up for our Spotlight newsletter: www.rmpbs.org/newsletter/
I lived out here 7 years now, i have meet Ted and few of the other's. Living out here is not for the everyday person, and 90% of people who live in the cities should really think twice before living off grid. You cannot live out here like you live in town. If you don't have it, its an hour away including medical help. Do your Research carefully before you start, it will save you much.
Colorado is just a HIGH DESERT. Most places have no WATER!!! The soil is poor and won't grow in anything. This is a REPEAT of the "Pie Town New Mexico" debacle in the Dirty Thirties. One thousand bucks per acre is EXPENSIVE for land here. The Eastern part of Colorado is the WORST PART of the old DUST BOWL. Nearly all of the American West is like this, it is SPACE, not "land".
@@joannemoser3443 I can attest to that. I lived in the foothills (Carter Lake) and mountains (Red Feather and Crystal Lakes) of Larimer County for many years, and the gusts were brutal. Not nearly as bad in the Valley.
Here's the real deal, before the 70s you could break land up into these small parcels, then the laws were changed so that the smallest lot you could break things into were 35 acres, unless you went through the subdivision process, which includes roads, and even curb and gutters for small lots, so no more of these lots can be made very easily, the county's love them because they get more taxes, as the small lots are taxed at higher than Ag rates, most of these lots of been repossessed and resold Time after Time through the property tax process.
Sounds like what happened in the 60s with the Whispering Ranch area in Maricopa County in the Phoenix area. It still has yet to recover, really, even though it is almost basically in the metro area.
300 to 500 feet even more on the Mesa, but usage is quite heavily restricted. Unless your grandfathered in or have deep pockets ag wells are extremely hard to permit.
You can drill, but it's expensive and may require several attempts before you get water. When the water table goes down and water production drops people drill yet again, and again, and again, drilling deeper and deeper. Water is scarce and has led to the downfall of many and arguments over the right to it and the theft of it.
Since I was born the US population has doubled people have to live somewhere And they’re not making any new land. Except in Hawaii and that’s still to hot to walk on Before long you may see towns and cities in some of these remote places
It is made of the lava rocks that were mined in Mesita, the church, town/dance hall and county shop are all built of the same, my childhood home is down the road. My property has a lava rock home built half underground with four feet above ground line.
No place is cheap if you have to depend solely on well water. Realtors are getting very creative when describing what is the water supply. Anything OTHER THAN "public water" on the property should be AVOIDED. 🙄
The irony is that all of the tragedy of the cheap land "story" evolved from Gilpin and his ilk. Even western water law itself was born out of mining law, which again was white-man history. Check out Limerick's The Legacy of Conquest....
Well, I’ve caught the same bug. A month ago I pulled the trigger on 10 acres right off the Rio Grande and 142 sight unseen. I have land in the Chihuahuan Desert so it’s not like it could be any harder there. Plan on just camping off and on during the summer and maybe some time down the road dig a well and start a home. Would be nice if the county ever finds a way to make something out of the public green belt there.
I saw just a smidgen of a documentary on the Rio Grande and it looked like the most exotic, intriguing place...
Dude the same bug led me here, I’m about to pull the trigger on a 5 acre lot in Colorado
@@Gauthierbrad27 I just got some land close the the Blanca peak gorgeous view i stopped to see it as I drove home after getting out the Army, beautiful place I figure it’ll only get more difficult to buy land in the future especially five acres idc where it is
Enjoy your sand folks
When I moved to NW New Mexico several years ago, I was very excited to see the Land for Sale signs as I drove through the San Luis Valley! I came back to work talking about it and a colleague said that the SLV has the coldest winter temps of the lower 48 AND horrendous dust storms! I drove through one later on - white dust made white-out conditions! I started to understand then that the "cheap land" was cheap for a reason! Later I came across the 1970's advertising campaigns and just shook my head at all the dreams that had gone up in dust over the past 50 years. Thank you for this in-depth report and looking forward to Part 2 as I am still fascinated by the San Luis Valley despite all the negatives.
thank you for watching!
Another excellent piece on the San Luis Valley. Thank you RMPBS!
thanks for watching, Ben!
i looked at the San Luis property listings for years online. came really close to buying land there. hard to go wrong paying like eight grand for five acres! but ultimately, the area just looked too desolate and barren. i ended up finding listings for cheap land in Soda Springs Idaho. paid $19,900 for five acres on top of the hills south of town looking down on the Bear river. got offered $65,000 for it last summer, and said "no thanks"
You better sell!
Bought some cheap land here, it looks absolutely beautiful to me, the entire area, spent a month out west last year and went right thru Alamosa, had no idea.
I have lived here since,2006 I built a beautiful log cabin in front of Blanca peak
I was looking at land in Blanca Co. Do you still like living in the area?
Anderson is a man I greatly admire.
This is a beautiful and inhospitable environment, with a short growing season. We spent 3 years off grid and eventually moved to San Luis for the services we could not readily get out on the prairie. Still in love with the places around the Valley and explore the area when possible. So much history..read Ted Conover's "Cheap Land Colorado" for more.
thank you for sharing. We spoke with Ted about his new book in this article: www.rmpbs.org/blogs/rocky-mountain-pbs/ted-conover-cheap-land-colorado/
Part II of this series airs Feb. 16 at 7pm. You can watch here: th-cam.com/video/Ju0IuyxDnxk/w-d-xo.html
"Beautiful and inhospitable environment" is exactly right (and so is the short growing season.) Hardscrabble is also an accurate word for the life lived here. But if you can handle it and find that peace that doesn't exist in urban areas, you'll be in touch with a part of you that was drowned out by the white noise of Rattus Urbanus. And that's pretty darn nice.
I'm a nomadic person but spend most of my time going back and forth from south texas to Denver. I wouldn't want to live on this land full time but it seems like a perfect area to have a little bit of cheap land that I can throw a tiny cabin on. Sort of a "camp" that I can stay at and explore the area. There are tons of beautiful places in the vicinity
save your $ and use it to explore with if your a nomad?
Love travelling through this area ,and others in Colorado ,a great peice of country ,look after it
Its so sad that water is still such a big deal! Many families are being displaced or having to find alternate means of water. The state is closing another water well that has been open for public use for many many years! This closure is personal to me as it has cut my family off from water and may be forcing us to sell and leave this dream we have.
It must be very hard to make it out there it's pretty desolate, the ol timers are some tough people!!!🙆♀️🙅♀️🖖👍
Thanks this means a lot.
I grew up in Mesita, and people forget that in the 60s and 70s The Colorado Aggregate mine flourshed and employed many Valley residents, lava pumice was mined,packaged and sold as landscape material and later for gas bbq grills. When it was sold in the mid 80s my hometown started becoming a ghost town. If people are intersted I can go exploring childhood haunts and post them. The abandoned lava mine is awesome.
Wow, beautiful work from all involved. Thank you so much.
thanks for watching!
Thank you!, that was so enjoyable.
Thanks for watching, Renee!
I am a Sanchez from this area.. my mom and grandma were born in Monte Vista in the San Luis Valley… my grandma migrated north to Denver with my mom and her 6 siblings in 1946… interesting video… thanks for sharing!
Mr Anderson, hello! I loved this video you did here. Saw my old pobox. You did a great job.
Sincerely Howard Johnson, I had the red horse
“Largest free range insane asylum in North America”
I’ve lived here permanently for the last 12yrs and enjoy the solitude.
Don't forget to visit the alligator farm at Mosca,, no joke.
Drilling to secure your own water is a commonality anywhere. The problem is lack of consistent water. I wonder what is the difference of securing water here and Arizona.
Colorado sends water to Arizona. Arizona has everything shipped in, no natural resources and as everyone else's resources dwindle less and less will make way to Arizona.
Please please read Cadillac Desert
Part II of "Colorado Voices: Cheap Land" airs Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. on Rocky Mountain PBS and on TH-cam. Here is the livestream link: th-cam.com/video/Ju0IuyxDnxk/w-d-xo.html
For more stories from across Colorado, sign up for our Spotlight newsletter: www.rmpbs.org/newsletter/
I lived out here 7 years now, i have meet Ted and few of the other's. Living out here is not for the everyday person, and 90% of people who live in the cities should really think twice before living off grid.
You cannot live out here like you live in town. If you don't have it, its an hour away including medical help.
Do your Research carefully before you start, it will save you much.
Thank you for sharing this. I actually purchased one of those 5 acre lots. I’d love to have more (connected of course)
That was so nostalgic 😘
Colorado is just a HIGH DESERT. Most places have no WATER!!! The soil is poor and won't grow in anything. This is a REPEAT of the "Pie Town New Mexico" debacle in the Dirty Thirties. One thousand bucks per acre is EXPENSIVE for land here. The Eastern part of Colorado is the WORST PART of the old DUST BOWL. Nearly all of the American West is like this, it is SPACE, not "land".
I am surprised the wind was not mentioned. It is definitely part of life there and makes it harder.
The wind makes it harder? Lol
It gets worse, 🥶
@@digitaldystopian Yes
Wind is everywhere in Colorado. While it is windy in the valley the front range mountain towns get hammered with 100 mph wind gusts.
@@joannemoser3443 I can attest to that. I lived in the foothills (Carter Lake) and mountains (Red Feather and Crystal Lakes) of Larimer County for many years, and the gusts were brutal. Not nearly as bad in the Valley.
El Mogote highly approves.... I learned a lot.... :)
Thank you for watching!
Well done! When’s part 2?
Thank you! And thanks for watching.
Part 2 will air Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 pm.
Here is a link to Part II that airs Thursday at 7 pm MT: th-cam.com/video/Ju0IuyxDnxk/w-d-xo.html
Did you know the difference between cheap and inexpensive? We'll see if you understand value and are aware of it as in merit ...
I live in Garcia... I never knew any of this!
I live north of mestia.
Wanted to retire there but couldn't get it to work out.
Here's the real deal, before the 70s you could break land up into these small parcels, then the laws were changed so that the smallest lot you could break things into were 35 acres, unless you went through the subdivision process, which includes roads, and even curb and gutters for small lots, so no more of these lots can be made very easily, the county's love them because they get more taxes, as the small lots are taxed at higher than Ag rates, most of these lots of been repossessed and resold Time after Time through the property tax process.
Interesting
@18:23 My man was slingin Nee-Hi's back in the day?
Sounds like what happened in the 60s with the Whispering Ranch area in Maricopa County in the Phoenix area. It still has yet to recover, really, even though it is almost basically in the metro area.
Lane is not so cheap any longer due to the demand now.
If you drilled in this area ,would you get water ?
300 to 500 feet even more on the Mesa, but usage is quite heavily restricted. Unless your grandfathered in or have deep pockets ag wells are extremely hard to permit.
@@sunnydpunk so the state does not provide water and will not let you drill. sounds like corruption to me. drill any way
No you can drill for residential, you just can't use the water outside of the home.
You can drill, but it's expensive and may require several attempts before you get water. When the water table goes down and water production drops people drill yet again, and again, and again, drilling deeper and deeper. Water is scarce and has led to the downfall of many and arguments over the right to it and the theft of it.
Drill deep enough to tap into the Nile. Lol
Now Most Colorado is Full of Gas Wells Destroying Ground Water
Bogus.
Actually the petroglyphs have Apache marking out the land boundaries way before any utes
Sounds like rules to me
I bought my acre yippy
Does this nostalgia have any point?
💪😎👍
Can I help ???.
i know how to make it work, but only with large acerages
What about snakes out there?
Rattlesnakes, you bet, but only 6 months then it's to cold and Windy
It’s what’s for supper
Since I was born the US population has doubled people have to live somewhere
And they’re not making any new land. Except in Hawaii and that’s still to hot to walk on
Before long you may see towns and cities in some of these remote places
What is that building at 13:09 ?
It's beautiful 😍
it's actually an abandoned house!
It is made of the lava rocks that were mined in Mesita, the church, town/dance hall and county shop are all built of the same, my childhood home is down the road. My property has a lava rock home built half underground with four feet above ground line.
Mexican land forever
the Ute may disagree
Tartarians may disagree 😆
It was part of Mexico for 30 years, from a half mexican
No place is cheap if you have to depend solely on well water. Realtors are getting very creative when describing what is the water supply. Anything OTHER THAN "public water" on the property should be AVOIDED. 🙄
Never been to Colorado me or my kids
Ok?
Was enchanted by Trinidad area,seduced by possibility realtor showed me but better angel kept me from $500/acre folly.
The irony is that all of the tragedy of the cheap land "story" evolved from Gilpin and his ilk. Even western water law itself was born out of mining law, which again was white-man history. Check out Limerick's The Legacy of Conquest....
Boring
@J Coats - History is always interesting. Especially if you have any ties to it or can empathize with the people involved.
Yer post. Correct.
E x c e l l e n t .
Gr8murderandtransportationgrounds