Las Animas, Colorado - History & Information - #7/100

Today's adventure took us to Las Animas, the location of the first American settlement in Colorado! (February 27, 2022)
Though Las Animas as we know it relies on ranching and prisons, the land it sits on was bustling with trade and exploration prior to the railroad. From the Big Timbers, to Bent's Fort and Boggsville, Las Animas was quite essential in times past.
*I forgot to include the many Spanish expeditions that passed through the area. The Purgatoire River was the most popular route from Santa Fe to the Great Plains.
Ski Lodge was created to publicly document our travels around Colorado. Started to simply get everyone out of the house, it has turned into a vast collection of histoy, photography and general information.
NEARBY PLACES:
La Junta (West 20min)
• La Junta, Colorado - E...
A Summary of Colorado History pre-1876
• A Summary of Colorado ...
Where we've been so far:
• The 100

[@Narofox1]

Thank you for exploring the old a** state I grew up in but can afford to explore. It's very educational and inspirational.

[@kenbob126]

Talking with my father this last august. I found that my family is deep rooted in this area. He was talking about family staying on the river as shelter. He also told me that there were family members who were Indians that the my great grandfather and great grand mother would go visit.

[@SkiLodgeColorado]

That is really cool! It's hard to believe those times were only a few generations ago

[@oscarramos3149]

Great video thanks for sharing 👍

[@DankyTheClown]

Hey man great video. I like the narration. 👍

[@SkiLodgeColorado]

Thanks for watching!

[@brandonGCHACHU]

I worked on my Grandfather's pig farm near there in the late 80s and Las Animas was a busy little town back then. It looks like a dang ghost town there now

[@SkiLodgeColorado]

I've heard this from several people now. Wish I was around in it's hayday

[@highplainsgrifter600]

My home town

[@Sylvie1710]

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching your videos and learning the history of small CO towns. I've been coming to Colorado since I was a child and absolutely love it, and now my husband and I are finally looking to make our dream of moving there a reality. We are looking for somewhere smaller than either Denver or Colorado Springs (and less expensive). I'm curious about your thoughts on both Pueblo and Pueblo West? We are looking for an area that values educational opportunities (we have school aged children, one being on the autism spectrum), Healthcare, and a pro stance on clean energy initiatives. We are coming from a very anti progress state and are looking for something much different. We were able to visit in Aug but didn't spend very much time in the Pueblo area. Any insight would be helpful. Thank you!

[@SkiLodgeColorado]

Thanks for the comment and for watching our videos! I've been in Colorado my whole life and learned through travel that it really is one of the better places to live full time. If affordability is important then FoCo, Denver, COS and the mountains are probably out. All of those places usually start at 500k for a house. Pueblo is a great location but is lower income and higher crime. Doesn't mean you should rule it out, nearly 200k people get on just fine everyday. We live in Pueblo West which is basically a suburb and its got tons of elbow room, great schools and low crime but is more expensive. "The Mesa" or the eastern community of Pueblo that runs along Santa Fe Ave is nice too, and in the same school district as pw. Florence, Penrose, Canon City, Colorado City and Fountain should be considered as well. Since you said you had kids I will throw this info out there: Cherry Creek and Douglas County are the best school districts in the entire state, somewhere I wish we could afford to send our kids. I hope that helps. As far as Healthcare, Denver and Springs are your places. Any eco friendly stuff is either do it yourself or in Denver only but solar panels are becoming quite popular. Welcome to the area, you're gonna love it!

[@Sylvie1710]

@@SkiLodgeColorado I appreciate your input! We are currently in the process of listing the sizeable amount of land we own. My mother owns half and my husband and I the other half. It's been in my family for almost 75 years, and we are some of the last few people in the area holding onto acerage. What felt rural as a child is now the suburbs, and the upkeep is never ending. We will be coming with cash to buy, but will be moving our household and my Mom (she lives by herself). It's certainly going to be chaotic. The prices around Pueblo seem much more reasonable than many areas and less competitive. The weather is also more appealing to us. Not looking for an insane amount of snow, but would like more than we see where we currently live. We had looked into Grand Junction but their real estate market has been super competitive with little options currently listed. We liked the Trinidad area when we visited, but are concerned with how far removed from a big city it is. Colorado Springs was way too busy for my liking. We stayed a couple of days around Canon City and I certainly wouldn't rule that area out. I liked the proximity of Pueblo West to big city amenities and the larger yards (we have dogs). I have found a few other places around the outskirts of Pueblo that I liked. The crime statistics have definitely caused some hesitation, but when we were in Pueblo West I didn't at any point feel unsafe. We didn't stop at all in Pueblo though, only drove through. Are there any areas in particular that should be avoided?

[@SkiLodgeColorado]

​@@Sylvie1710 Pueblo is a bit strange and there's no particular part of town I wouldn't live in depending on my current situation. It's a bit of a mosaic. But married with two young kids I chose the suburban side of things. Just know that regardless of where you live in the Pueblo area, you will find yourself in Pueblo for errands. The stretch of businesses along us50/I25 on the northside is absolutely essential to us, yet that stretch of road holds some of the highest crime statistics in the entire state. Most crime in Pueblo is gang related or petty theft so it doesn't *usually* affect the average person, and folks come from hours away to get essentials here (Lamar, Salida, Trinidad/Raton). People don't seem to like the East/Lower East Sides, Bessemer or the West Side (by the State Hospital). People do like Aberdeen, Eagleridge, University Park and El Camino. Parkview in Pueblo is the closest Level 2 Trauma center to a lot of places so if healthcare is a concern/necessity you'll probably end up in town a lot anyway. Colorado Springs and Denver have the Level 1 Trauma centers.
Trinidad's too small for me, but I delivered beer and appliances there for several years. After making that drive day in and day out, it doesn't feel very far anymore lol. I was astounded how large the community really went. Everyone had friends and family in the surrounding towns like Aguilar, Weston, Walsenburg. Very friendly bunch, super generous. It's the core of it's own little region.

[@Sylvie1710]

@@SkiLodgeColorado I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me. You have truly helped ease some of my concerns. This will be a massive life change for us, but I am looking forward to it. Spent many summers as a child with my grandparents in their RV in Lake City and have always loved Colorado. They had been going since the 70's and always took me on crazy off the beaten path adventures. So many awesome memories!

[@SkiLodgeColorado]

@@Sylvie1710 Those were probably the best times to visit Colorado as it feels our mountains are being sold or burned away plot by plot! Regardless, I wish you luck with whatever choice you make. Just take your time and trust your instincts, the right place will come around!