About Alamosa

My (Rebecca's) grandma emailed me with a list of questions about our new town. I figured I'd post them and their answers on here so that everyone can get an idea of life in Alamosa.

How big is the town (population)? Around 10-15,000

How far from Denver ? 236 miles, about a four-hour drive

How big is the church? around 200 people

Do you have your own building? yes, but it's an old and small building, so we're in the process of relocating to a larger and newer building.

What kind of college is in the town? Adams State College is a small public liberal arts school. Its track and cross country teams are internationally known.

What grocery store do you go to? Where is it? There are two grocery stores in Alamosa: City Market and Safeway. We prefer the Safeway because it's closer to our house (about 1/2 mile) and nicer.

When you went out to lunch on Sunday, where did you go? To The Inn of the Rio Grande. It's a nice hotel with a nice restaurant. There are several fast food places: McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Long John Silvers, to name a few. And there are a few restaurants in town: a great Chinese place, a Thai place, a brewery, and a restaurant called "The Outhouse." (That doesn't really sound too appealing to me!)

Who are your neighbors (besides the pastor who lives across the street?) The only neighbor we've met is Virginia, a very old woman who's hard of hearing. She lives in our same complex. I think a family is living to the left of us, and it appears as though a young married couple has just moved in to the right of us.

I know that you don’t have Jazzercise, but do you have an Ace Hardware? Yes, there are two Ace Hardwares within 17 miles of us. There is also a True Value, where Deric hopes to work part-time. Even though there's no Jazzercise, there's a nice Rec Center which provides exercise classes.

Have you started looking for jobs yet? Yes. We've both applied to be substitute teachers, and Deric has applied elsewhere as well. I'm planning on subbing 2-3 days a week, and Deric hopes to work at a hardware store.

Do you sense a feeling of warmth with the people? Very much so. We feel right at home.

How do most of your congregation earn their living? Some work at the college, some are farmers (the San Luis Valley is home to potato farming) or ranchers, many have their own businesses (a fencing business, a hardware store, a leather business, etc.).

Here's additional information about Alamosa:

Elevation: 7,544 feet

History: Alamosa was established in May 1878 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad and quickly became an important rail center. The railroad had an extensive construction, repair and shipping facility in Alamosa for many years and headquartered its remaining narrow gauge service here with trackage reaching many points throughout southwest Colorado and northern New Mexico. Alamosa is now a notable tourist town with many nearby attractions including the Great Sand Dunes National Park. The town hosts a Sunshine Summerfest on the Rio Festival which occurs the first weekend in June. The city takes its name from the Alamosa River. The name "Alamosa" means "shaded with cottonwoods" in Spanish.

Geography: Alamosa is located in the San Luis Valley, in the highest general agricultural land in the United States. The San Luis Valley is the largest intermountain valley in the world and features a dry climate with long cold winters and short cool summers.

Demographics: About 60% white and 40% Hispanic; about 25% of the population is below the poverty line.

Source: wikipedia.org