Dave Ford Does Earth

Posted by Dave Ford

Pictured: The Hot Springs in the town center. There are 18 pools with temperatures ranging from 101 to 112 degrees. Ahh, Pagosa Springs Colorado. What? You have never heard of it? Well, none of us had heard of it either before this trip. Friends of mine from back home in Baltimore, Lisa and Joe, decided to move their lives to the south west and stumbled on this quaint little town (population 6000) while exploring the area. What they discovered is nothing short of a diamond in the rough.

We were initially going to stay with Lisa and Joe for a day or two. Somehow, mostly due to the fact that the six of us were having such a good time together, we ended up staying for four days over Thanksgiving weekend.

At the fire pit in the back of Lisa and Joe’s new house: Lisa and Joe wanted a change of pace from the life they knew on the east coast in Baltimore. They both had successful lives in Charm City. Joe used to own an Art Gallery and frame shop. Lisa worked as a mediator for the government. Nonetheless, they left there old lives for a refreshing new one in a small town full of promise and cowboys (there are many real life Cowboys in town). Joe is now waiting tables while Lisa works as a grocery store. They are hoping to start a new business in Pagosa Springs of some sort once they know the area better. Right now they are trying to learn more about their new surroundings.

Personally, I think what they did is amazing. The town they picked could not be more perfectly suited for them.

We all had many conversations about potentially moving there one day. Even Mr. Australia (Benny) talked about getting a “Mrs.” (aka Wife) and moving to Pagosa to settle down.

The famous hot springs give the town a unique advantage. I have never experienced hot springs like the ones in Pagosa. They are positioned directly next to the San Juan river. In total, there are 18 total pools ranging from 101 degrees to 112 degrees. We spent three days at the actual springs. Each day we jumped into the freezing San Juan a few times after jumping out of the 112 degree hot pots. I should have worn a bikini and performed a second version of Dave Ford’s Polar Plunge.

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The juxtaposition is interesting as the town of Pagosa Springs is absolutely ready to explode, while the county it resides in has gone bankrupt. For the last 50 years the county has been run by insidious Boss Hogg (from the Dukes of Hazzard) type characters. In recent years, since the expansion of the Hot Springs and the growth of nearby Wolf Creek Ski Mountain, millionaires and billionaires have been showing up to Pagosa in record numbers and buying up everything. The old school and the new school are not mixing so well.
I had an interesting conversation with the owner of a Taxi cab company (he is the only cab company in town with a total of 2 cabs). He claimed that the local cops tried to run him out of business because his service was cutting down on the number of DWI’s that they could write up. Apparently, DWI arrests are a big money maker for the county government in Pagosa. I suppose this sort of thing happens when town councils are corrupt. If you go to Pagosa Springs, do not drink and drive .

Sidenote: I find small town politics very interesting. While we were there everyone was talking about the town council corruption. Apparently change is in the works and the corrupt government officials are being pushed out.

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Notes:

> Before we entered Pagosa Springs, in the middle of New Mexico, the Volvo station wagon (in all of her glory) broke down. Luckily, we were able to leave her at a shop and all pile into the minivan. I guess you have to figure that something had to go wrong with one of the cars on a 4000 plus mile journey.

>Thanksgiving was delicious. Muchos Gracias to Joe and Lisa for absolutely rolling out the red carpet and taking us into their home. The meal was a delicious blend of turkey, stuffing, cranberry, wine, and bourbon.

➢ Joe and Lisa’s house is right next to the Continental Divide (runs from Mexico into Canada) where the rivers of the North America run either east or west. Joe, Dave, and I have made tentative plans to hike an 85 mile portion of the divide next summer. We walked a short part of it shown here.

> On Thanksgiving night in Pagosa our Australian contingent experienced “falling snow” for the first time ever. Jess and Benny were five year olds that next morning.. They woke up early and went outside to build the sorry Australian attempt at a snowman seen here. I believe snowball fights and snow angels were also in the mix.

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