I Still Can’t Believe I Live Here….

/ Laura Lee Carter

Walsenburg city limits signThe culture-shock continues at this end. I remember daily my surprise when we first moved here from busy, expensive Fort Collins last summer. Walsenburg is very small, quiet and poor. Back then, every time I went out to my car to go somewhere I would think, “Where the hell am I?” Ours was a move from one of the richest cities in Colorado to the absolute poorest. Yes, this was a challenge to the way I saw myself.

About once a month we would go eat breakfast at the local greasy spoon, that cafe that has been on Main Street for a hundred years. Phyllis, the owner, cook, and waitress would always ask, “Where are you from?” We would always answer, “Here.” It took her a few months to accept the fact that we would be coming back monthly.

Last time I was there, I asked her to sit down for a minute and tell me about Walsenburg. She said it used to be a nice little town, back when there were still some good jobs left. She said downtown was buzzing back then, but since the mid-1980s it’s been going downhill. Now some believe the influx of people and dollars for cultivating marijuana will save the town. She’s not so sure, but hopes for the best.

Now, after one of the most stressful years of my life because of the major challenges of moving into a very old house in a sad little town, and then completing a home in the foothills west of here, I again feel culture shock.

After a lifetime of living mostly single, extensive world travel, constant change, and relentless uncertainty, I live now in an amazingly peaceful place with my loving husband and great puppy. Sometimes this feels like a dream. I’m staying at a quiet, beautiful mountain resort, and I begin to wonder when the management is going to kick me out!

How did this happen? How did I end up in the amazing place, feeling so happy and lucky? It’s a long story, one I would love to share with you!

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16 thoughts on “I Still Can’t Believe I Live Here….”

  2. Hi Laura Lee! Yes such a drastic change is sure to bring up “everything” within you! Plus, with the ambitious project of building your own home you put yourself and your family through a huge adjustment. Hopefully you are pausing, breathing and enjoying the view just to rest. Your photos are awesome! Thank you for sharing and I look forward to how everything unfolds. ~Kathy

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  6. Last Saturday, I welcomed a former Walsenburg resident into our congregation here in Wichita, KS. Small world. She was living with one of her sons and DIL there and now is living with a different son and his wife here. Her name is Doris. (And she’s not very trusting of social media, so out of respect for her view, I’ll just leave it at that.) All my best to you in your corner of the Great Plains. I hope your concussion heals up asap. Take care.

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  8. You are not alone. You seem to be on the forefront of a coming trend. My wife and I, and several other new folks we have recently met are also new residents, escaping the same high tax, over regulated environments, to move to a place where kids still say yes Sir and Mam, the people are genuine and kind. Welcome

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  9. I moved from FL to Walsenburg in 2001 and absolutely fell in love with the place. I lived there for 13 yrs. until health reasons made moving back to FL to be near family something that needed to be done. I long for the day that I can return and am excited about building a Tiny home now that the requirements have changed. Hopefully by the time I return the option of building Tiny in the County is allowed. Miss my Peaks.

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  10. I wrote this post last August and boy is it popular right now! I have finally adjusted completely to living in nature and I enjoy going into Walsenburg now too. Big changes for us in our early 60s, but we are settled and happy now in our foothills roost.

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  13. Seeing your photos of the view from your house takes my breath away every time.

    I’ve never been to Colorado but I have an aunt and a cousin and his wife living there these days – hoping to swing a visit someday!

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  15. Sounds like you needed a change of scenery! Adjusting takes time, but it looks like you’ve taken a positive direction. Looks gorgeous there and stress free!

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  16. Pingback: Morning in “Be-Here-Now” Land | Adventures of the NEW Old Farts

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