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I will start right off by saying that I am not a student of history…but in researching this and that…I have discovered some interesting facts about Buena Vista and here is one of my favorites. In 1803, the United Stated doubled its size with the Louisiana Purchase. For years the western border had been the Mississippi River, but now it was out there somewhere and no one knew just where. Following the purchase, parties of explorers were formed by the U.S. government and sent west to find out what the U.S. now owned. Zebulon Pike, who was one of the early explorers, set out in 1806…and as we know spent Christmas, 1806 here in the Arkansas Valley. Another leader was Stephen Long, who in 1817 headed west along the Platte. Long’s Peak bears his name. While the nature of the land was one reason for the exploration, another was was to find headwaters of the Platte, Arkansas and Red Rivers, with the idea of defining official boundaries, which still had not been determined. The land beyond belonged to Spain.
Finally, in late 1818, following negotiations with Great Britain, the northern boundary was set and in 1819 the southern boundary was agreed upon, following negotiations with Spain. The southern boundary was a line drawn westward along the Red River, briefly north on the 100th meridian to the Arkansas River, then following the Arkansas past Salida, Buena Vista and Leadville to the source of the Arkansas, just south of Fremont Pass, then north to the 42nd parallel and west to the Pacific. This remained the border until 1846 when the U.S started acquiring additional land in a westward push that, in 1848, took it to the west coast.
If you give this much thought, or like me drag out a map to see the lay of the land, you realize that the future site of Buena Vista was still in New Spain and Midland Hill was across the river in the United States and I think of this every time I cross the foot bridge to the Whipple Trail or gaze at Sleeping Indian from my easy chair. The Arkansas River as the U.S border only lasted for 26 years…but still seems to be in my mind!
 
It has been an interesting season in the real estate business. While business in the Buena Vista area is down, there are still closings taking place…most of them in the upper part of the market. And as we approach Christmas, the phone and Internet inquiries are still coming in. They are not all big items, but at this time of year, there are more inquiries than I would have expected. What does that mean for next year? I have no idea, but my guess is that it will be better than 2011. 2011 was year three of business bumping along the bottom of the scale and next year may be year four, but I do think the trend will be up. Being an election year may not help. The good news is that the inventory here in Chaffee County is high, the mortgage interest rates are low and the mountains, trails and streams and rivers continue to awe visitors and assure the rest of us that this is the place to be. If you would like to join us, I’d be happy to assist!
In my last post I indicated that there had been a burst of real estate activity in August and September. I’m here to tell you that as we head for mid-October the interest is still there. My activity and the activity in the office is starting to feel like old times! We are certainly not out of the woods yet as far as real estate business in this valley goes, but for this week it’s good. Come join us. There is a large inventory and with 30-year interest rates less than 4%, now is the time to make your move to the Colorado high county.
Here we are heading into the last quarter of the year. The aspen are near peak color and the mountains look spectacular. There has been a bit of snow on the high peaks, but still no mantle…but that will change in the next month.
The real estate business in Buena Vista had a puff of activity during the August and September and it is yet to be seen how the last quarter of the year will go. This is still one of the most beautiful areas in the country, the property inventory is great and interest rates are low…so it is a opportune time to make the move here. For me, there are trails to hike while waiting for the phone to ring…feel free to call. I have worked on real estate deals from the side of mountains!
August is almost here and Buena Vista is full of tourists, but most of them have not paid a visit to a real estate office. I understand that that is not the main reason they come here. Hello! There is so much to do here that you can fill a year’s worth of weekends doing stuff…and those of us who live here are always out enjoying some outdoor activity. But back to real estate. While there has been an increase in interest and activity…perhaps not offers…I think that this year may be the worst in sales of the past three years…we’ll know for sure come the end of December. Now there are still the fall months to go and they are often good, but at this rate, I think if there will be a significant increase in the real estate activity…it will be next year.
It’s almost summertime here in Buena Vista. The temperatures would indicate that it is summer here in the valley, but with all the snow in the high county…it is still late spring up there. The season in the high country is short, so trail building and maintenance is compressed into a short window of opportunity. I just finished my first trail building project of the season on the Continental Divide Trail near Winfield. This is part of the Mt. Elbert to Monarch Pass project, which will create about 90 miles of trail, all off road. Part of that 90 miles is the 8-mile section that I watch over…all above 12, 000 feet.
This last weekend about 20 of us created just over 500 feet of new trail by digging out rocks and roots and creating a crushed rock
and mineral-soil based trail. This is also a horse trail, so the base can not be spongy and a solid base also makes the trail longer lasting with less maintenance. This and all the Continent Divide Trail Alliance projects are the result of the passion of the CDTA volunteers as well as CDTA and National Forest Service staff, who show up clean and excited and leave grimy, tired, sore and happy. The pictures below show me “creating crushed rock” out of big rock and the trail in the process of of creation with a rock base, soon to be covered with mineral soil. These 500 feet of new trail are part of the 3,100 miles which make up the King of the Trails!
There are plenty of outdoor projects to work on here and that is part of the fun of living here, plus giving back is a big feature of enjoying the outdoors.
While there is still plenty of snow in the mountains, focus in Buena Vista is focused on the river. The Town and South Main have really done a nice job at developing the venue along the river from the Town Park down past South Main. South Main in its own right has created a river front community of very GREEN proportions. As Buena Vista continues to develop as a venue for outdoor activity, Paddle Fest is a natural and the 2011 version is May 27-30. I dropped by, not in, the river today to see what was going on at the play holes and of course, there was plenty of action.
This weekend there is a bike race into the mountains…at least where they can get through…and next month I am off for a Continental Divide Trail work weekend, helping to cut in more new off-road trail. This will be the pace here in Buena Vista until after Labor Day with lots of activities, organized and unorganized, offering any excuse to be outside in the middle of the Rocky Mountains.
I hike as often as I can to stay in shape for summer climbing. Earlier this week I had a strong urge to climb Midland Hill. It is on the east side of Buena Vista and from the River Park, it is about a 4.5 miles round trip with a 1,600 ft assent. I use it for cardio training. Monday though, it was to go see the Pasque flowers. They are the early mountain flowers that, to me, are a signal of the new season. I knew it was early to look for them, but that urge got me out of the chair and onto the trail. I made it to the top in good time, but never saw any flowers. Deciding that I must have been over-hopeful, I started down and then, behold, there they were…where they always are. Not big groups yet, but a number of individual flowers, who also thought it was time to send the signal. So, with Pasque flowers out, it is time to work on the climbing list…there is a lot to climb and a rather short season at 13,000 feet.
One great aspect of the real estate business is helping buyers and sellers buy and sell their property with a minimum of fuss. But beyond that, practicing real estate in Buena Vista allows a pleasant pace. There is no frenetic driving all over territory, running here and running there, trying to meet deadlines and generally getting upset. For me there is a nice mix of business which includes paperwork, phone calls, general visiting and time for a hike or a home project. It’s sort of like ‘having a life.’ I’ve already had the job where I did not have a life.
I really like to hike the mountains and trails here. There is something special about prolonged times in elevated spaces. Getting up there is often the hardest thing I do. That’s probably why so many of us have chosen to live here. There are jobs or other things to do…but basically, we just want to be here. When one considers climate, weather, beauty, natural wonder, rugged terrain, high peaks, fast rivers and endless outdoor activities to pursue, there may not be a better place to live and play.
Oh, we still have some room left!
Well, it may not be Springtime yet, but it is starting to feel and look like it. The temperature is mild, kayakers are in the river, and the real signal is that the Continental Divide Trail Alliance summer trail project catalog is out. This means we can start reading over the project descriptions and deciding which ones to sign up for.
The CDT is long, but in our neck of the woods there is about a 90-mile section, from Mount Elbert, Colorado’s highest 14er at 14,440 feet, to Monarch Pass, that is being reconstructed to be all off-road. The section that heads south from Cottonwood Pass is largely above 12,000 feet. The good news is, that we are nearing completion of this new segment and a large group of volunteers could make a big difference. Here is the URL for the CDTA Project Schedule. See you on the Trail!
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Welcome! Buena Vista, at 8,000 feet, sits in the Upper Arkansas Valley surrounded by 13,000 and 14,000 foot peaks in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. This area is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts and is a second-home or retirement community for those who love the beauty and high-country adventure. I invite you to pay us a visit.
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