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CRESTONE COLORADO: Dead End or Paradise?
At 8,00 feet above the flat, dry, San Luis Valley lies the pictureesque and auspicious little town of Crestone, Colorado, population 76. The town has ten commercial buildings total, with many busineeses coming and going. Multiple fourteeners tower above, several named for the Spanish word Creston, (Top of a Cock's Comb), there is Crestone Mountain and Crestone Needle, the hardest to climb in state. Although it is a dry area, several small, verdant streams flow through the area: North Crestone, Willow, Spanish and Cottonwood Creek.
The town and neighboring subdivision, The Baca Grande is becoming known as a Spiritual meca; boasting the most diverse collection of religions in the country. Baptists, Hindu, Buddhists and much more practice in the Ashrams', Stupas', and Ziggurats' and other buildings. Because the town is at a dead end, with one road in and out, it is this "Wu Wu" Tourism many are hoping to sustain and revive the local economy.
Another feather in the towns' "crest", not to mention a golf course and Community College, is the recently designated National Park "The Great Sand Dunes. Some locals are pushing for an access road to the Northern entrance of the park to be routed through the 900 residents of the Baca Grande. The problem being the road will have to go through a wilderness area, and several hurdles will have to overcome.
If you go to the old mining town of Crestone, and are looking for "Nirvana" you will not find it. It is a small, dry, buggy town that is cold in the winter. It is the vivacious people of the community, outdoor activities and natural history that makes it worth traveling to. Deer, bear, antelope, and many birds of prey are ubiquitous, several lakes lie above the statutory town in the Sangre de Christos filled with trout. Hiking, fishing, mountaineering opportunities abound.
Not only are the people studying and practicing various religions, also permaculutre, alternate building, and sustainable living.
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