Del Norte Archives - Colorado Central Magazine

Artists Explore Climate Crisis

May 1, 2023 by Amelia Stern

TWO CENTRAL COLORADO ARTISTS were among eight Colorado artists selected to participate in the Colorado Art Science Environment Fellowship, a program that connects artists with University of Colorado Boulder scientists and educators to visually explore the climate crisis in their own communities. “We could essentially choose any environmental issue that affected the way our community …

Rhythms on the Rio Returns

April 5, 2022March 28, 2022 by Starr Hill

WITH A PURPORTED 300 DAYS of sunshine a year, snow-covered mountains, and the red-earth beauty only known to Colorado, it makes sense that I can barely turn around without landing in a music festival. Not all are in summer under star-lit skies — UllrGrass is held in the short dark days of January, and Hollerween, …

Q&A with author, Virginia Simmons

May 1, 2018 by Mike Rosso

CCM: Did you attend college? If so, where? VS: After attending school in New England, where regional history is pretty hard to escape, I headed west to Oberlin College, where I majored in history and discovered the fun of examining the often misleading minutiae that reveal what really happened. When I moved to Colorado in …

Museums of Central Colorado: The Rio Grande County Museum

August 12, 2017June 1, 2017 by Mike Rosso

By Lyndsie Ferrell

As with many museums throughout Colorado, the Rio Grande County Museum in Del Norte is home to some of the area’s oldest artifacts, highlighting the rich history surrounding the San Luis Valley and beyond. The Valley was homesteaded in the early 1800s by both Anglo and Spanish travelers, who came to the area after the Spanish Trail was forged through the dense high peaks surrounding the valley floor. When arriving in the area, both parties came to realize that they were the last to arrive in the region, joining the Native American Utes, Apache, Utah and several other clans.

Making A Difference in Del Norte

September 20, 2016June 20, 2016 by Mike Rosso

By Virginia McConnell Simmons

Mark M. Jones, AIA, who died from hantavirus in May, is leaving a lasting imprint on the town of Del Norte and other areas in the San Luis Valley. He will be remembered for his expertise as an architect, his high standards of design and workmanship, and his vision for revitalizing the town where he had lived since the 1990s. His imprint is on many buildings, large and small.

News from the San Luis Valley

January 1, 2015November 1, 2014 by Mike Rosso

Alamosa Agencies Look to Revitalize Historic Building Alamosa agencies are looking to revitalize the old Rio Grande Motorway for regular and special events, such as the Alamosa Farmers Market and Alamosa Live Music Association concerts. Other revitalization ideas include installing a catering kitchen, and banquet facility amenities that could hold up to 800 people. Building …

Profile: Del Norte, Colorado

June 10, 2015January 1, 2014 by Mike Rosso

By Tyler Grimes

Del Norte, Colorado, sits in the southwest corner of the San Luis Valley along the Rio Grande River, just east of the Rio Grande National Forest and San Juan mountains, south of Penitente Canyon and between Monte Vista and South Fork on Hwy. 160. Like many small mountain towns in Colorado, Del Norte has a rich Native American history, a mining boom the town was built on, an extensive ranching past and present, a population and economic downturn in the mid-1900s, and is now slowly growing, thanks to tourism. But it’s Del Norte’s unique individuals, families and businesses that give it a charm of its own.

News from the San Luis Valley

December 17, 2014December 1, 2013 by Mike Rosso

Polston Property Annexed Alamosa city councilors annexed the controversial Polston school property in a unanimous vote, according to the Valley Courier. A group of Alamosa citizens had attempted to purchase the fertile piece of land to create the Rio Grande Healthy Living Park (RGHLP) with botanical gardens, a commercial kitchen and a production greenhouse as …

I Say Saleeda, and You Say …

June 16, 2015March 1, 2013 by Mike Rosso

By Kevin Patrick

“I’m callin’ about the stay away.”

“The stay away?”

“Yeah. The stay away.”

… “The STAY away?”

We began again. The serves and whiffs went on for a ridiculous minute before I realized a transplanted New Englander was responding to an ad I’d run to get help rebuilding a stairway (“stay away”). What you say hinges delicately on how you say it.

Place names tend to be less confusing, as they’re generally embedded in a rich contextual stew of language, geography and history. But even if the meaning is clear, many within earshot generally stand ready and willing to be offended by your pronunciation.

Peace of Art Café

January 25, 2010October 1, 2009 by Staff

Regional restaurant review by Patty LaTaille

Organic Peddler
14475 W. Hwy. 160
Del Norte, CO 81132
(719) 65-Peace

Healthy eaters and vegetarian travelers can now travel through the San Luis Valley with peace of mind and a culinary destination ahead. There exists an oasis of organic food and drinks in the meat and fried potatoes and road trip fare in an unlikely spot – Del Norte. Look for the mustard yellow building and sign for the Organic Peddler and Peace of Art Café right on Highway 160.