Creede is an old mining town (like so many in CO). Silver brought miners here in 1869 but was hard to extract. By 1889 the boom began and the town ballooned from 600 to about 10,000 in 1891! One claim to fame for this little mining town is it was the last Colorado silver boom town in the nineteen century. While silver prices plummeted in the panic of 1893, Creede didn’t join others that became ghost towns. The mountain rock held zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold and mining continued through 1966. Here were some interesting characters in the town’s history on the Wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creede,_Colorado
Self proclaimed “The Last Great Place” Creede is home for about 400 year round residents, but several thousand in summer enjoy the delightful weather and fabulous scenery. The town boasts 96% National Forest and is in Mineral County which sits along the Continental Divide and is located near the headwaters of the Rio Grande. We were stunned at the beauty of the approach from South Fork through the San Luis Valley ringed by the San Juan Mountains. The Rio Grande parallels the road (Rt 149) with state wildlife areas alongside, and ranches and outfitters interspersed on both sides. The 21 mile scenic drive arrives in Creede which is quite photogenic itself with large rock formations and water rushing off the mountains as a backdrop. Written up in the 100 Best Small Arts Town in America (John Muir Publications, Santa Fe), the town has an active and energetic arts scene. Main Street is lined with small galleries, an arts park, shops, restaurants and the well known repertory theater. USA Today has written that this professional theater group is “One of 10 great places to see the lights way off Broadway.” Sadly with Covid-19 invading our lives, the theater has moved all summer productions (Annie, Oklahoma, The Importance of Being Earnest and other shows) to next summer. We found many shops and cafes open with some request you to wear a mask. The town had an influx of tourists on the streets buying ice cream, shopping or just hanging out in the park. I know these summer months are critical to the survival of the small businesses, and I hope the towns people can stay safe. According to two online sources tracking Covid-19 cases, the number in Mineral County is either 0 or 3. |
We envisioned buying a small home since we don’t need much space and had sold or given away many belongings before our five year RV odyssey began. And we looked at some small homes, but none that had both the view we want and a layout we like. The house we contracted for has 5 bedrooms and 3 baths, a two car garage, and is about 2800 square feet sitting on two combined lots which are just over a half acre. But it was priced right and the back porch sold us on the property. The inspection is July 10, and if all goes well, closing is August 19. What follows will be another trek cross country to both VA, MD and VT to gather belongings and clear out our storage unit so we can settle in the house early September. It will be a complicated process as we navigate traveling with this virus in our midst. But we don’t feel like risking air travel so will drive back and forth, leaving our RV in Creede. We may camp along the way to minimize contact in hotels, and we’ll take food with us to avoid interacting with folks at restaurants. Our brave new world, huh?
We arrived in Colorado just a week ago and spent two nights on our son’s land. It was great to see Sundance after nine months and to reunite with his dog Zappa and kitties. Rocket especially enjoyed staring down the cats both from afar through the window and in Sundance’s house. Sundance is working three jobs now, so we didn’t linger since he’s gone all day. By Monday, we were doing drive-by home inspections - checking out the neighborhoods and homes we had already viewed online. That eliminated about a third of the twelve we had identified. Then we called listing agents of several properties and explored Creede for the first time. The agents wore masks in the homes and sanitized them before and after each showing. We used hand sanitizer as well. The last one we saw is the house we contracted at 327 Holy Moses Drive! While working with the agent in his Main Street office, Rocket came in and met the office dog Maggie. Maggie doesn’t much care for dogs who are in her face, but Rocket, aloof as ever, ignored her. At one point he showed much more interest in the open back door (people and dogs come and go through open front and back doors), and I discovered that the night before a bear had come through town and rummaged through the office trash out back! Not sure if Rocket was reacting to his scent. (Realty office had just bought a bear proof can but forgotten to put trash in it, instead using the old can). The sellers countered our original offer, and the realtor suggested we should go back to the house for a second look while the owners were there and meet them. To me that seemed really strange and small town dealing, but I’m glad we did. They have lived there over 30 years and Kelly, the male, had a lot to say about his renovations and life on Holy Moses Dr. It was really good to get a tour with him and talk with his wife about the neighborhood. Most importantly, I learned that herds of elk and deer move through the field across the backyard in winter. And one day, a neighbor called to tell Elaine a young black bear had climbed the telephone pole in the backyard. He had recently been kicked of by his mother and didn’t realize the subdivision wasn’t prime habitat. The sellers described their neighbors and told us about half of them only reside here in the summer - some from TX, some from OK. That’s probably because it can get pretty cold here.
CLIMATE & ELEVATION Here’s what the town website says about winter: “Our very low humidity makes winter an experience entirely unlike those at lower elevations and in more humid climates. While our evening temperatures in January and February often drop below zero, the common daytime rise to 30 or 40 degrees provides a friendly juxtaposition to the sharper cold of night.” At 8,500’ elevation, the variation between night and day can be 40° and summer days usually are in the 70’s and 80’s with 275+ days a year of sunshine - that is a huge draw for me. And the ski area we want to frequent, gets the most snow in CO (Creede will get less), so that satisfies Terry’s appetite for winter recreation. |
It seems crazy that things moved so fast this past week, but then we tend to go after what we want when we see it and act. And while we typically would be grinning ear to ear and celebrating with a dinner out and me a glass of champagne after contracting a new home, this is bittersweet. We have reveled in our five year RV travels and would like to continue another five years. But funds are not endless, and we do need a home base. We will keep the RV and hope one day to take it out for new adventures. But for now, we’ll get settled in the curious little town of Creede and explore more of SW Colorado. Stay safe friends and neighbors! Hopefully next year, a vaccine will be available and people will want to venture out and maybe come visit us. I hear September is gorgeous with the Aspens turning golden. |