Pueblo is the home to Colorado’s largest single event, the Colorado State Fair, held annually in the late summer, and the largest parade, the state fair parade, as well as and an annual Chili Festival. Pueblo is also home to the Pueblo Zoo which is home to over 400 aminals and is opened year around to the public.

Then a few miles out you have small towns such as Rye and Colorado City. These towns are very peaceful and relaxed. In fact I like the smaller towns because you have the best of both worlds, you can leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind, but when you want something to do it’s only a little trip away. The smaller towns are still virtually undiscovered diamonds in the rough and the climate is very agreeable to most, compared to the northern areas of Colorado. Not much snow, nice summers and fairly mild winters really make this area stand out.

Property is very reasonable currently, lots around Colorado City & Rye can go anywhere from $500 to $9000 depending on the seller, utilities available and location. It’s hard to go wrong, because once this area gets on the radar the property will surely rise rapidly. So weather if you are looking to buy property for yourself or for investment Pueblo County deserves a closer look.

To help get you started to property ownership, here are a few important time saving resources.

Rural Electric (REA) Power:  (719) 547-2160
Rye Telephone:  (719) 676-3131
Pueblo County Recorder: (719) 583-6507
Pueblo County Assessor: (719) 583-6597
Pueblo County Treasurer: (719) 583-6015
Pueblo County Planning and Zoning: (719) 583-6100
Pueblo County Website: http://www.co.pueblo.co.us/

Don’t forget to check out our of listings of available Colorado property which often include parcels from Rye, Colorado City and other Pueblo County area properties. Towns in Pueblo County include Avondale, Beulah Valley, Boone, Colorado City, Pueblo, Pueblo West, Rye and Salt Creek

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Many still refer to the Park as the Gator Farm, but it has expanded since it opened to the public and added many new attractions such as Ostriches, Emus, donkeys and over 100 species of reptiles including Rattlesnakes, Gaint Pythons, Tortoises, Crocodiles and more. Still it’s main attraction is the gators and the park has well over 400 gators!

You can do a lot more than just look at the gators, you get to hold them and even attend an Alligator handling class, if you are “brave” enough to do so. This is the only class in the world where you are able to get hands-on experience with an 11 foot alligator. You will learn how to handle a small gator and then gradually build up to a larger size alligator, the whole way up to the 11 footers! The three hour class fee is a hundred dollars and you must sign up and pay in advance.

The Colorado Reptile Park’s address is 9162 CR 9N., Mosca CO, 81146 and for you GPS die hards out there the GPS Coordinates 37 42.373N 105 52.201W (but seriously you can’t miss the gaint alligator signs on Hwy 17 or give them a call at 719-378-2612)

Finding your way around the Zoo shouldn’t be a problem because the Zoo is easy to navigate and provides you multiple paths to take to make your visit unique. If you have children make sure you bring them, because they are sure to have a great time especially at the Pioneer Ranch exhibit where they can interact with animals such as goats, sheep and more.

Make sure to visit the tropical rain forest exhibit  and the exclusive underwater viewing of penguins in entire state of Colorado at the Ecocenter. Visiting the Islands of Life building will take you on a shipwreck journey around the globe.  if you visit the northern river otter exhibit, you will be treated to the unique opportunity of observing the otters as they play and swim underwater. In fact check out our Pueblo Zoo image show below to see some of the amazing aminals you’ll see at the zoo!

Finding the Zoo is fairly easy, it’s of US 50 West just a few miles off I-25 in Pueblo Colorado. Parking is ample (no parking fees) and the admission fees are very reasonable. So when in Pueblo you should put the Pueblo Zoo on your interinery you won’t be disappointed. The Pueblo Zoo is supervised by the Pueblo Zoological Society and is accredited through the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

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The Pueblo Zoo from these popular land areas: Colorado City 25 minutes, Walsenburg 40 minutes, Fort Garland 1 hour 45 minutes, Blanca 2 hours, Alamosa 2 hours 30 minutes (all times are approximate)

Colorado City is approx 23 miles south of Pueblo City, on a nice day that’s a 20 or so minute drive. The advantages of buying away from a larger city such as Pueblo, is that the property prices are often cheaper until the city starts growing outward. Well Pueblo is starting to grow south and now is a great time in my opinion to start land grabbing in the outskirts of Pueblo.

Colorado City is within Pueblo County and borders another nice small town named Rye. In fact residents children who live in Colorado City will attend the schools in Rye, being Rye Elementary and Rye High School which both are just a few miles away. The teacher to student ratio is excellent compared to most schools in the United States.

Another key feature of Colorado City is the climate. The weather doesn’t go to extremes as some parts of Colorado experiences very often. It is well outside of Tornado alley, the winters are milder, the days are warmer and there is plenty of sunshine with a hint of rain every now and then. And when it does snow it’s often light and gone in a few days. The vegetation is greener, hence why it is referred to as the Greenhorn Valley.

Colorado City is home to Lake Beckwith which is commonly used for walking, running, biking, and rollerblading. Canoes, pedal boats, kayaks and electric trolling motors are commonly seen on the lake. No gas operated motors are allowed on the water to maintain a pristine environment.

There are a couple of nice parks located in Colorado City; Taylor Park and Greenhorn Meadows Park. Both are open to the public year around. Plus during the warmer months the Colorado City pool is open to the public. In addition to this, the Colorado City Swimming Pool is a seasonal, covered pool that is typically opened Memorial Day through Labor Day. The morning and evening has reserved times for lap swim and water aerobics, Monday through Friday. Swimming lessons are offered to the public and lifegaurds are on duty.

The town has a Days Inn, Holydot Golf Course, a decent selection of restaurants, a hardware store and more. Enough to feel the comforts of modern society as well as to enjoy the awesome beauty of Colorado’s landscape. In fact many move to Colorado to live a more stress free life, enjoy clean air and to be closer to nature. Colorado is commonly referred to as Little Switzerland.

If all the above isn’t enough, there is a recreation center, Lion’s Club, VFW, Painters Group, Quilters Group, Valley Senior Group, campgrounds and more to keep one busy and entertained locally. and what isn’t available in Colorado City is only a small drive away to Pueblo . Pueblo has a few shopping malls and many major stores such as Sam’s Club, Big-Lots, Dillard’s, Jc Penny, Wal-Greens, Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Sears, Circuit City, Staples,Radio Shack, Ross and these barely scrape the surface of what’s available. Grocery shopping is a cinch because supermarkets are plentiful in Pueblo, as well as stores such as Albertsons, Safeway, and Save A Lot to name a few.

All in all you get to enjoy the small town life with the comforts of having a larger city virtually around the corner.

With today’s modern world many cannot go without Internet and cable television. Well Colorado City has you covered because high speed Internet, telephone, cellphone service and cable are all available throughout the area. You may need to call the local utilities to find your available options. The contact numbers can be found in our Buying Property In Pueblo County article.

With everything Colorado City has to offer it makes for perfect living and investment opportunities. I imagine in a few years the home and land prices will explode once more people discover the opportiunties in the market.

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Here’s a small excerpt from the Colorado Home School Statute..

“It is the primary right and obligation of the parent to choose the proper education and training for children under his care and supervision. It is recognized that home-based education is a legitimate alternative to classroom attendance for the instruction of children and that any regulation of non-public home-based educational programs should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate a variety of circumstances. The General Assembly further declares that non-public home-based educational programs shall be subject only to minimum state controls which are currently applicable to other forms of non-public education.”

“Parents must give notice 14 days before starting home schooling and annually thereafter. The parents have the choice to file the notice in any school district in the state. A parent who intends to establish a nonpublic home-based educational program is not required to establish nor to provide written notification of this program to a school district within the state until the parent’s child is seven years of age, nor is the parent required to continue the program or provide the notification after the child is sixteen years of age.

For complete details check out the Colorado Education State Website for the requirements and laws pertaining to Homeschooling. You can also check out the Homeschool Reporting site to better understand the reporting requirements.

Interested in moving to Colorado, you’ll be amazed at some of the prices land is currently selling for, so check out our Colorado property listings.

You can take a tour on one of boats that cruise the Riverwalk where they share the history and the future of the park. Learn about the founders of the Riverwalk and the reason it was created. You will not be disappointed. HARP (Historic Arkansas Riverwalk Park) has a public website, but unfortunately it is pretty sparse at the moment, you can visit it here.

The Riverwalk has statues, water falls, a walk way that is along side the “river” where you can walk the entire perimeter of the Riverwalk on foot enjoying the amazing architecture and landscaping first hand. There is even an amphitheatre that hosts various events right on the river.

The Riverwalk has light posts that illuminate the park at night, truly a beautiful site to see. Come during the spring and summer months and enjoy a brisk evening on the river.  The day I visited was just pefect, nothing but sun shine (a very common day for the area) and a mild breeze.

 
The image show above of the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk Park has 26 images, so it make take a little while for all the images to load, please remember all images are property of ColoradoLandCheap.com

For the children there are pedal boats, restaurants, sitting areas and the previously mentioned guided boat tours. You should allot at least 2 hours to fully enjoy the park. The Riverwalk park is located in downtown Pueblo Colorado and free 2 hour parking is available on the street. Unlike most cities Pueblo is easy to navigate, the people are friendly and the city is very clean.

When finished with the Riverwalk and wanting to enjoy more activities without driving then you are in luck. There are many things to do that are in walking distance of the Riverwalk including Buell Children’s Museum, El Pueblo History, Museum and the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center. 

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Check out the Panoramic view of the Great Sand Dunes below, I wish I could show you the full one, but the file size was so huge I had to compress it. Make sure you click the full screen button on the lower right corner (it looks like a box) to enlarge the Pano of the Sand Dunes.

You can hold down your mouse button and drag the panoramic view from side to side to enjoy the Sand Dunes in their full beauty.

The park is located just minutes away from the towns of Blanca, Alamosa, Fort Garland and San Luis to name a few. At the park, you can hike, picnic, bird watch and even go for a wade in the beach like waters of Medano Creek.

The waters in Medano Creek at the base of the dunes has a unique “surge flow” characteristic that mimics waves at a beach. In fact it is one of the few and best places to experience “surge flow” in world. The waters flow during spring and early summer.

The area around the dunes is populated with vegetation and surrounded by Sangre de Cristo Mountains and grasslands which makes for a surreal environment. With the area’s 300+ days a year of sun shine and summer’s with mild temperatures you can enjoy the dune’s in comfort. The sand can get extermely hot so it is advisable to wear shoes when walking across the dunes.

We gave our firends over at Snipfiles.com premission to use our Sand Dune’s images to make a free screensaver. So grab your free Sand Dune’s Screensaver now…

>>> Click Here To Download The Great Sand Dunes Screensaver

Counties close to the Dunes are Alamosa, Costilla

Interested in finding out more you can reach the Great Sand Dunes National Park at this phone number: (719) 378-6300 or their website http://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm

Check out our Colorado land property listings for property near the dunes that would make great home sites, recreational spots or investment property.

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CNN Money Magazine picked various Colorado cities as being in the top 10 “Great American” places to live.  The criteria for this is based on financial standards, quality of life, low crime rate, a variety of entertainment and culture, education, health statistics, climate and area population. 

Colorado made the ranks in all areas, offering quality education for kids, a wide array of colleges to choose from, fast job growth, with a low 4.4% unemployment rate and minimal crime rate. 

Recreation and entertainment

Opportunity for these are never far away; with museums, the Pueblo zoo, the Great Sand Dunes, Rocky Mountain National Park, ski resorts, biking, hiking, and a variety of restaurants including American cuisine, Mexican, and Italian, Greek, French, pubs and steakhouses just to name a few.  For more details check out http://www.colorado.com.

As far as the climate in Colorado is concerned, generally you can look forward to around 300 days of sunshine every year, with mild temperatures much of the time. 
 
Colorado Education
Colorado boasts a wide selection of educational choices ranging from the public school system, private schools and home schooling.

The state’s public schools are funded through a combination of state revenues and local property taxes. In the past the property taxes made up the majority of funding, but due to its recent decrease, the alliance, “Believe in a Better Colorado” (http://www.believeinabettercolorado.org) has been formed in an effort to raise awareness about the schools needs and dreams for future growth. 

Colorado is very accepting of home schooling, whether of the traditional style, eclectic or unschooling style. 

Details on all of the above can be found at http://www.cde.state.co.us

Residential Property Taxes

Currently, Colorado residential property taxes are around 8%, and are reassessed every odd-numbered year. The revenue generated from property taxes stays within county in which it is paid.  It goes towards schools, roads, police, fire and other local services.  For more information refer to http://dola.colorado.gov
Economy

With manufacturers in food, printing, publishing, machinery, transportation and communications, a strong economy base is present in Colorado.  It also offers opportunity in the farm industry, concentrating mainly in livestock, corn, hay and wheat.

With the breathtaking scenery and many attractions at your fingertips, Colorado is at the top of the list for family fun, entertainment, investment and a place to call home all wrapped up in one beautiful, bountiful state.

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