We had such a great weekend right after New Years! We drove to La Junta, Colorado. La Junta may not be the first place you might think of to visit, but we had a great time – and there is so much more to see in the summer, because some of the museums are closed in the winter, and some of the outdoor sites are not so pleasant unless you happen to have a warmer winter day, not to mention I’m sure you will see much more wild life in a warmer season.
A weekend would not have been enough to see everything that is available in the summer anyway. We definitely plan to return early or late summer as even Bent’s Old Fort and the Koshare Dancers will have an even better program then! http://www.lajuntachamber.com/ www.santafetrailsc
enicandhistoricbyway.org/sitelajunBent’s Old Fort National Historic Site is an amazing look into history that is just northeast of La Junta. There are tours with an authentic looking ‘Mountain Man’ telling about the this fort that is on the Santa Fe Trail and was actually part of global history, even as isolated in the old west as it was. www.nps.gov/archive/beol/home.htm
The world renowned Koshare Indian dancers are a nationally known dance group that is a part of a Boy Scout Troop. It is now co-ed and there are dancers of all ages. They study the authentic dances of several Native American tribes and have even gotten their approval.I was amazed at their focus; they take the dance very seriously. They have toured the country and out of the country as well. The community is clearly proud of them, as they should be; I talked with people at restaurants about them and someone there mentioned that almost all of the young people in the dance go to college.They do have so much to be proud of.
Their world famous Koshare Indian Museum has a premiere collection of Native American Indian art and artifacts, and they have built a large kiva for the dances, with the largest self-supported log roof in the world. www.kosharehistory.org
It is so nice to know you can still stay some places where the service is so personal; our stay was extra special because we got the best motel deal in town at America’s Best Value Inn & Suites.
Pete, the owner was friendly, helpful, and accommodating, and he remembered our name when we arrived, before we told him who we were. He was still working on finding someone to run the attached restaurant while we were there, so he was very helpful in pointing us toward some very nice restaurants in town – this and in so many ways, he made us very comfortable and able to find the best things to do while we were there. www.americasbestvalueinn.com/bestv.cfm?idp=1452
After I returned home, I got a call from my sister and I shared our experience with her. She told Me a story that I remembered some of but she is thirteen years older than I, so I could not have remembered much. I did remember that a boy scout troop invited her girl scout troop to a ball; I remembered the story rather, because after the dress was no longer in style I got to use it for dressups.
It turns out that my sister's Girl Scout troop invited the Koshares Dancers for a visit when they came to Denver to dance at Red Rocks. Then, later the Koshare Dancers invited my sister's troop to La Junta and they had a formal ballroom type dance in the kiva. It was really fun to reconnect with my childhood memories and bring them up to date as well connecting them to this recent trip.
It is so important to keep our connections to our ancient cultures. It is a rich heritage, and I firmly believe that it will take the wisdom of the ancient cultures working together with some of our newer technology to save our planet and ourselves -- Wholism at its best!.
Nancy Jean Nason
