The Geology, Ecology, and Human History of the San Luis Valley
edited by
Jared Maxwell Beeton, Charles Nicholas Saenz, and Benjamin James Waddell
U NIVERSITY P RESS OF C OLORADO
Louisville
2020 by University Press of Colorado
Published by University Press of Colorado
245 Century Circle, Suite 202
Louisville, Colorado 80027
All rights reserved
The University Press of Colorado is a proud member of The Association of University Presses.
The University Press of Colorado is a cooperative publishing enterprise supported, in part, by Adams State University, Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Regis University, University of Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, University of Wyoming, Utah State University, and Western Colorado University.
ISBN: 978-1-64642-039-1 (hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-64642-041-4 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-64642-040-7 (ebook)
https://doi.org/10.5876/9781646420407
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Beeton, Jared M., editor. | Saenz, Charles N., editor. | Waddell, Benjamin James, editor.
Title: The geology, ecology, and human history of the San Luis Valley / edited by Jared M. Beeton, Charles N. Saenz, and Benjamin James Waddell.
Description: Louisville : University Press of Colorado, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020010290 (print) | LCCN 2020010291 (ebook) | ISBN 9781646420391 (cloth) | ISBN 9781646420414 (paperback) | ISBN 9781646420407 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: GeologySan Luis Valley (Colo. and N.M.) | EcologySan Luis Valley (Colo. and N.M.) | Natural historySan Luis Valley (Colo. and N.M.) | San Luis Valley (Colo. and N.M.)History.
Classification: LCC F782.S2 G36 2020 (print) | LCC F782.S2 (ebook) | DDC 978.8/32dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020010290
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020010291
The University Press of Colorado gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Fort Lewis College toward the publication of this book.
Cover photographs by Cristi Bode
Contents
Ken Salazar
Jared Maxwell Beeton, Charles Nicholas Saenz, and Benjamin James Waddell
Robert M. Kirkham and A. W. Magee
Jared Maxwell Beeton and Bradley G. Johnson
Rich Madole
Andrew Valdez
James P. McCalpin
Rob Benson
Eric J. Harmon
Timothy Armstrong and Benjamin Armstrong
Kristy L. Duran
Rio de la Vista and Timothy Armstrong
Mark D. Mitchell and Angie Krall
Charles Nicholas Saenz
Richard D. Loosbrock
Bessie Konishi and Lorrie Crawford
Benjamin James Waddell and Victoria Martinez
Damin Vergara Wilson and Devin Jenkins
Deacon Aspinwall and R. Nathan Pipitone
Jeff Elison
Wherever I Go, the Valley Goes with Me
Ken Salazar
Life was simple in the San Luis Valley. We didnt have running water or electricity, and at night wed study by the flickering light of a dim oil lamp. Still, each day, like magic, the sun rose and opened our eyes to one of the most majestic valleys on earth. From the simplicity of our resplendent valley emerged my desire to serve others.
I grew up on a San Luis Valley ranch near Los Rincones, which is just down the road from Manassa. I went to school in the nearby town of La Jara. When I was five years old, President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address to the nation, asked his fellow countrymen to ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. These wise words always resonated with me, not because of their eloquence but rather because they reflected what I learned on our family ranch.
Growing up, I tended to chores every morning with my seven siblings. We had pigs, sheep, cows, horses, chickens, and dogs. Each morning they all needed to be fed and looked after. From the time we could pick up a bucket, we were expected to contribute to the ranch. It was the natural order of things. Every day we rose before daylight, and each of us contributed as we best could. There was little space for the idle hand on the ranch, and to make ends meet, we all put in long hours, often until well after dark. This was especially true during the spring, when our animals began giving birth, and in the fall, when harvest season came around. I fondly recall collecting quelites (wild greens) and capuln (chokecherries) along the majestic gorge of the Ro Grande. Experiences like these left me with a deep appreciation for the natural splendor and plenty of the earth. Through work and Sunday sermons at our church, I learned to appreciate the natural order of things. As our parishs father used to say, We are made from earth, and we return to earth.
Life on the ranch came with heavy doses of advice from our beloved father, Henry, and mother, Emma, who always emphasized the importance of education.
My dad, Henry, was born in Los Rincones in the same room where my grandmother Antonia was born in 1884. Our family had farmed those same lands in Los Rincones since shortly after the Mexican-American War ended in 1848. My father was a rancher who loved the ranch, the San Luis Valley, and his country. He served our nation and became a staff sergeant in the US Army in World War II. He always knew that the education of his eight children was the keystone to their future.
Like us, my mother grew up speaking the same Spanish her ancestors spoke when they came up the Camino Real in the sixteenth century. Her teenage years were marked by the Great Depression, and she worked in the Department of War in Washington, DC, during World War II. She met my father during the war, and in 1948 they began their life together in Los Rincones. Our parents expected us to pull our weight on the ranch, but Mom and Dad always made certain that we took our education seriously.
For my dad and mom, the purpose of our education was always clear. My parents emphasized that education was the key to freedom. Whether we stayed on the ranch or followed our dreams beyond the valley, they believed our greatest asset was our education. They instilled in each of us a sense of self-reliance that we all retain to this day.
The outside observer might have seen our routine and thought of it as a lot of work, but I never saw it in those terms. On the ranch, everyone had to pull their own weight, but no one clocked in or out for deep down, we all understood that the ranch depended on each of us to survive. This was my first and perhaps my most important lesson in civic life. The ranch and the broader community in the San Luis Valley taught me, in the humblest of ways, that we are no greater than the sum of our parts. In one way or another, we all depend on each other, and to survive, we must all give back to the public good.
Although my professional life has taken me far away from the San Luis Valley, I have never left the Valley. My mind is forever bound to the simple lessons I learned as I grew up there. Wherever I go, the Valley goes with me. During my time in Washington, I fought to protect the rich cultural and historical legacy of the San Luis Valley, championing the creation of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area, the Trujillo Homesteads National Historic Landmark, and many other projects.
