We heard several cars driving up CR 12 last night, but no one came up the four-wheel drive Basin Drive. We continued the loop back to Homestead Drive, the location of the land we looked at. We checked out this lot and another lot close by and walked both lots thoroughly. We looked at several more lots in the area, but they just didn’t compare. We really like this property, it has aspens, pines and firs. It’s deep, 7.3 acres and has a rolling terrain with a ridge at the back of the property with a beautiful view of the mountains. The problem in this area, a beautiful “view” means you have no shelter from the wind, which can be very strong at times.
As we were leaving, we felt we should look at what few shops Cotopaxi had to offer. We browsed a liquor store and the general store that had just about whatever you might want: groceries, maps, quad maps, hardware, public restrooms a small diner and a deli. Our major grocery shopping would be in Salida (45 minutes away) or Canon City (50 minutes in the opposite direction), but this was 15 minutes away and had most emergency goods. We stopped at a realty office in Cotopaxi and found another piece of property just up the road that was listed today, so we went back up to see it. It had great views, but the property was steep and the road switched back up much of the property. The improvements on this lot included the road and a trailer that had been there since the 1970’s. We considered this trailer more of a liability than an asset. We still liked the other lot better.
We drove into Canon City, 50 minutes away and saw a realtor there. He gave us a few listings to look at and told us a little about the town. The general population is older, 55-65, nearing retirement. This area is considered the “Banana Belt” of Colorado, what little snow they get doesn’t stay around very long. This area is also very dry and water is a big concern. We bought a shower at a campground and they said they haul water here. We saw a flat bed trailer with 3 very large holding tanks (perhaps 1,000 gallons each, larger than a hot tub) on the site. Water is a HUGE issue here, you either drill a well of haul water and store it in a cistern.
We went out to find a BLM campsite and finally found something, but the road was really rough. We found one spot with car parts where someone had taken a car on this road without adequate clearance. A license plate and holder and a rear tail light where on the side of the road.