It’s 100 miles in any direction
To the nearest shopping mall, hospital or familiar place you might go.
It’s not for city folks, I reckon;
No fast food, drive-thru, like one might be accustomed to;
Or movie theatre to watch a picture show.

The roads, they are long-
Some not paved, and some in desperate need of repair.
But like something from a John Denver song,
We watch the sunsets until they are gone.
They are a masterpiece
Leaving one filled with inner-peace;
Taking your breath away-
Something that makes one stop and stare.

Where neighbors know your life
And gossip at times, is more prevalent than the clean mountain air.
Who’s going out on flight for life or who’s cheating on their husband or wife;
But when something goes awry,
You know they are always there.

We recognize when strangers enter our town
Like something out of an old western film or such.
We’re protective when outsiders are around;
Especially when we feel like they’re putting us down
Or impressing their own interests upon us.

Old miners made a living mining vanadium
In what’s now a ghost town-not far from here.
While mining, they also found uranium
Yellow cake it was named, and we were proud to boast the fame
Of helping to produce the first atomic bomb with materials extracted from there.

But now only memories are left,
Marked by a lonely flag in a
ball-field/campground along Highway 141,
Annual stories retold of those who saw first hand;
And driving by, one would never guess
Everything has been laid to rest;
All buried now, under its’ own land.

There’s a hanging flume above the river,
And Indian Henry’s old cabin is also something to see.
The drive to get there, might make one quiver;
Petroglyphs and evidence of Native’s homes,
Sign of dinosaurs that used to roam,
And the grave site at Piñon,
Where the first settlers are resting in peace.

The mountains are tall,
Shooting up to the sky and the canyons are wide and flowing.
You may not be able to make a cell phone call,
But it’s uniqueness will make one stop and look;
The scenery, like a picture book;
It’s most definitely a place that’s worth knowing.
~carla reams
10/10/2017