James:
I read this article and I must say that I have a few disagreements with it. I grew up in Washington County, Colorado.
Yes, it’s a wide open space with some farming, lots of ranching and a general self-reliant attitude, but there is a definite downside.
1) Weather – the weather in this area is turbulent to say the least. Expect occasional white-outs and definite bone chilling wind all the long winter. Summers are either dry enough to scorch crops or rain, hail or tornado’s flood do their thing. In all the years our family has farmed in the area, my Dad said that he personally has only experienced two seasons of “optimal” growing conditions (without excessive dead loss). This may not sound to bad, but my family has been in the area since the late 1800s, so we know a thing or two about the area over the course of time. -including surviving the dust bowl years. Summer days can top 100 Fahrenheit, but it’s so dry that newcomers will pass out from heat exhaustion before they realize that their hot. I myself saw it every year of my childhood at Eastern Colorado Round-up.
2) Economy – the economy of the area has been on a decline since the 1950s. The area is not springing back to life any time soon. The last time I was home, it had been 10 years since I’d been there and I was shocked at how much things had changed during 10 “booming everywhere else” years. Fewer small businesses, fewer people, less optimism than there had been when I left. Most of the smaller towns in this area could now technically be considered ghost-towns, because the population of the cemetery out numbers the living in the area.
3) Water – it’s few and far between. wells are necessary and they better be deep. if the SHTF, you’re going to be digging for a long time to find more water. The best crops will be dry crops that will adapt to dry, sandy soil once the irrigation pumps stop running. A large amount of the land is only really suitable for ranching anyway. The rocky, sandy soil will sustain enough natural plant life for cattle, provided that you have access to a lot of water. How many gallons of water does a cow drink a day?
There is a definite beauty to the area. It is dry and desolate, with bluffs rolling hills. But having the family knowledge I have, it would not be my choice for a safe castle. I have my area picked out and it’s actually in SE Nebraska. I own a large acreage with two wells, several ages of windbreak tree growth on three sides, a creek, backed up to a little known Rural Water District (RWD) watershed. I got it cheap because it’s “unfarmable” to the bigger farms in the area and has limited access – just the way I like it. But mostly it’s this, unlike Colorado, the Federal Government doesn’t own diddily squat of the Nebraska. (Unlike the, what? 40% of Colorado?) When the SHTF, my family from NE Colorado, plan on coming to SE Nebraska – that should say a lot. – Buggin’ out in Nebraska!