The Code of the West.

One of two fuel sources in our part of the world.

Core Values:
Life in the country is different from life in the city.
Those of us who live in mountain and rural areas have learned through the years that new people moving to our area sort themselves into two groups, over the first couple of years. We watch this sorting out of the corner of our eyes.

Impose or adapt.
Some folks struggle to impose their wishes and values on their new community; others open themselves up to the adaptations that are required to thrive here, patiently waiting to see how their personal lifestyles can slowly find a place for expression.

Internet: 20gb/mo for $89. One streamed video=1gb.

Change comes slowly to this part of the world, for which long-time residents are grateful. They don't much like it when a newcomer says "You know, the way we did it in Texas (or California, or Fort Collins) was....

"Why do you move here for what we have," oldtimers  ask, "and then immediately try to change it into what you left behind?" 

With Colorado's surge in population growth, economic and quality of life issues are gaining new prominence  More people are seeking remote places to live and raise their children. It's not a decision lightly made.

Mountain living is more than a change in scenery. It's a profoundly different way of considering yourself in relation to the world. For people who have lived in cities or even small towns most of their lives, there are deep ways of thinking that need to shift and grow. The benefits of slow living come to those who allow them in.


A familiar matter.

This is enough of an issue that the Planning Department of Larimer County has actually published a short treatise on it, which is appropriately entitled Code of the West. The concept was taken from a third-rate story by western novelist Zane Grey, and it has found resonance with people who live in our natural spaces.

We're still learning the names of them all.

My experience working in a planning department tells me that this paper was not produced just out of goodwill. There were enough issues arising for new mountain/rural residents that there was a need to be explicit about a few things. Here's from the introduction.

The men and women who came to this part of the country during the westward expansion of the United States were bound by an unwritten code of conduct.

The values of integrity and self-reliance guided their decisions, actions and interactions.

In keeping with that spirit, we offer this information to help citizens of Larimer County who wish to follow in the footsteps of those rugged individualists by living outside city limits.

Published in 2008--that's twelve years ago--the paper covers Access, Utility Services, The Property, Mother Nature, and Agriculture.

Understanding the ground rules.
It strikes me as a good background for adjusting our expectations for living in this part of the world. Until a new resident is willing and able to confront these realities, life in the mountains will be no end of frustrations and disappointments.

It's as good a statement as I've seen, in enough detail, that its underlying truths bear pondering.