Having recently moved to the Rosita area, I am very happy to say that Westcliffe and the Wet Mountain Valley are wonderful. It definitely deserves the high ranking you gave!
I worked for the forest service out of Lake Isabel in the Wet Mountains. Westcliffe and the valley were in my area of operation. The valley is one of the flyways for migratory birds and there are a lot of bird watchers that visit the valley. It's not surprising to see someone crawling in a field with their bino's.
Nice vid....Ive been there and I like it!! Thinking of moving there. Im semi retired and love Colorado and it seems not ridiculously expensive.....Hope to talk to ya one day!!!!
Conquistador ski area would’ve been worth noting, if you take oak creek grade road you will see little plaques explaining the pike expedition in that area. The area draws a lot of attention through the 14ers surrounding but most hikers pass through without getting a chance to appreciate the peace of the valley. The sangres are some of the remotest mountains to explore especially in the winter, as they do not entice back country skiers either normally due to better snowpack up north.
