CO-NM: Mile 137 and Mile 136 – 37th Parallel Project

On the northbound side of the highway to San Luis, Colorado, the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado, on the state line looking east toward Mile 137

East of Garcia, CO and Costilla, NM

We climb through the barbed wire and head east toward the low hills about a mile and a half away. A mile west of here are Garcia, CO and Costilla, NM, minimal hamlets with long histories— New Mexicans have lived in the San Luis Valley for more than 300 years. Colorado’s first irrigation ditch passes nearby. Today the land barely supports minimal ranching operations– cattle are allowed to chew off almost all edible grasses; the region subsists and endures. Not far from the road we come across Mile 137.

CO-NM Mile 137 looking west at 36 degrees 59′ 45.5568” N / 105 degrees 31′ 11.8128″ W , with Ute Mountain on horizon

We walk east another mile, crossing a dry irrigation ditch, escaping the sibilance of occasional traffic where NM 522 segues into CO 159 in the high plains windless silence. We clamber up a slope of volcanic boulders, cactus, mesquite, and piñon, unsuccessfully stalking MP 136.

We look back west at a spot near where MP 136 might have been.

Near location of CO-NM Mile 136, looking west at 36 degrees 59′ 45.5964” N / 105 degrees 30′ 7.2324″ W

Next Location: westbound eastbound