October 2017
What challenges have you faced living in Crestone?
Lynn Drake
One challenge was making a living. We’ve been here 23 years, and the first 10, we commuted back and forth to Santa Fe for work. Then I had the studio downtown which helped, and now we get Social Security and live very simply. We appreciate the outdoors and our entertainment is more like a bobcat walking past our window than watching TV. Isolation can be a challenge because a lot of us don’t have family close, but if you volunteer and get to know the community, you realize we all help each other. Another adjustment was the colder climate. We have a passive solar house, have learned to dress in layers, heat with firewood, etc. There are challenges with wildlife, and we learn how to work with the environment as opposed to just doing what we want and to heck with the animals! An early challenge was, when we started building, there was no hardware store. If you cut a board wrong, you had to go all the way to Alamosa to get another one. It’s nice that we now have the hardware store, natural foods grocery and regular grocery. It’s a lot easier living here now than it used to be!
Nina Gonzalez
Our biggest challenge is that we are a community divided. As much as we get along, meditate, and are conscious human beings, we are divided in many ways. Moffat School vs. Crestone Charter School; people interested in property values vs. owner-builders; Crestone town vs. the Baca. I don’t get a vote about what happens in town, and townspeople don’t get a vote about what happens in the Baca. One neighbor says it’s OK for you to have chickens, and another says you can’t have chickens! It’s a tough balance, it’s a paradox. I lived here many years before I bought property, so I went into it with eyes wide open. The number one challenge is employment – not a lot of 9-5 jobs, yet we all moved here because we don’t want 9-5 jobs! We moved here to get rid of mortgage payments, to homestead and find our souls. All things not really conducive to work! Yet we also need money to buy groceries, etc.
This is an amazing community, full of extremely worldly people who have travelled, seen, explored; highly intelligent people compassionately wanting to help you progress in your own self-discovery. That gives you strength to face and manage all the challenges we have in Crestone. Life is challenging. Crestone isn’t any more challenging than anyplace else. The community support is really what helps you get through it.
Ammi Kohn
When I first came to Crestone, I had been wandering around for quite a few years and I’d never been in one place where I felt part of the community. So, the biggest challenge was rooting myself and learning to live in community, and it turns out Crestone is absolutely the best place for me. I’ve been able to make myself part of the community and I work with institutionalizing theatre here. The biggest challenge has been with the Living Wisdom project, and volunteerism in general. There are a limited number of people in Crestone who are really willing - and able! - to give time and effort, and those few are called upon a lot. This small town has a lot of creative people with ideas who need to find others who’ll give the effort and time. I’m waiting for a subsidized unit in Boston to open up, so right now, personally, health problems and giving time and effort to a community that really needs it are my biggest challenges. And if you have health problems that require a lot of visits to the doctor, that’s really a major challenge.
Desi Faraci
When I first arrived here I thought, wow it will be hard to shed the commercialism of society. I found this was easier for me with our great, small stores and Amazon. Prior to moving here, I never thought about the reality of the lack of services. Challenges here lie with the children, elderly, mentally ill, homeless and those with health issues. Finding work is challenging for most of us, too. My challenges are with my children: their education and the lack of services for one of my daughters, who is special needs with compounding health issues. Sometimes I wonder if Crestone is the right decision for our family. Schools in this valley aren’t equipped to teach learning-challenged kids. They make efforts, but fall way short. Also, I contemplate if my kids will be able to function in bigger cities when they’re older. Will this be their challenge, that by growing up in a sheltered, remote environment they’ll learn less coping skills for the real world? I do hope they’re influenced by the light workers here and repel the darkness of the drug and couch hopper scene. We located here to remove our children from societal entrainment/commercialism and to enjoy what Crestone has to offer, raising my kids with people who are creative, spiritual and sustainably minded. It’s up to us as individuals to ensure our needs are fulfilled. Hopefully, the benefits in Crestone will outweigh the challenges.
Dan Frelka
The biggest unexpected challenge I faced was the bugs. I lived in the mountains near Denver and we rarely had a mosquito. They’re kind of constant through the summer here, but I’ve learned to deal with that. This summer, when I couldn’t sit outside because of the bugs, I realized the reason we build houses is to keep us away from the elements, so I overcame that challenge, mentally. The biggest, most worthwhile challenge I found here was slowing down. I was working hard in Sales and was extremely busy. I came here to be in a small town, way outta the way and quiet. I needed to slow my brain down, get on Crestone time. This year, I’ve been fixing up my house and gardening because I haven’t been working, but I’m still doing. I get up in the morning and I’m GOING, ALL DAY! I need to stop, smell the roses and adjust to where I’m living, because this is where I’ve always wanted to be, exactly this place. I’ve lived in small mountain towns for 45 years, so I’m used to living remotely. It’s been an adaption being this remote, but that’s why I’m here, because Conifer, Evergreen, etc. have gotten way too busy, so I’m getting into slowing down.
Tim Riley
​ A recent challenge has been in the area of communication. I’ve had problems where people take issue with something that I’m doing or not doing, and instead of knocking on my door for a conversation, they call the organizational body that governs my homestead or livelihood. I’ve heard that the Crestone of old was a very direct place, and I long for and encourage that type of approach. I think the biggest challenge so far has been isolation. Being in a place that is geographically isolated, along with other factors like the “intensity” of living here, seems to require a more tightly knit community. When we first moved to town some people were very welcoming while others were quite prickly. Thank goodness for the welcome that we experienced or we would not have made it through this far. The prickly side I think comes from the ideal of rugged individualism. I quickly learned you can’t do it alone. Each person has a role that is complimentary to my own. Identifying the people that I can count on and the roles that we play has been important. I’ve been fortunate to make strong connections with amazing individuals; without them I could not live here. They are my support network and I am so grateful.