I'm sick of the NE, NW, and S. lets talk about the Rocky Mountain states!

I've always been really interested in the unique cultural institutions and identifiers of various regions of America. I think its really interesting to look at how people speak especially. I am from Colorado and I guess I would like to know what expressions, foods and thought patterns people would say are unique, culturally, to Colorado and other Rocky Mountain states.

I'll try to stimulate some traffic with the following... bashing home states generally brings out a few posters...

things you could over hear in the Rocky Mountains...


What month is it? Don know jes ben looking fer grizz, pilgrim.
or
This here is Dick Cheney's undisclosed location.
or
This arsenal is the most polluted site in the nation!
or
Potato Brumba's What?
or
How did Pikes Peak?
or
The breeze from the east smells like money in Greely.

and seem to bounce back and forth between regional classifications, and trying to identify a contiguous culture which includes one's own state is like trying to identify one's own accent while speaking to people who have the same accent.

Won a ski trip to Steamboat Springs. Scenery is breathtaking.

Colorado is THE greatest. I've always thought of it as the cultural "middle of America," We probably don't have enough African Americans out here to qualify perfectly, but out of our four largest cities only one is culturally conservative (although the state is generally conservative). Yeah, we are a red state, but we elected Romer several times, and I think we went Clinton in 92 or 96. I just want some outside perspective, because its hard for me to have a big picture perspective from where I am. It's like trying to hear one's own accent when everyone else has the same one.
I actually took a linguistics class and one of my books had a little map marking the divisions of the country by accent. Following the map was a discussion of each area's distinctive linguistic features, except for one and that was the area containing Colorado.

:-)

It seems to me that phrase is used by most locations. We use the same expression here in Cleveland. :shrug:

Mr. Lackey, and believe me "Mr. Mackey" could not TOUCH Mr. Lackey for sheer weirdness. All you really need to know is that kids used to run around him in opposite directions to confuse him, and when he talked his lips stuck about 3 inches out from his face. BTW he was blond and had one of those dorsal-fin-like ridges of hair at the front of his forehead.

there is no South Park in Colorado. Closest is South Park City.

The creators of South Park are from Colorado.

it refers to the plateau in the southern third of the Colorado Rockies - there are three; North Park, Middle Park and South Park. There may not be a city called "South Park," and there is no county either, but there definetley is a South Park

it refers to the plateau in the southern third of the Colorado Rockies - there are three; North Park, Middle Park and South Park. There may not be a city called "South Park," and there is no county either, but there definetley is a South Park - take it from someone who was born on the "South Park" plateau in Part county outside of Fairplay.

Friend I was traveling with got railroaded in a phony court in Rifle. The rednecks can keep the shithole.

Jefferson, Boulder, Denver and Adams counties aren't so bad - there are little pockets of liberal resistance outside the major metropolitan areas as well - although the Thornton police got me for $200 when I was speeding (where elsewhere in the state it would be about $100 something)- What'd you get busted for?

driving without a valid license (my license was suspended, but reinstated a month later), and speeding. Cost me $160. And 5 points (since then dissolved because it's been more than 18 months since the last ticket)

Hawkeye-X

I look back at that as 'The Wasted Year'. Colorado would be a lot better if the front range cities (CO Springs, Denver, Ft. Collins et. al.), were part of Kansas.

The coolest place we hung out in was Estes Park; The Stanley Hotel.

Barbeque and Mexican food. We grow great potatoes. We seem to have a large number of transplants from all over, but many from Kansas and California. We have a lot of hikers and mountain drivers. We have 54 mountains over 14,ooo feet. :D

Also, Mt. Blanca is one of the Navajo holy mountains. The establishment Fort Garland by U.S. troops allowed for the Spanish settlers from New Mexico to settle the San Luis Valley to farm and raise sheep. Before that the Indians kept pushing them back south and Taos and Sante Fe couldn't protect them. Actually they were considered to be a buffer that protected Taos from the hostile Kiowa, Navajo, and I believe, Ute tribes.

The Mormans settled in the San Luis Valley after the Civil War. Morman soldiers had passed through and liked the area enough to come back with their families. There is a large community of blondies around Sanford.

We have a lot of military along the front range, and we are geographically and economically divided into definite regions.

At first, when I read your post I thought Colorado doesn't have much except mountains, but then I started to think a bit. And there is lot's more. Silver mines, ghost towns, ski resorts, downhill mountain biking...... :bounce:

And we have so many young people, and lots of eccentric, crusty old folks who are just great and have led fascinating lives.

aka Colorado Springs, CO.

I drove by there last Thursday and was VERY appalled to see Ronald Reagan Highway. I would spray-paint it and call it Howard Dean Highway.

At least there's a People for Howard Dean Adopt-a-Highway sign all over C-291. I've got snapshots..

And an accident to boot, but my mom wasn't mad (it was her car)

Hawkeye-X

Just kidding; I didn't know that Mormons had settled in the San Louis that's news to me! I guess historical prespective is essential, but who do you think we Coloradoans are today? How for instance are we Coloradans supposed to spell Coloradoans? Heck, I don't even know how to pronounce it. BTW - does anyone know what you call people from Maine - other than People from Maine?

We're definitely a mixed bag, especially after the Fundies moved in as HawkeyeX so thoughtfully pointed out. I'm in Colorado Springs, thank you very much. But a lot of folks who vote Republican and whose families have been here a while lean more libertarian than judgemental, control freak, government growing neoRepublican, I do believe.

And folks from Maine, I dunno, uh... Maineliners maybe?

was less rethuglican and more Republican, although the class of people who've moved here from California are of that suburban PC pro-censorship variety of elitists that really drive me crazy whether they are Dem or Rep. I really think Dem candidates could take western states with a pro-environment message and hope that the fundy influence won't be too strong.

The donkeys play there..... :evilgrin: GO CHIEFS!