The Beginning

Welcome!

Road trips through southern Colorado are breathtaking.  Majestic mountains, shimmering aspen groves and spectacular cloudscapes – beautiful views at every turn in the road – create a sense of place like no other.

But my eyes always seemed to be focused on signs.  Road signs.  And welcome signs fascinated me most of all.

Nearly five years ago I took this passion to the next level and began photographing welcome signs and chronicling my journeys.  I’m pleased to begin sharing my photographs with family and friends – and anyone else who may be interested – through this Web site.

This sign was one of the first that I photographed and remains one of my favorites.  In 1858, Fort Garland was established to protect settlers in the San Luis Valley, part of the New Mexico Territory at that time.  At its peak, 200 men lived at Fort Garland, including Kit Carson, the Fort’s commander.  The Fort was abandoned in 1883, but was restored in the 1950s by the Colorado Historical Society and the Fort Garland Museum continues to preserve the heritage of this region today.

The population of Fort Garland is less than 500, and the town doesn’t have a stoplight.  But it does have a brightly colored, sturdy, hand-painted welcome sign.

A special feature of this sign is the back that bids farewell to visitors.  (The San Luis Valley boasts the largest native Hispanic population in Colorado, hence the Adios.)