The Town of Red River recently posed a question to its Facebook Friends:
“WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST ABOUT RED RIVER? We’d like to know so we can post what’s most important to you when you can’t be here!”
Responses came quickly, as is the way of Social Media. Some responded with photos that communicated their feelings: wildlife, mountain vistas, flowers, fall colors, time with grandkids, and snow-covered mountains. One response said it in three words: All of it!
It’s not unusual to meet and talk with someone who wishes they could live in Red River. Many of these good folks are quick to say that they have been coming to the high country for years. Many faces are familiar because they come to town every year and, in some cases, they come several times, summer and winter.
It’s a common story. People came at a young age with their families, mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters and cousins.
It is not uncommon to learn that they are now bringing their children to Red River and staying in the same lodges and cabins every year. They look forward to going to Frye’s Bank Robbery and Shootout, stopping at the Community House, eating at their favorite restaurants and maybe dancing at the Bull or the Lode.
The Fourth of July, for instance, draws a gimungous crowd of visitors from neighboring communities, as well as surrounding states. They line the sidewalks and curbs for the annual Main Street Parade. Ask around and you’ll find that most of the visitors choose the 4th every year for their holiday celebration.
In the 21st Century, Red River has established a reputation throughout the Southwest as a place that knows how to show visitors a great time with special events and activities.
Always remember, though, it was the chilly summer weather and world-class trout fishing that brought people to the mountains of Red River City around 1905. The mining “boom” that motivated the establishment of a town in 1895 was over and the miners had moved on, walking away from the cabins and taking only the clothes they could carry.
Those cabins proved vital to the remaining diehards who stayed in the valley. The cabins were the source of revenue when rented to anglers, hikers and sightseers interested in escaping the flatland summer heat.
The building of a new pass road in 1917 opened the valley to more vacationers (fondly referred as “Texicans”) and the hospitality business became Red River’s new vocation.
It would seem from our Facebook Friends that the cool mountain air, the sounds of hummer wings and the song of the river are still THE big attractions.
