Alligators ... in Colorado? (Shallow Thoughts)

Alligators ... in Colorado?

A recent trip through Alamosa reminded me that I'd never written about my trip to see the gators. High time!

As you drive up Colorado highway 17 north of Alamosa, you pass a series of old, faded, hand-painted signs saying things like "Alligators? In Colorado?" and "COLORADO GATORS Discount Tickets sold HERE!" I'd seen them for years, and chuckled a little but didn't ever give them much thought. The desert is full of signs for roadside attractions that were abandoned fifty years ago.

But five or six years ago, someone told me that Colorado Gators actually was quite an interesting place, too bad it had recently closed. Darnit — why couldn't someone have told me that before it closed? Oh, well.

Then last year, we were heading up 17 on our way to visit the relatives, and I couldn't help noticing that there were really quite a lot of signs for an attraction that was supposedly gone. And some of the signs looked fairly new. We had some time to spare, so we took the detour and found Colorado Gators still very much open for business.

It's actually quite an impressive reptile farm, full of many species of alligators and crocodiles as well as turtles and tortoises, and a few snakes. The animals all look well cared for, and there are lots of interesting and informative signs telling you about the different species on display, as well as fun facts about some of the individuals there who have been featured in movies or other entertainment.

When I visited, they were recovering from a fire a few years back that had, sadly, killed some of their reptiles. Maybe that was what sparked the rumor that they had closed.

In addition to alligators and other reptiles, they also raise tilapia as a commercial venture, which helps raise funds to care for the reptiles. The tilapia mostly live in the same pools where the gators live and double as gator food.

Speaking of funds: there is a modest entrance fee to tour the facility and see the gators, but although it always irritates when people don't bother to mention entrance fees, I've forgotten how much it was. It didn't seem unreasonable and I was happy to kick in my modest contribution.

Some of the gators are in relatively small tanks (though that doesn't seem to bother them — alligators lead a fairly sedate life most of the time) but many of them are swimming in large open pools.

And yes, as a "roadside attraction", it has to have a few silly/campy aspects. Like getting your picture taken holding a baby alligator. Who could pass up that opportunity?

I also appreciated the humorous signs, like

PEOPLE CAUGHT THROWING OBJECTS AT THE ALLIGATORS WILL BE ASKED TO RETRIEVE THEM

This facility has been accident free for [2] hours]

Anyway, if you find yourself traveling near Alamosa and you have a half-hour or hour to spare, I can recommend Colorado Gators. It's a fun place to visit, reasonably priced, and they seem to be doing a good job of taking care of lots of exotic reptiles you wouldn't otherwise get to see. An excellent example of Another Roadside Attraction.