Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 9

218 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 9 t A nyone who has read a western novel, or seen a western movie, has heard of the Rio Grande. This beautiful, iconic river snakes through the desert landscape from Colorado through New Mexico and Texas on its 1800-mile journey into Chihuahua and the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the most important rivers of the southwest and one of the most beautiful places it flows through is the San Luis Valley, where the headwaters of the river, flowing off the San Juan mountains, are flanked by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It is there that you will find the growing community of Alamosa, Colorado, originally a railroad town where the Rio Grande Railway met up with the Denver Railroad. These days it is also home to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and a bustling agriculture and tourism industry. Just south of town you will also find the San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS) – which has seen growth year over year for the last while and is re-inventing itself in big ways. “The San Luis Valley is a pretty cool place to live,” says Will Hickman, Manager of San Luis Valley Regional Airport. “I have been here a little over three years and I have fallen in love with it. We have sunlight for 95 percent of the year, which AT A GLANCE SAN LUIS VALLEY REGIONAL AIRPORT WHAT: A primary commercial service and general aviation airport WHERE: Alamosa, Colorado WEBSITE: www.sanluisvalleyairport.org Nothing but sunny days ahead