Satellite Images Show Extreme Changes in Colorado’s Grand Valley
If you've lived in Grand Junction, Colorado for a while, you're already very much aware of how much this region has changed. Take a look at the drastic changes which have taken place since 1993 with these satellite images.
Do you recall when South Camp Road consisted of a handful of houses out in the boonies? How about a time, not that long ago, when there was no such thing as Spyglass Ridge.
Grand Junction Colorado From 1993 to Present
In 1993, Colorado Mesa University was called Mesa State College. Five years prior to that, in the Spring of 1988, it was still Mesa College. Las Colonias Park was a dumpy area along the Colorado River where no one wanted to go. Spyglass Ridge was a desert area between the Sierra Vista subdivision and the Gunnison River where many of us would go to ride motorcycles.
Things have changed drastically around Grand Junction. For those who've lived here forever, the gradual changes are difficult to put into perspective. When you look at the region via satellite images, though, things become remarkably clear.
Housing Explosions in Grand Junction, Colorado
Seriously, where Spyglass Ridge now exists was at one time a bunch of hills in the middle of nowhere. The property used to belong to Dudley Clymer. While the property was off-limits, many of us, myself included (and especially) used to trespass in order to ride our motorcycles. In 1986 I was in a serious accident where the houses on Secret Canyon Lane now exist. I significant chunk of my hide was left in the spot which is now someone's living room.
You'll see the same thing along South Camp Road near the Colorado National Monument. There was a time when people went out to this area to search for dinosaur bones. Nowadays, it's a thriving residential area.
Las Colonias Park? Not that long ago it's where they used to dump cars. I never would have imagined a day would come when Grand Junction residents would go to the same area to attend sold-out concerts.
These Satellite Images Put Everything Into Perspective
Everyone knows tremendous changes have taken place at Colorado Mesa University. Residents of Texas Avenue, Elm Avenue, and Kennedy Avenue just west of the college used to get irritated when students parked in front of their houses. Looking at the area now, those houses have been leveled and replaced with parking lots. Students still park there, but now in designated lots.
If you stop to think about it, in the grand scheme of things, the years between 1993 and 2022 really don't add up to a tremendous amount of time. We're talking about a chapter of fewer than three decades. Yet, via the gallery below, you'll see how profound the changes have been around Grand Junction.