Decoratin' & Celebratin' The 4th Of July

Recall The Regime

        Faces distorted to give these people a little privacy, even though they were publicly protesting.

   Encountered a couple of HOA protesters at the entrance to a fairly high-end Suburb in south Denver recently, and by high-end Suburb I mean it's a place I couldn't afford to buy a house.

   HOA's can be a pain in the patookas, what with the various (and sometimes incredibly arbitrary) restrictions against such everyday, mundane activities such as washing your car or changing your oil in your driveway, using a clothesline to dry your clothes, painting your house with an unapproved shade of grey, or mowing your lawn without a shirt on.

   Those are all real things that people I know who live in HOA regulated communities have told me they have been penalized by their HOAs with steep fines for doing.  

    Which is why I do not live in an HOA controlled community. The city I live in already has a boatload of ordinances in place regarding what is and is not allowed / acceptable in every neighborhood, so why would anyone want to move into a subdivision that is being run by narcissistic control freaks who want even more regulations?

   Seriously, if anyone in my neighborhood doesn't like the shade of empire yellow that I painted my house, they are free to not ever look at it - never, ever.

Ordinary Ordway, Part 6

   This post about the little southeastern Colorado town of Ordway has been receiving a bit of attention, and along with that attention have come a few questions. 

   The question I will answer today is, "What businesses exit in Ordway now?"

   Quite a few actually. Here are a few pics of what I'm fairly sure are businesses that are in operation, but I'm not about to state I'm 100% certain of that.

              The Hotel Ordway - been around since 1901, still providing lodging for weary travelers

                         First National Bank - even has drive up window service (around the back)

                         Touch of Grace Salon - ready to primp you when you need primping

                                     Joan's House of Beauty - another Ordway primping station 

                     Thaxton's Market - has an ATM and Western Union services as well as foodstuffs 

           The west side of the Thaxton's Market reveals it is also the home of  Thaxton's Liquors

                                  Ordway boasts a two bay car & truck wash, with vacuums

                      Next to the car wash is Prairie Auto Service and a CarQuest auto parts store

      Ordway Building Supply - might be the largest business in the town, occupies several buildings

            Not sure what the purple building is all about, but the building to the right is OBS retail

                                            Of course there is a cannabis dispensary

                     There is a restaurant named Restaurant, but I'm not 100% sure it's operational

             There is a bar & grill called the Columbine Saloon, but again, not sure if it's operational

                 The Family Dollar is open and sells groceries as well as just about everything else

                                 Transportation services available for those that need 'em

       There's a lot on this corner - Sinclair station, mobile home park, and JR's restaurant and grocery

               Just past JR's there is also the MPH RV park - full hook-ups available for RV enthusiast

              Heck, there's even new construction going on - don't know what for but it's fairly big

                                Not sure if this business is still open, but I do like the paint job

    There are more businesses in Ordway - a lawyer or two, couple of accounting and real estate places, a self storage facility, and I believe at least one coffee shop and a pizza joint. 

   Possibly even a food truck. 

Ordinary Ordway, Part 5

    I was asked if Ordway had any parks or public services other than the schools and Crowley County services I posted on Part 3 of this series.

   The answer is yes, and for your viewing pleasure here they are.

 One of the first places you see when you enter the town proper - Edward C. Chavez Veteran's Park

      The park is fairly large and boasts fountains that children (and adults I suppose) can play in

                          This is either the Town Hall or the Chamber of Commerce...or both

                                 A repurposed church is now the Senior Citizens Center

                                  Smack dab in the middle of the town is Conestoga park. 

         Conestoga park is about twice the size of Chavez Veteran's Park, with a lot more trees

                    This small cabin is situated near Conestoga park...but I have no idea why

             There is a small solar farm...the town gets plenty of sunshine, so it's probably a good idea

     This is the Crowley County Nursing Center which I imagine is the same as a convalescent home

                            The Ordway Community Garden could use a bit more...garden

                                              Ordway has nice, modern U.S. Post Office

            The Town's recycling center - must be fairly old as the phone numbers are only 7 digits

                         The Crowley County courthouse and the Department of Human Services

 The Crowley County Justice Center is located in the old court house...which literally looks like a house

This small building is home to the companies that control the reservoirs and the canals

This old parked diesel locomotive is apparently a local landmark