Our View This Week: Alamosa’s Little Stinkers

Coming from a direct service background where I honed my ability to adjust in a variety of circumstances has served me well as a traveling consultant. Site visits offer an excellent opportunity to utilize this strength as there are often unforeseen circumstances one encounters. It’s one of the aspects I love about consulting work – the dynamic and interesting challenges when I’m on the road.

During this past week’s travel I had the pleasure of visiting a great group of folks in Colorado State service, working in assistance offices in Alamosa - a small community in the San Luis Valley – to improve their Medicaid eligibility business processes. Occurring on the heels of two weeks in Cote d’Ivoire, Africa, my visit to Colorado provided a particularly paradoxical opportunity to flex my adaptability muscles.

Imagine being on a large international flight with over 500 passengers and nearly 30 hours of travel, then days later finding yourself, one of only three passengers, on a puddle jumper from Denver to Alamosa. Not to mention adjusting from a humid tropical climate (93 degrees/89 percent humidity) to a cold desert climate (26 chilling degrees)!

While I could have driven the four hours from Denver to Alamosa, the trek requires navigating a small highway crossing mountain passes which may be closed at any given time due to weather advisories. So, flying it is.

Flying, however, presents its own challenges in that the only car rental option at the Alamosa airport closes at 5 pm – so what is a traveling consultant to do?

Luckily, an enterprising cab company, Little Stinkers, offers a convenient, if not unconventionally named, solution. Turns out, Little Stinkers is a misnomer as my driver was a kind, older gentleman born and reared in Alamosa who enjoys introducing newcomers to his town. And in case you’re wondering the cost for this only-ride-in-town option: it’s $6. From anywhere. Fair warning though, bring cash because they can’t accept credit cards after their office closes for the day. And in case you’re curious, they don’t have a website. So, if you’re ever in Alamosa and need a ride, pick up the phone and dial (719) 589-2500.

As the sun set over the mountains, I thought about how fortunate I am to have had such a spectacular view this week.  

What’s your view?

-       Karin