Couple years back we were deciding what to do for my wife for her birthday. We decided on a road trip around to some fun spots in the state we had heard of but not had the chance to check out or really explore. Decided to pick a quarter of the state & find a few fun things we had not checked out before. With the help of the internet, tips from friends & a really cool book ( Oddball Colorado: A Guide To Some Really Strange Places - is a series you should check out and see if they have one for your state) we came up with a few places to hit along with anything interesting we could find along the way. One of our favorite places was the Colorado Gators Reptile Park, yep an alligator/reptile park in Colorado, who would have thunk it.

Now for a bit of history about how this place came to be (from their website):Erwin and Lynne Young moved from Post, Texas to Alamosa, Colorado in September 1974 with their four children, Mark, Mike, Sherri, and Jay. Erwin learned of the geothermal water resources available in the San Luis Valley and wanted to grow Tilapia, an African perch that requires warm water and is very good to eat. In 1977, they purchased an 80 acre farm with a geothermal well on it. Erwin started his tilapia farm that still ships live fish to Denver weekly and we also sell live fish on site. That farm is where Colorado Gators Reptile Park is located. It wasn't until 1987 that they purchased 100 1-year old alligators to dispose of dead fish and the remains of filleted fish. Those baby gators grew quickly in the warm geothermal water (87ºF) and the locals wanted to see them, so we opened to the public in 1990. Soon we were in the spotlight of many media programs and articles. Individuals with overgrown alligators and other reptiles such as large pythons, tortoises, iguanas and more started dropping them off with us.

From our trip I also can't suggest enough to stay at the Movie Manor (The worlds only Drive In Movie Motel - Your room faces a giant outdoor movie screen & the sound is piped into your room.)

For a lot more info, see the website. Now for what you came to see, the pics. :)