You've probably seen the "Colorado" sign at various points along the state line. You've probably also seen "Colorado - No Vacancy" bumper stickers. Well, somebody put a "No Vacancy" message on the "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign on southbound I-25 at the Colorado/Wyoming state line.

It had to happen sooner or later. The act vandalism, and the Colorado Department of Transportation considers the act to be just that, vandalism, has blown up all over social media.

It's not clear how long the "No Vacancy" sign has been there. The last time I drove southbound I-25 across the state line was some time back in 1996. Maybe it has been there since then. Who knows?

Colorado No Vacancy Sign closeup
Colorado Department of Transportation
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To me, at least, it seems odd the message would be placed on the sign at the Wyoming/Colorado border. Is it really Wyoming residents making the move to Colorado? Personally, I know of exactly one person who's made the move from Wyoming to Colorado. The message probably should have been placed on the eastbound I-70 sign at the Utah/Colorado border.

How do people feel about this little bit of creative license? Social media, specifically Facebook, had this to say.


That last one really gets to me. I was born and raised in Grand Junction. My mom is a Western Colorado native. Her parents were born in Grand Junction/Clifton. Some of my great-grandparents are Colorado natives. On the other hand, my dad is from Chicago. I'm a hybrid!

For some insane reason I have yet to understand, years ago I chose to invest in rental properties. No doubt there's a name for this particular form of brain damage, I'm just not sure what it's called. In any event, I own real estate and rent it out to other people. Many times these are lifelong locals needing a place to live, other times it's people new to the area.

Many members of my family suffer from the same form of brain damage I do. As a matter of fact, most of my family members own income properties. The really messed up ones own apartment buildings. In each case, we rely on growth to keep our rental units occupied. Again, I'm a local who enjoys the smaller communities. At the same time, my income depends on population growth and a demand for housing.

I've devoted serious thought to this conundrum. I was born here and really enjoy the thought of Grand Junction, and the rest of the state for that matter, staying just the way it is. As a matter of fact, I would enjoy going back in time to 1976 or so. One thing is for certain, I don't ever want to go the fallout which almost obliterated this town back in the early 1980's.

What a mess. I can see this from both sides. In any event, the person responsible for placing the message on the Colorado sign is in deep doo-doo for vandalism. In this state, that packs a pretty hefty fine. In my mind, I think of vandalism and graffiti as something one would find in a large city like Los Angeles or New York. Isn't it ironic someone would vandalize a sign with a message conveying a desire to keep the big city from moving to Colorado?

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