Things to do

Bailey Sessions

The Paw Print

Sometimes it can be challenging to find things to do in a town as small as Alamosa. We don’t have access to a mall, unless you consider Walmart to be one. So what exactly are a bunch of bored college students to do? For starters, there’s The Loft in the Student Union Building. They always have jazzy tunes, video games, and pool tables. Plus, you can grab a little snack while you’re in there, too. The key to getting in is just a student ID and a few friends to take down in Just Dance. If you’re willing to take a little adventure, there’s several bars, but the most fun bar is Weekends. It has a $5 cover charge, which seems cheap for how much fun you end up having. They have a bar (for 21+ only, of course), a dance floor, pool tables, and music from any genre from country to pop. If dancing isn’t your thing, there’s a bowling alley just a hop, skip, and jump away from Weekends called the Alamosa Bowl Family Fun Center. They’re open from noon to midnight and the website describes it as “A bowling experience out of this world.” It’s fun to bowl a round, then head over to Weekends. There’s also many places to go hiking (refer to article on page whatever), if you prefer to do something more athletic. At the Great Sand Dunes national park, you can go sand boarding. It’s like snowboarding, except with ingestion of sand instead of water crystals. You can rent boards and sleds from Kristi Mountain Sports for $20 a day. You can also rent mountain bikes from Kristi and ride along the Rio Grande. Or, if your inner child is waiting for a chance to escape, you can head over to Cole Park and play on the swing sets and playground equipment. Another physical activity is swimming. There are many hot springs around Alamosa, including Splashland, Sand Dunes Recreation, Joyful Journey Hot Springs, and Valley View Hot Springs. It’s never more than $20 to get into each place and it’s always fun to relax and bring your friends. If you have no desire to spend excessive amounts of money, head over to Walmart, buy a pack of cards, and gather some friends to play a round of Garbage, War, Go Fish, or poker with snacks instead of money. Of course, many people’s idea of a good time is eating good food. The best Chinese food in Alamosa also happens to be very affordable. At May-Wa Chinese restaurant, you can order an entree that comes with soup and egg rolls for less than $10. If you have a love of tattoos and piercings, The Shop offers $30 tattoos and piercings on Thursdays, so you can get your fix without breaking the bank. As unbelievable as it seems, Alamosa can provide quite well in the entertainment area. The challenge of self-entertainment is squelched with all the options provided in and around the seemingly uneventful town of Alamosa.